Bible

Genesis

Chapter 1

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and empty. Darkness was upon the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God was moving above the surface of the waters.

³ God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw the light, that it was good. He divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶ God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." ⁷ God made the expanse and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. It was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear." It was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land "earth," and the gathered waters he called "seas." He saw that it was good.

¹¹ God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit whose seed is in the fruit, each according to its own kind." It was so. ¹² The earth produced vegetation, plants producing seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit whose seed was in it, after their kind. God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to divide the day from the night and let them be as signs, for seasons, for days and years. ¹⁵ Let them be lights in the sky to give light upon the earth." It was so.

¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. ¹⁷ God set them in the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ God said, "Let the waters be filled with great numbers of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the expanse of the sky." ²¹ God created the great sea creatures, as well as every living creature after its kind, creatures that move and which fill the waters everywhere, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

²² God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas. Let birds multiply on the earth." ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures, each according to its own kind, livestock, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its own kind." It was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals after their kind, the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind. He saw that it was good.

²⁶ God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ¹

²⁷ God created man in his own image. In his own image he created him. Male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply. Fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

²⁹ God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the surface of all the earth, and every tree with fruit which has seed in it. They will be food to you.

³⁰ To every beast of the earth, to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, and to every creature that has the breath of life I have given every green plant for food." It was so.

³¹ God saw everything that he had made. Behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

¹Some ancient copies have: ... over the livestock, over all the animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

Chapter 2

¹ Then the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the living things that filled them.

² On the seventh day God came to the end of his work which he had done, and so he rested on the seventh day from all his work. ³ God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had created and made.

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth, when they were created, on the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ No bush of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

⁷ Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. ⁸ Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

⁹ Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. This included the tree of life that was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰ A river went out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four rivers.

¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one which flows throughout the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good. There are also bdellium and the onyx stone.

¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon. This one flows throughout the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris, and it flows east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ Yahweh God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to maintain it. ¹⁶ Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "From every tree in the garden you may freely eat. ¹⁷ But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat, for on the day that you eat from it, you will surely die."

¹⁸ Then Yahweh God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him." ¹⁹ Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, to all the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field. But for the man himself there was found no helper suitable for him.

²¹ Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, so the man slept. Yahweh God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh where he took the rib. ²² With the rib that Yahweh God had taken from the man, he made a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said,

"This time, this one is bone of my bones,

and flesh of my flesh.

She will be called 'woman,'

because she was taken out of man."

²⁴ Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, he will be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. ²⁵ They were both naked, the man and his wife, but were not ashamed.

Chapter 3

¹ Now the serpent was more shrewd than any other beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the garden'?" ² The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, ³ but concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

⁴ The serpent said to the woman, "You will surely not die. ⁵ For God knows that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷ The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their loins. ⁸ They heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰ The man said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid myself." ¹¹ God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

¹² The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it." ¹³ Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

¹⁴ Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

cursed are you alone among all the livestock

and all the beasts of the field.

It is on your stomach that you will go,

and it is dust that you will eat

all the days of your life.

¹⁵ I will put hostility between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will bruise your head,

and you will bruise his heel."

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth;

it is in pain that you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

but he will rule over you."

¹⁷ To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree, concerning which I commanded you, saying, 'You may not eat from it,'

Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful work you will eat from it

all the days of your life.

¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

¹⁹ By the sweat of your face

you will eat bread,

until you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken.

For dust you are,

and to dust you will return."

²⁰ The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ Yahweh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

²² Yahweh God said, "Now the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. So now he must not be allowed to reach out with his hand, take from the tree of life, eat it, and live forever." ²³ Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ So God drove the man out of the garden, and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, in order to guard the way to the tree of life.

Chapter 4

¹ The man knew Eve his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have produced a man with Yahweh's help." ² Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a keeper of flocks, but Cain cultivated the soil.

³ It came about that in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to Yahweh. ⁴ As for Abel, he brought some of the firstborn of his flock and some of the fat. Yahweh accepted Abel and his offering, ⁵ but Cain and his offering he did not accept. So Cain was very angry, and he scowled.

⁶ Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry and why are you scowling? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin crouches at the door and desires to control you, but you must rule over it."

⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. It came about that while they were in the fields, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. ¹

⁹ Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰ Yahweh said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is calling out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you cultivate the ground, from now on it will not yield to you its strength. A fugitive and a wanderer you will be in the earth."

¹³ Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Indeed, you have driven me out this day from this ground, and I will be hidden from your face. I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." ¹⁵ Yahweh said to him, "If anyone kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." Then Yahweh put a mark on Cain, so that if anyone found him, that person would not attack him.

¹⁶ So Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and lived in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain knew his wife and she conceived. She gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named it after his son Enoch.

¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah.

²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of those who play the harp and pipe. ²² As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-Cain, the forger of tools of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,

"Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;

you wives of Lamech, listen to my words.

For I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for bruising me.

²⁴ If Cain is avenged seven times,

then Lamech will be avenged seventy-seven times."

²⁵ Adam knew his wife again, and she bore another son. She called his name Seth and said, "God has given me another son in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him." ²⁶ A son was born to Seth and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.

¹The best ancient copies read in this way. However, some old translations and some modern translations read Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go into the fields." It came about that while they were in the fields, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Chapter 5

¹ This is the record of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created mankind, he made them in his own likeness. ² Male and female he created them. He blessed them and named them mankind when they were created.

³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and he called his name Seth. ⁴ After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁵ Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. ⁷ After he became the father of Enosh, he lived 807 years and became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁸ Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.

⁹ When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ¹¹ Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.

¹² When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ²⁰ Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

²¹ When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ²³ Enoch lived 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God, and then he was gone, for God took him.

²⁵ When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ²⁷ Methuselah lived 969 years. Then he died.

²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he became the father of a son. ²⁹ He called his name Noah, saying, "This one will give us rest from our work and from the painful labor of our hands, which we must do because of the ground that Yahweh has cursed."

³⁰ Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah. He became the father of more sons and daughters. ³¹ Lamech lived 777 years. Then he died.

³² After Noah had lived five hundred years, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Chapter 6

¹ It came about when mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were attractive. They took for themselves wives, any of them that they chose. ³ Yahweh said, "My spirit will not remain in mankind forever, for they are flesh. They will live 120 years."

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. This happened when the sons of God married daughters of men, and they had children with them. These were the mighty men of old, men of renown.

⁵ Yahweh saw that the wickedness of mankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. ⁶ Yahweh regretted that he had made mankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

⁷ So Yahweh said, "I will wipe away mankind whom I have created from the surface of the earth—mankind and animals, and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them." ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

⁹ This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ The earth was corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. ¹² God saw the earth; behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

¹³ God said to Noah, "I can see that it is time to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Indeed, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch within and without. ¹⁵ This is how you will make it: The length of the ark is to be three hundred cubits; the breadth of it is to be fifty cubits, and the height of it is to be thirty cubits.

¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it at a cubit from the top of the side. Place a door in the side of the ark and make a lower, a second, and a third deck. ¹⁷ Listen, I am about to bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that has in it the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth will die.

¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you. You will come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ Of every living creature of all flesh, two of every kind you must bring into the ark, to keep them alive with you, both male and female.

²⁰ Of the birds after their kind, and of animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ Gather for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and store it, so that it will be food for you and for them." ²² So Noah did this. According to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Chapter 7

¹ Yahweh said to Noah, "Come, you and all your household, into the ark, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. ² Of every clean animal you will bring with you seven males and seven females. From the animals that are not clean, of them bring two, the male and his mate. ³ Also of the birds of the sky, bring seven males and seven females, to keep their offspring alive upon the surface of all the earth.

⁴ For in seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy from off the surface of the ground every living thing that I have made." ⁵ Noah did all that Yahweh commanded him.

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. ⁷ Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ark together because of the waters of the flood.

⁸ Clean animals and unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps upon the ground, ⁹ two by two, male and female, came to Noah and went into the ark, just as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ It came about that after the seven days, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened. ¹² The rain began and fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On that very same day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark. ¹⁴ They entered along with each wild animal according to its kind, and each sort of livestock according to its kind, and each creeping thing that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every sort of bird according to its kind, each kind of creature with wings.

¹⁵ Two of all flesh in which was the breath of life came to Noah and entered into the ark. ¹⁶ The animals that went in were male and female of all flesh; they entered in just as God had commanded him. Then Yahweh shut the door after them.

¹⁷ Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters completely covered over the earth, and the ark floated upon the surface of the water.

¹⁹ The waters rose greatly on the earth so that all the high mountains that were under the entire sky were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose fifteen cubits above the tops of the mountains.

²¹ All living beings that moved upon the earth died—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the living creatures that lived in great numbers upon the earth, and all mankind. ²² All living creatures who lived on the land, who breathed the breath of life through their noses, died.

²³ So every living thing that was on the surface of the earth was wiped out, mankind and animals and creeping things and birds of the sky. They were all destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left. ²⁴ The waters stayed upon the earth for 150 days.

Chapter 8

¹ God remembered Noah, all the wild animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters started going down. ² The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and it stopped raining. ³ The flood waters went down slowly from the earth, and after the end of 150 days the waters had gone down.

⁴ The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

⁶ It came about after forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. ⁷ He sent out a raven and it flew back and forth until the waters were dried up from the earth.

⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone down from the surface of the earth, ⁹ but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, for the waters were still covering the whole earth. He reached out with his hand, and took and brought her into the ark with him.

¹⁰ He waited another seven days and again he sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ The dove returned to him in the evening. Look! In her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had gone down from the earth. ¹² He waited another seven days, and sent out the dove again. She did not return again to him.

¹³ It came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from off the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark, looked out, and saw that, behold, the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

¹⁵ God said to Noah, ¹⁶ "Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁷ Take out with you every living creature of all flesh that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth—so that they may increase greatly on the earth, that they may be fruitful and multiply upon the earth."

¹⁸ So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him. ¹⁹ Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, according to their families, left the ark.

²⁰ Noah built an altar to Yahweh. He took some of the clean animals and some of the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground because of mankind, even though the intention of mankind's heart is evil from childhood. Nor will I again destroy everything living, as I have done.

²² While the earth remains,

seed time and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

and day and night

will not cease."

Chapter 9

¹ Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. ² The fear of you and the dread of you will be upon every living thing on the earth, upon every bird of the sky, upon everything that moves on the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

³ Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. ⁴ But you must not eat meat with its life—that is its blood—in it.

⁵ But for your blood, the life that is in your blood, I will require payment. From the hand of every animal I will require it. From the hand of any man, that is, from the hand of one who has murdered his brother, I will require an accounting for the life of that man.

⁶ Whoever sheds man's blood,

by man will his blood be shed,

for it was in the image of God that he made man.

⁷ As for you, be fruitful and multiply, spread throughout the earth and multiply on it."

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ "As for me, listen! I am going to confirm my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, with the birds, the livestock, and every creature of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark, to every living creature on the earth.

¹¹ I hereby confirm my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be destroyed by the waters of a flood. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

¹² God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

¹⁴ It will come about when I bring a cloud over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ then I will call to mind my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. The waters will never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶ The rainbow will be in the clouds and I will see it, in order to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

¹⁷ Then God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

¹⁸ The sons of Noah that came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

²⁰ Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine and became drunk. He was lying uncovered in his tent.

²² Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. ²³ So Shem and Japheth took a robe and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned the other way, so they did not see their father's nakedness.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ So he said,

"Cursed be Canaan.

May he be a servant to his brothers' servants."

²⁶ He also said,

"May Yahweh, the God of Shem, be blessed,

and may Canaan be his servant.

²⁷ May God extend the territory of Japheth,

and let him make his home in the tents of Shem.

May Canaan be his servant."

²⁸ After the flood, Noah lived three hundred fifty years. ²⁹ All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.

Chapter 10

¹ These were the descendants of the sons of Noah, that is, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

² The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³ The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴ The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, ¹ and Dodanim. ⁵ From these the coastland peoples separated and went into their lands, every one with its own language, according to their clans, by their nations.

⁶ The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

⁷ The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

⁸ Cush became the father of Nimrod, who was a mighty one on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh." ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad, and Kalneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹ Out of that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, ¹² and Resen, which was between Nineveh and Calah. It was a large city.

¹³ Mizraim became the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ the Pathrusites, the Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

¹⁵ Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of Heth, ¹⁶ also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁷ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸ the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread out.

¹⁹ The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza, and as one goes toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. ²⁰ These were the sons of Ham, by their clans, by their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.

²¹ Sons also were born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was also the ancestor of all the people of Eber.

²² The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

²³ The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

²⁴ Arphaxad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.

²⁵ Eber had two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.

²⁶ Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

³⁰ Their territory was from Mesha, all the way to Sephar, the mountain of the east. ³¹ These were the sons of Shem, according to their clans and their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

³² These were the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations. From these the nations separated and went over the earth after the flood.

¹Some modern English translations read, Kittim .

Chapter 11

¹ Now the whole earth used one language and had the same words. ² As they journeyed in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.

³ They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar. ⁴ They said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach to the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves. If we do not, we will be scattered across the surface of the whole earth."

⁵ So Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the descendants of Adam had built. ⁶ Yahweh said, "Look, they are one people with the same language, and they are beginning to do this! Soon nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they may not understand each other."

⁸ So Yahweh scattered them from there across the surface of all the earth and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth and from there Yahweh scattered them abroad over the surface of all the earth.

¹⁰ These were the descendants of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and he became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood. ¹¹ Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arphaxad. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹² When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah. ¹³ Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵ Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷ Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹ Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁰ When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug. ²¹ Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²² When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor. ²³ Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁴ When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah. ²⁵ Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁶ After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ Now these were the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁹ Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, a daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

³¹ Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of his son Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and together they left Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. But they came to Haran and stayed there. ³² Terah lived 205 years and then died in Haran.

Chapter 12

¹ Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Go from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's household, to the land that I will show you.

² I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,

and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you, but whoever dishonors you I will curse.

Through you will all the families of the earth be blessed."

⁴ So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him to do, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram took Sarai, his wife, Lot, his brother's son, all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the people that they had acquired in Haran. They left to go into the land of Canaan, and came to the land of Canaan.

⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land. ⁷ Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So there Abram built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he moved to the hill country to the east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh. ⁹ Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ When he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive. ¹³ Say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my life will be spared because of you."

¹⁴ It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. ¹⁵ The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household. ¹⁶ Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. ¹⁸ Pharaoh summoned Abram, and said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, here is your wife. Take her, and go your way." ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.

Chapter 13

¹ So Abram went up from Egypt and went into the Negev, he, his wife, and all that he had. Lot also went with them. ² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

³ He continued on his journey from the Negev to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been before, between Bethel and Ai. ⁴ He went to the place where the altar was that he had built previously. Here he called on the name of Yahweh.

⁵ Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ The land was not able to support them both living close together, because their possessions were very many, so that they could not stay together. ⁷ Also, there was a dispute between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; after all, we are family. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Go ahead and separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

¹⁰ So Lot looked around, and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere all the way to Zoar, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan and traveled east, and the relatives separated from each other.

¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the plain. He set up his tents as far away as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were very wicked sinners against Yahweh.

¹⁴ Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had departed from him, "Look from the place where you are standing to the north, south, east, and west. ¹⁵ All this land which you see, I will give to you and to your descendants forever.

¹⁶ I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." ¹⁸ So Abram picked up his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Yahweh.

Chapter 14

¹ It came about in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim, ² that they made war against Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).

³ These latter five kings joined together in the Valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.

⁷ Then they turned and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goyim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell in there. Those who were left fled to the mountains. ¹¹ So the kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² When they went, they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who was living in Sodom, along with all his possessions.

¹³ One who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks that belonged to Mamre, the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshkol and Aner, who were all allies of Abram. ¹⁴ Now when Abram heard that enemies had captured his relative, he led out his 318 trained men who had been born in his house, and he pursued them as far as Dan.

¹⁵ He divided his men against them at night, he and his servants, and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (also called the King's Valley).

¹⁸ Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.

¹⁹ He blessed him saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰ Blessed be God Most High,

who has given your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself." ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread, a sandal strap, or anything that is yours, so that you can never say, 'I have made Abram rich.' ²⁴ I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men that went with me. Let Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre take their portion."

Chapter 15

¹ After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and your very great reward."

² Abram said, "Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" ³ Abram said, "Since you have given me no descendant, see, one born in my house will be my heir!"

⁴ Then, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but rather the one who will come from your own body will be your heir." ⁵ Then he brought him outside, and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be."

⁶ He believed Yahweh, and he counted it to him as righteousness. ⁷ He said to him, "I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." ⁸ He said, "Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?"

⁹ Then he said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a dove, and a young pigeon." ¹⁰ He brought him all these, and cut them in two, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not divide the birds. ¹¹ When the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² Then when the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep and, behold, a deep and terrifying darkness overwhelmed him. ¹³ Then Yahweh said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

¹⁴ I will judge that nation that they will serve, and afterward they will come out with abundant possessions. ¹⁵ But you will go to your fathers in peace, and you will be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit."

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I hereby give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Chapter 16

¹ Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne any children for him, but she had a female servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, Yahweh has kept me from having children. Please go to my servant. It may be that I will have children by her." Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ It was after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan that Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband as a wife. ⁴ So he went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, "This wrong on me is because of you. I gave my servant woman into your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Let Yahweh judge between me and you." ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, "See here, your servant woman is in your power, do to her what you think best." So Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring that is on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where did you come from and where are you going?" Then she said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai."

⁹ The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority." ¹⁰ Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too numerous to count."

¹¹ The angel of Yahweh also said to her,

"Behold, you are pregnant

and will bear a son,

and you will call his name Ishmael,

because Yahweh has heard your affliction.

¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man.

He will be hostile against every man,

and every man will be hostile to him,

and he will live apart from all his brothers."

¹³ Then she gave this name to Yahweh who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Do I really continue to see, even after he has seen me?" ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Chapter 17

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless. ² Then I will confirm my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."

³ Abram bowed low with his face to the ground and God talked with him, saying, ⁴ "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham—for I appoint you to be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

⁷ I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. ⁸ I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land where you have been sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is my covenant, which you must keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

¹² Every male among you that is eight days old must be circumcised, throughout your people's generations. This includes him who is born into your household and him who is bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. ¹³ He who is born into your household and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised. Thus my covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."

¹⁵ God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai any more. Instead, her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."

¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed low with his face to the ground, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? How can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?" ¹⁸ Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

¹⁹ God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you must name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant with his descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him abundantly. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him become a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time in the next year."

²² When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. ²³ Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all those who were born into his household, and all those who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in that 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 Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ On the very same day Abraham and Ishmael his son were both circumcised. ²⁷ All the men of his household were circumcised with him, including those born into the household and those bought with money from a foreigner.

Chapter 18

¹ Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent doorway in the heat of the day. ² He looked up and, behold, he saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed low to the ground.

³ He said, "My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant." ⁴ Let a little water be brought, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ Let me bring a little food, so that you may refresh yourselves. Afterwards you can go your way, since you have come to your servant." They replied, "Do as you have said."

⁶ Then Abraham quickly went into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, get three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread." ⁷ Then Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf that was tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He took curds and milk, and the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replied, "There, in the tent." ¹⁰ He said, "I will certainly return to you in the springtime, and see, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah was listening in the tent doorway, which was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, very advanced in age, and Sarah had passed the age when women could bear children. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying to herself, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

¹³ Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really bear a child, when I am old'? ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the time appointed by me, in the spring, I will return to you. About this time next year Sarah will have a son." ¹⁵ Then Sarah denied it and said, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He replied, "No, you did laugh."

¹⁶ Then the men arose to leave and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ But Yahweh said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will indeed become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have chosen him so that he may instruct his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham what he has said to him."

²⁰ Then Yahweh said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and because their sin is so serious, ²¹ I will now go down there and see the outcry against her that has come to me, whether they have really done it. If not, I will know."

²² So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before Yahweh. ²³ Then Abraham approached and said, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴ Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are there? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing, killing the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be treated the same as the wicked. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" ²⁶ Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake."

²⁷ Abraham answered and said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord, even though I am only dust and ashes! ²⁸ What if there are five less than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" Then he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five."

²⁹ He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He replied, "I will not do it for the forty's sake." ³⁰ He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, so I may speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there." He replied, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." ³¹ He said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord! Perhaps twenty will be found there." He replied, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

³² He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, and I will speak this one last time. Perhaps ten will be found there." Then he said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake." ³³ Yahweh went on his way as soon as he had finished talking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

Chapter 19

¹ The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, arose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. ² He said, "See now, my masters, please turn aside into your servant's house, stay for the night, and wash your feet. Then you can rise up early and go on your way." They replied, "No, we will spend the night in the town square." ³ But he urged them strongly, so they went with him, and entered into his house. He prepared a meal and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the men from every part of the city. ⁵ They called to Lot, and said to him, "Where are the men that came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

⁶ So Lot went out the door to them and shut the door after himself. ⁷ He said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you do to them whatever is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof."

⁹ They said, "Stand back!" They also said, "This one came here to live as a foreigner, and now he has become our judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." They pressed hard against the man, against Lot, and came near to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. ¹¹ Then Lot's visitors struck with blindness the men who were outside the door of the house, both small and great, so that they became exhausted when they were trying to find the door.

¹² Then the men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here? Any sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, get them out of here. ¹³ For we are about to destroy this place, because the accusations against it before Yahweh have become so loud that he has sent us to destroy it."

¹⁴ Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, the men who had promised to marry his daughters, and said, "Quick, get out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city." But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. ¹⁵ When dawn came, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Get going, take your wife and your two daughters that are here, so you are not swept away in the punishment of the city."

¹⁶ But he lingered. So the men grabbed his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, because Yahweh was merciful to him. They brought them out, and set them outside the city. ¹⁷ When they had brought them out, one of the men said, "Run for your lives! Do not look back, or stay anywhere on the plain. Escape to the mountains so you are not swept away."

¹⁸ Lot said to them, "No, please, my masters! ¹⁹ See now, your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. ²⁰ See now, the city over there is a little one. Please, let me escape there—Is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved."

²¹ He said to him, "Alright, I am granting this request also, that I will not destroy the city which you have mentioned. ²² Hurry! Escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the city was named Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot reached Zoar. ²⁴ Then Yahweh rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. ²⁵ He destroyed those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the plants that grew on the ground.

²⁶ But Lot's wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain. He looked and behold, smoke was rising from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God called Abraham to mind. He sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

³⁰ But Lot went up from Zoar to live in the mountains with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters.

³¹ The firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere to lie with us according to the way of all the world. ³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father." ³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. Then the firstborn went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down, nor when she got up.

³⁴ The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Listen, here I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you should go and lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father." ³⁵ So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger went and lay with him. He did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁶ So both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the Moabites of today. ³⁸ As for the younger daughter, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-Ammi. He became the ancestor of the people of Ammon of today.

Chapter 20

¹ Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He was a foreigner living in Gerar. ² Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." So Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. ³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream in the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."

⁴ Now Abimelek had not come near her and he said, "Lord, would you kill even a righteous nation? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister?' Even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands."

⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I also know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her. ⁷ Therefore, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you and all who are yours will surely die."

⁸ Abimelek rose early in the morning and called all of his servants to himself. He told all these things to them, and the men were very afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelek called for Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me deeds that ought not to be done."

¹⁰ Abimelek said to Abraham, "What prompted you to do this thing?" ¹¹ Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' ¹² Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

¹³ When God caused me to leave my father's house and travel from place to place, I said to her, 'You must show me this faithfulness as my wife: At every place where we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'" ¹⁴ Then Abimelek took sheep and cattle, and male slaves and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham. Then he returned Sarah, Abraham's wife, to him.

¹⁵ Abimelek said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever it pleases you." ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, "Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is to cover any offense against you in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone, you are completely made right."

¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife, and his female slaves so that they were able to have children. ¹⁸ For Yahweh had closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelek because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Chapter 21

¹ Yahweh paid attention to Sarah as he had said he would, and Yahweh did for Sarah just as he had promised. ² Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham named his son, the one who had been born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. ⁴ Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

⁵ Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; every one who hears will laugh with me." ⁷ She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, and yet I have borne him a son in his old age!"

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁹ Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

¹⁰ So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac." ¹¹ This thing was very grievous to Abraham because of his son.

¹² But God said to Abraham, "Do not be grieved because of the young man and because of your servant girl. Listen to Sarah's words in all she says to you about this matter, because it is through Isaac that your descendants will be named. ¹³ I will also make the son of the servant woman into a nation, because he is your descendant."

¹⁴ Abraham rose up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder. He gave her the boy and sent her away. She departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. ¹⁵ When the water in the waterskin was gone, she abandoned the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went, and sat down a short distance from him, about the distance of a bowshot away, for she said, "Let me not look upon the death of the child." As she sat there across from him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

¹⁷ God heard the voice of the young man, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the young man where he is. ¹⁸ Get up, raise up the young man, and encourage him; for I will make him into a great nation."

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the young man a drink. ²⁰ God was with the young man, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. ²¹ He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

²² It came about at that time that Abimelek and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. ²³ Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my offspring, nor with my descendants. Show to me and to the land in which you have been staying the same covenant faithfulness that I have shown to you." ²⁴ Abraham said, "I swear."

²⁵ Abraham also complained to Abimelek concerning a well of water that Abimelek's servants had seized from him. ²⁶ Abimelek said, "I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me before now; I have not heard of it until today." ²⁷ So Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a covenant.

²⁸ Then Abraham set seven female lambs of the flock by themselves. ²⁹ Abimelek said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven female lambs that you have set by themselves?" ³⁰ He replied, "These seven female lambs you will receive from my hand, so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well."

³¹ So he called that place Beersheba, because there they both swore an oath. ³² They made a covenant at Beersheba, and then Abimelek and Phicol, the captain of his army, returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he called on the name of Yahweh, the eternal God. ³⁴ Abraham remained as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.

Chapter 22

¹ It came about after these things that God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" Abraham said, "Here I am." ² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains there, which I will tell you about." ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, then set out on his journey to the place that God had told him about.

⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place afar off. ⁵ Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go over there. We will worship and come again to you." ⁶ Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on Isaac his son. He took in his own hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.

⁷ Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father," and he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "See, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" ⁸ Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So they went on, both of them together.

⁹ When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood on it. Then he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Abraham reached out with his hand and took up the knife to kill his son.

¹¹ Then the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" and he said, "Here I am." ¹² He said, "Do not lay your hand upon the young man, nor do anything to harm him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

¹³ Abraham looked up and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham named that place, "Yahweh will provide," and it is said to this day, "On the mountain of Yahweh it will be provided."

¹⁵ The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said—this is Yahweh's declaration—by myself I have sworn that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and I will greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies.

¹⁸ Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they departed and went together to Beersheba, and he lived at Beersheba.

²⁰ It came about after these things that Abraham was told, "Milkah has borne children, as well, to your brother Nahor." ²¹ They were Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These were the eight children that Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maakah.

Chapter 23

¹ Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. ² Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned and wept for Sarah.

³ Then Abraham rose up and went from his dead wife, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ⁴ "I am a foreigner and sojourner among you. Please grant me a property for a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead."

⁵ The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying, ⁶ "Listen to us, my master. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb, so that you may bury your dead."

⁷ Abraham arose and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth. ⁸ He spoke to them, saying, "If you agree that I should bury my dead, then hear me and plead with Ephron son of Zohar, for me. ⁹ Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, which is at the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me publicly as a property for a burial place."

¹⁰ Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, of all those who had come into the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹ "No, my master, 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 to bury your dead."

¹² Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. ¹³ He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "But if you are willing, please hear me. I will pay for the field. Take the money from me, and I will bury my dead there."

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, saying, ¹⁵ "Please, my master, listen to me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? Bury your dead." ¹⁶ Abraham listened to Ephron and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the amount of silver that he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard measurement of the merchants.

¹⁷ So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was next to Mamre, that is, the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, passed ¹⁸ to Abraham by purchase in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all those who had come into the gate of his city.

¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which is next to Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it passed to Abraham as a property for a burial place from the sons of Heth.

Chapter 24

¹ Now Abraham was very old and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things. ² Abraham said to his servant, the one who was the oldest of his household and who was in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh ³ and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I make my home. ⁴ But you will go to my country, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac."

⁵ The servant said to him, "What if 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 Abraham said to him, "Make sure that you do not take my son back there! ⁷ Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives, and who promised me with a solemn oath saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there.

⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine. Only you are not to take my son back there." ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ The servant took ten of his master's camels and departed. He also took with him all kinds of goods from his master. He departed and went to the region of Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water. It was evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

¹² Then he said, "Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today and show covenant faithfulness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Look, here I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let it happen like this. When I say to a young woman, 'Please lower your pitcher so that I may drink,' and she says to me, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too,' then let her be the one that you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown covenant faithfulness to my master."

¹⁵ It came about that even before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out with her water pitcher on her shoulder. Rebekah was born to Bethuel son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful and a virgin. No man had ever known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher and came up.

¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little drink of water from your pitcher." ¹⁸ She said, "Drink, my master," and she quickly let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." ²⁰ So she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels.

²¹ The man watched her in silence to see whether Yahweh had prospered his journey or not. ²² As the camels finished drinking, the man brought out a gold nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets for her arms weighing ten shekels, ²³ and asked, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me please, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

²⁴ She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor." ²⁵ She also said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and also room for you to spend the night."

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped Yahweh. ²⁷ He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his covenant faithfulness and his trustworthiness toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me directly to the house of my master's relatives."

²⁸ Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about all of these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran to the man who was out at the road by the spring. ³⁰ When he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he had heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "This is what the man said to me," he went to the man, and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

³¹ Then Laban said, "Come, you blessed of Yahweh. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels." ³² So the man came to the house and he unloaded the camels. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was provided to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³ They set food before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." So Laban said, "Speak on." ³⁴ He said, "I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ Yahweh has blessed my master very much and he has become great. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶ Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given everything that he owns to him. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I make my home. ³⁸ Instead, you must go to my father's family, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son.'

³⁹ I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' ⁴⁰ But he said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and he will prosper your way, so that you will get a wife for my son from among my relatives and from my father's family line. ⁴¹ But you will be free from my oath if you come to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from my oath.'

⁴² So I arrived today at the spring, and said, 'O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please, if you do indeed intend to make my journey successful— ⁴³ here I am, standing by the spring of water—let the young woman who comes out to draw water, the woman to whom I say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," ⁴⁴ the woman who says to me, "Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels"—let her be the woman whom you, Yahweh, have chosen for my master's son.'

⁴⁵ Even before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her pitcher from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels water also.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

⁴⁷ I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milkah bore to him.' Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ Then I bowed down and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the way that is right to find the daughter of my master's relative for his son.

⁴⁹ Now therefore, if you are prepared to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from Yahweh; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. ⁵¹ Look, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, so she may be the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has spoken."

⁵² When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before Yahweh. ⁵³ The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank. They stayed there overnight, and when they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master." ⁵⁵ Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us for a few more days, at least ten. After that she may go."

⁵⁶ But he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master." ⁵⁷ They said, "We will call the young woman and ask her." ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" She replied, "I will go."

⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah, along with her female servant, on her journey with Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, and said to her,

"Our sister, may you be the mother

of thousands of ten thousands,

and may your descendants possess

the gate of those who hate them."

⁶¹ Then Rebekah arose, and she and her servant girls mounted the camels, and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

⁶² Now Isaac was living in the Negev, and had just returned from Beer Lahai Roi.

⁶³ Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. When he looked up and saw, behold, there were camels coming! ⁶⁴ Rebekah looked, and when she saw Isaac, she jumped down from the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, "Who is that man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil, and covered herself.

⁶⁶ The servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Chapter 25

¹ Abraham took another wife; her name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Assyrian people, the Letush people, and the Leum people. ⁴ Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.

⁵ Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. ⁶ However, while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them to the land of the east, away from Isaac, his son.

⁷ These were the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years. ⁸ Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man with a full life, and he was gathered to his people.

⁹ Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre. ¹⁰ This field Abraham had bought from the sons of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah his wife. ¹¹ After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

¹² Now these were the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.

¹³ These were the names of Ishmael's sons, according to their birth order: Nebaioth—the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These were Ishmael's sons, and these were their names, by their villages, and by their encampments; twelve princes according to their tribes.

¹⁷ These were the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ They lived from Havilah to Ashhur, which is near Egypt, as one goes toward Assyria. They lived in hostility with each other.

¹⁹ This is the account of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹ Isaac prayed to Yahweh for his wife because she was barren, and Yahweh answered his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² The children struggled together within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" She went to ask Yahweh about this.

²³ Yahweh said to her,

"Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger."

²⁴ When it was time for her to give birth, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first child came out red all over like a hairy garment. They called his name Esau. ²⁶ After that, his brother came out. His hand was grasping Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when his wife bore them.

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a quiet man, who spent his time in the tents. ²⁸ Now Isaac loved Esau because he ate the animals that he had hunted, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Jacob cooked some stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was weak from hunger. ³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me with that red stew. Please, I am exhausted!" That is why his name was called Edom.

³¹ Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright." ³² Esau said, "Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?" ³³ Jacob said, "First swear to me," so Esau swore an oath and in that way he sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, then got up and went on his way. In this manner Esau despised his birthright.

Chapter 26

¹ Now a famine happened in the land, besides the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek, king of the Philistines at Gerar.

² Now Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you to live in. ³ Stay in this very land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

⁴ I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ⁵ I will do this because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

⁶ So Isaac settled in Gerar. ⁷ When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister." He feared to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah, because she is so beautiful." ⁸ After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines happened to look out of a window. He saw, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

⁹ Abimelek called Isaac to him and said, "Look, certainly she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her." ¹⁰ Abimelek said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." ¹¹ So Abimelek commanded all the people and said, "Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death."

¹² Isaac planted crops in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, because Yahweh blessed him. ¹³ The man became rich, and grew more and more until he became very great. ¹⁴ He had many sheep and cattle, and a large household. The Philistines envied him.

¹⁵ Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up by filling them with earth. ¹⁶ Abimelek said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." ¹⁷ So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.

¹⁸ Once again Isaac dug out the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death. Isaac called the wells by the same names that his father had called them.

¹⁹ When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of flowing water. ²⁰ The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, and said, "This water is ours." So Isaac named that well "Esek," because they had quarreled with him.

²¹ Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that, too, so he gave it the name of "Sitnah." ²² He left there and dug yet another well, but they did not quarrel over that one. So he called it Rehoboth, and he said, "Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land."

²³ Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba. ²⁴ Yahweh appeared to him that same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants, for my servant Abraham's sake." ²⁵ Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelek went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the captain of his army. ²⁷ Isaac said to them, "Why are you coming to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

²⁸ Then they said, "We have clearly seen that Yahweh has been with you. So we decided that there should be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. So let us make a covenant with you, ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you, and as we have treated you well and have sent you away in peace. Indeed, you are blessed by Yahweh."

³⁰ So Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They rose early in the morning and swore an oath with each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

³² That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, "We have found water." ³³ He called the well Shibah, so the name of that city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took a wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

Chapter 27

¹ When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, "My son." Esau said to him, "Here I am," ² and Isaac said, "See now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

³ Therefore take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ Make delicious food for me, the sort that I love, and bring it to me so I can eat it and bless you before I die."

⁵ Now Rebekah heard it when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it back. ⁶ Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son and said, "See here, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother. He said, ⁷ 'Bring me game and make me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.'

⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock, and bring me two good kids; and I will make delicious food from them for your father, just like he loves. ¹⁰ You will take it to your father, so that he may eat it, so that he may bless you before his death."

¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "See, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father will touch me, and I will seem to him as a deceiver. I will bring a curse upon me and not a blessing."

¹³ His mother said to him, "My son, let any curse fall on me. Just obey my voice, and go, bring them to me." ¹⁴ So Jacob went and got the young goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made delicious food, just like his father loved.

¹⁵ Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau, her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ She put the delicious food and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ Jacob went to his father and said, "My father." His father said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you said to me. Now sit up and eat some of my game, that you may bless me."

²⁰ Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He said, "Because Yahweh your God brought it to me." ²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near me, so I may touch you, my son, and learn whether you are my true son Esau or not."

²² Jacob went over to Isaac his father; and Isaac touched him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." ²³ Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands, so Isaac blessed him.

²⁴ He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He replied, "I am." ²⁵ Isaac said, "Bring the food to me, and I will eat of your game, so that I may bless you." Jacob brought the food to him. Isaac ate, and Jacob brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son." ²⁷ Jacob came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him. He said,

"See, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a field

that Yahweh has blessed.

²⁸ May God give you a portion of the dew of heaven,

a portion of the fatness of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

²⁹ May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brothers,

and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

May every one who curses you be cursed;

may every one who blesses you be blessed."

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also made delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Father, get up and eat some of your son's game, so that you may bless me."

³² Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." ³³ Isaac trembled very much and said, "Who was it that hunted this game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed."

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a very great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, me also, my father." ³⁵ Isaac said, "Your brother came here deceitfully and has taken away your blessing."

³⁶ Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and, see, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Look, I have made him your master, and I have given to him all his brothers as servants, and I have given him grain and new wine. What more can I do for you, my son?"

³⁸ Esau said to his father, "Have you not even one blessing for me, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father." Esau wept loudly.

³⁹ Isaac his father answered and said to him,

"Look, the place where you live will be

far from the richness of the earth,

away from the dew of the sky above.

⁴⁰ By your sword you will live,

and you will serve your brother.

But when you rebel,

you will break his yoke off of your neck."

⁴¹ Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are near; after that I will kill my brother Jacob." ⁴² The words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "See, your brother Esau is consoling himself about you by planning to kill you.

⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey me and flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a while, until your brother's fury subsides, 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 back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?

⁴⁶ Rebekah said to Isaac, "I abhor life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes one of the daughters of Heth as a wife, like these women, some of the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

Chapter 28

¹ Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. ² Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take a wife from there, one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

³ May God Almighty bless you, make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants after you, that you may inherit the land where you have been sojourning, which God gave to Abraham."

⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take a wife from there. He also saw that Isaac had blessed him and given him a command, saying, "You must not take a wife from the women of Canaan." ⁷ Esau also saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and had gone to Paddan Aram.

⁸ Esau saw that the women of Canaan did not please Isaac his father. ⁹ So he went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones in that place, put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

¹² He dreamed and saw a stairway set up on the earth. Its top reached to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ Behold, Yahweh stood above it and said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants.

¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread far out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south. Through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. I will bring you into this land again; for I will not leave you. I will do all that I have promised to you."

¹⁶ Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it." ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, "How terrifying is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven."

¹⁸ Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head. He set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city originally was Luz.

²⁰ Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will protect me on this road on which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear, ²¹ so that I return safely to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God. ²² Then this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be a sacred stone. From everything that you give me, I will surely give a tenth back to you."

Chapter 29

¹ Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. ² As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there by it. For out of that well they would water the flocks, and the stone over the well's mouth was large. ³ When all the flocks had gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well's mouth and water the sheep, and then put the stone again over the well's mouth, back in its place.

⁴ Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They replied, "We are from Haran." ⁵ He said to them, "Do you know Laban son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him." ⁶ He said to them, "Is he well?" They said, "He is well, and, look there, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep."

⁷ Jacob said, "See, it is the middle of the day. It is not the time for the flocks to be gathered together. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze." ⁸ They said, "We cannot water them until all the flocks are gathered together. The men will then roll the stone from the well's mouth, and we will water the sheep."

⁹ While Jacob was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was tending them. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob came over, rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother.

¹¹ Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rebekah's son. Then she ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard the news about Jacob his sister's son, he ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, "You are indeed my bone and my flesh." Then Jacob stayed with him for about one month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you serve me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me, what will your wages be?" ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter."

¹⁹ 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 served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him only a few days, for the love he had for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days have been completed—so that I may go to her!" ²² So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

²³ In the evening, Laban took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, who went to her. ²⁴ Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah, to be her servant. ²⁵ In the morning, behold, it was Leah! Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

²⁶ Laban said, "It is not our custom to give the younger daughter before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete the bridal week of this daughter, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years."

²⁸ Jacob did so, and completed Leah's week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also. ²⁹ Laban also gave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel, to be her servant. ³⁰ So Jacob went to Rachel, too, but he loved Rachel more than Leah. So Jacob served Laban for seven more years.

³¹ Yahweh saw that Leah was not loved, so he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."

³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved, he has therefore given me this son also," and she called his name Simeon. ³⁴ Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Now this time will my husband be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again and bore a son. She said, "This time I will praise Yahweh." Therefore she called his name Judah; then she stopped having children.

Chapter 30

¹ When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel was jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die." ² Jacob's anger burned against Rachel. He said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

³ She said, "See, there is my servant Bilhah. Go to her, so she might give birth to children on my knees, and I will have children by her." ⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went to her.

⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me, and he has heard my voice and given me a son." For this reason she called his name Dan.

⁷ Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." She called his name Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Leah said, "This is fortunate!" so she called his name Gad.

¹² Then Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Leah said, "I am happy! For the daughters will call me happy." So she called his name Asher.

¹⁴ Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. He brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes." ¹⁵ Leah said to her, "Is it a small matter to you, that you have taken away my husband? Do you now want to take away my son's mandrakes, too?" Rachel said, "Then he will lie with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

¹⁶ Jacob came from the field in the evening. Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So Jacob lay with Leah that night. ¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant woman to my husband." She called his name Issachar.

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰ Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." She called his name Zebulun. ²¹ Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

²² God called Rachel to mind and listened to her. He caused her to become pregnant. ²³ She conceived and bore a son. She said, "God has taken away my shame." ²⁴ She called his name Joseph, saying, "Yahweh has added to me another son."

²⁵ After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, so that I may go to my own home and to my country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know the service I have given you."

²⁷ Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, wait, because I have learned by using divination that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake." ²⁸ Then he said, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."

²⁹ Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me. ³⁰ For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will I provide for my own household also?"

³¹ So Laban said, "What will I pay you?" Jacob said, "You will not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it. ³² Let me walk through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These will be my wages.

³³ My integrity will testify for me later on, when you come to check on my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen." ³⁴ Laban said, "Agreed. Let it be according to your word."

³⁵ That day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. ³⁶ Laban also put three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flocks.

³⁷ Jacob took fresh cut branches of the poplar, almond, and plane trees, and he peeled white streaks in them and made the white inner wood appear that was in the sticks. ³⁸ Then he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in front of the watering troughs where they came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

³⁹ The flocks bred in front of the sticks; and the flocks produced striped, speckled, and spotted young. ⁴⁰ Jacob separated out these lambs, but made the rest of them face toward the striped animals and all the black sheep in the flock of Laban. Then he separated out his flocks for himself alone and did not put them together with Laban's flocks.

⁴¹ Whenever the stronger sheep in the flock were breeding, then Jacob would lay the sticks in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, so that they might conceive among the sticks. ⁴² But when the feebler animals in the flock came, he did not put the sticks in front of them. So the feebler animals were Laban's, and the stronger were Jacob's.

⁴³ The man became very prosperous. He had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Chapter 31

¹ Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, that they said, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and it is from our father's possessions that he has gotten all this wealth." ² Jacob saw the look on Laban's face. He saw that his attitude toward him had changed. ³ Then Yahweh said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."

⁴ Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock ⁵ and said to them, "I see your father's attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that it is with all my strength that I have served your father.

⁷ Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not permitted him to hurt me. ⁸ If he said, 'The speckled animals will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled young. If he said, 'The striped will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore striped young. ⁹ In this way God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰ Once at the time of breeding season, I saw in a dream the male goats that were mating with the flock. The male goats were striped, speckled, and spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I said, 'Here I am.'

¹² He said, 'Lift up your eyes and see all the male goats that are breeding with the flock. They are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now rise up and leave this land and return to the land of your birth.'"

¹⁴ Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? ¹⁵ Are we not treated by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has also completely devoured our money. ¹⁶ For all the riches that God has taken away from our father are now ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it."

¹⁷ Then Jacob arose and placed his sons and his wives upon the camels. ¹⁸ He drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all his property, including the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram. Then he set out to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his flock, Rachel stole her father's household gods. ²⁰ Jacob also deceived Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had and quickly passed over the River, and headed toward the hill country of Gilead.

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ So he took his relatives with him and pursued him for a seven days' journey. He overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴ Now God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad." ²⁵ Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country. Laban also camped with his relatives in the hill country of Gilead. ¹

²⁶ Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you deceived me and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee secretly and trick me and did not tell me? I would have sent you away with celebration and with songs, with tambourine and with harps. ²⁸ You did not allow me to kiss my grandsons and my daughters good bye. Now you have acted foolishly.

²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.' ³⁰ Now you have gone away because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

³¹ Jacob answered and said to Laban, "I fled secretly because I was afraid and thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. ³² Whoever has stolen your gods will not continue to live. In the presence of our relatives, identify whatever with me is yours and take it." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. He went out of Leah's tent and entered into Rachel's tent.

³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in a camel's saddle, and sat upon them. Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ³⁵ She said to her father, "Do not be angry, my master, that I cannot stand up before you, for I am having my period." So he searched but did not find his household gods.

³⁶ Jacob was angry and argued with Laban. He said to him, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? ³⁷ For you have searched all my possessions. What have you found of all your household goods? Set them here before our relatives, so that they may judge between the two of us.

³⁸ For twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten any rams from your flocks. ³⁹ What was torn by beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it. You demanded payment from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was; in the day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night; and I went without sleep.

⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock. You have changed my wages ten times. ⁴² Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the one Isaac fears, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and my toil, and he rebuked you last night."

⁴³ Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the grandchildren are my grandchildren, and the flocks are my flocks. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ So now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be for a witness between you and me."

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a pile. Then they ate there by the pile. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸ Laban said, "This pile is a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It is also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "May Yahweh watch between you and me, when we are out of sight one from another. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take any wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."

⁵¹ Laban said to Jacob, "Look at this pile, and look at the pillar, which I have set between you and me. ⁵² This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to me, to do harm. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham, and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴ Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his relatives to eat a meal. They ate and spent the entire night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early in the morning Laban got up, kissed his grandsons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home.

¹Some modern translations have Laban also camped in the hill country of Gilead .

Chapter 32

¹ Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp," so he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³ Jacob sent messengers on ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom. ⁴ He commanded them, saying, "This is what you will say to my master Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says: 'I have been staying with Laban, and have delayed my return until now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, and flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent this message to my master, so that I may find favor in your eyes.'"

⁶ The messengers returned to Jacob and said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him." ⁷ Then Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, the herds, and the camels. ⁸ He said, "If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, then the camp that remains will escape."

⁹ Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will prosper you,' ¹⁰ I am not worthy of all your acts of covenant faithfulness and of all the trustworthiness that you have done for your servant. For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. ¹² But you said, 'I will certainly make you prosper. I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for their number.'"

¹³ Jacob stayed there that night. He took some of what he had with him as a gift for Esau, his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ These he gave into the hand of his servants, every herd by itself. He said to his servants, "Go on ahead of me and put a space between each of the herds."

¹⁷ He instructed the first servant, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose animals are these that are in front of you?' ¹⁸ Then you will say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. See, he is also coming after us.'"

¹⁹ Jacob also gave instructions to the second group, the third, and all the men who followed the herds. He said, "You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ You must also say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming after us.'" For he thought, "I will appease him with the gifts that I am sending ahead of me. Then later, when I will see him, perhaps he will receive me." ²¹ So the gifts went on ahead of him. He himself stayed that night in the camp.

²² Jacob got up during the night, and he took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons. He sent them across the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ In this way he sent them across the stream along with all his possessions.

²⁴ Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip, so that his hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

²⁷ The man said to him, "What is your name?" Jacob said, "Jacob." ²⁸ The man said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."

²⁹ Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is delivered."

³¹ The sun rose on Jacob as he passed Peniel. He was limping because of his hip. ³² That is why to this day the people of Israel do not eat the ligaments of the hip which are at the hip joint, because the man injured those ligaments while dislocating Jacob's hip.

Chapter 33

¹ Jacob looked up and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. Jacob divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. ² Then he put the female servants and their children in front, followed by Leah and her children, and followed by Rachel and Joseph last of all. ³ He himself went on ahead of them. He bowed toward the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴ Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they wept. ⁵ When Esau looked up, he saw the women and the children. He said, "Who are these people with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

⁶ Then the female servants came forward with their children, and they bowed down. ⁷ Next Leah also and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down. ⁸ Esau said, "What do you mean by all these groups that I met?" Jacob said, "To find favor in the sight of my master."

⁹ Esau said, "I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." ¹⁰ Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then accept my gift from my hand, for indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. ¹¹ Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus Jacob urged him, and Esau accepted it.

¹² Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way. I will go before you." ¹³ Jacob said to him, "My master knows that the children are young, and that the sheep and the cattle are nursing their young. If they are driven hard even one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ Please let my master go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are before me, and at the pace of the children, until I come to my master in Seir."

¹⁵ Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of my men who are with me." But Jacob said, "Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord." ¹⁶ So Esau that day started on his way back to Seir. ¹⁷ Jacob traveled to Sukkoth, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth.

¹⁸ When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. He camped near the city. ¹⁹ Then he bought the piece of ground where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. ²⁰ There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

Chapter 34

¹ Now Dinah, Leah's daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went out to meet the young women of the land. ² Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her and lay with her, and he humiliated her. ³ He was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

⁴ Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get this young woman for me as a wife." ⁵ Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. His sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶ Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of the matter. The men were offended. They were very angry because he had disgraced Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing should not have been done.

⁸ Hamor spoke with them, saying, "My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us, give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You will live with us, and the land will be open to you to live and trade in, and to acquire property."

¹¹ Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you tell me I will give. ¹² Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me, but give me the young woman as a wife." ¹³ The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, because Shechem had defiled Dinah their sister.

¹⁴ They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to anyone who is uncircumcised; for that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we agree with you: If you will become circumcised as we are, if every male among you is circumcised. ¹⁶ Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you do not listen to us and become circumcised, then we will take our sister and we will leave."

¹⁸ Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man did not delay to do what they said, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter, and because he was the most honored person in all his father's household.

²⁰ Hamor and Shechem his son went to the gate of their city and spoke with the men of their city, saying, ²¹ "These men are at peace with us, so let them live in the land and trade in it for, really, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

²² Only on this condition will the men agree to live with us and become one people: If every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock and their property—all their animals be ours? So let us agree with them, and they will live among us."

²⁴ All who went out to the gates of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem, his son. All males were circumcised, all who went out to the gates of his city. ²⁵ On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob (Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers), each took his sword and they attacked the city that was certain of its security, and they killed all the males. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword. They took Dinah from Shechem's house and went away.

²⁷ The other sons of Jacob came to the dead bodies and plundered the city, because the people had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ²⁹ They captured all their wealth, all their children, and their wives. They even plundered everything that was in the houses.

³⁰ Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, to make me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. If they gather themselves together against me and attack me, then I will be destroyed, I and my household." ³¹ But Simeon and Levi said, "Should Shechem have dealt with our sister as with a prostitute?"

Chapter 35

¹ God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from Esau your brother." ² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. ³ Then let us depart and go up to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone."

⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hand, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that was near Shechem. ⁵ As they traveled, God made panic to fall on the cities that were around them, so those people did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

⁶ So Jacob arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ He built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him, when he was fleeing from his brother. ⁸ Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died. She was buried down from Bethel under the oak tree, so it was called Allon Bakuth.

⁹ When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob. Your name will be Israel." So God called his name Israel.

¹¹ God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. ¹² The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you. To your descendants after you I also give the land." ¹³ God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken to him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering over it and poured oil on it. ¹⁵ Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

¹⁶ They journeyed on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She had hard labor. ¹⁷ While she was in hardest labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for now you will have another son." ¹⁸ As she was dying, with her dying breath she named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹ Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave. It is the marker of Rachel's grave to this day.

²¹ Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the watchtower of the flock. ²² While Israel was living in that land, Reuben lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.

Now Jacob had twelve sons.

²³ His sons by Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴ His sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵ His sons by Bilhah, Rachel's female servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, Leah's female servant, were Gad and Asher. All these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

²⁷ Jacob came to Isaac, his father, in Mamre in Kiriath Arba (the same as Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived.

²⁸ Isaac lived for one hundred eighty years. ²⁹ Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his ancestors, an old man full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

Chapter 36

¹ These were the descendants of Esau (also called Edom).

² Esau took his wives from the Canaanites. These were his wives: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

⁴ Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. ⁵ Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock—all his other animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ He did this because their possessions were too many for them to stay together. The land where they were sojourning could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau, also known as Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir.

⁹ These were the descendants of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁰ These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz son of Adah, the wife of Esau; Reuel son of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹² Timna, a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, bore Amalek. These were the grandsons of Adah, Esau's wife.

¹³ These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

¹⁴ These were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife, who was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. She bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵ These were the clans among Esau's descendants: the descendants of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the clans descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

¹⁷ These were the clans from Reuel, Esau's son: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. These were the clans descended from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

¹⁸ These were the clans of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: Jeush, Jalam, Korah. These are the clans that descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau (who was known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

²⁰ These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the clans of the Horites, the inhabitants of Seir in the land of Edom.

²² The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman, and Timna was Lotan's sister.

²³ These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴ These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he was pasturing donkeys of Zibeon his father.

²⁵ These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

²⁶ These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

²⁷ These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸ These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These were the clans of the Horites: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, Dishan: These were clans of the Horites, according to their clan lists in the land of Seir.

³¹ These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel:

³² Bela son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

³³ When Bela died, then Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.

³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham who was of the land of the Temanites, reigned in his place.

³⁵ When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.

³⁶ When Hadad died, then Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

³⁷ When Samlah died, then Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place.

³⁸ When Shaul died, then Baal-Hanan son of Akbor reigned in his place.

³⁹ When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, then Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the granddaughter of Me-Zahab.

⁴⁰ These were the names of the heads of clans from Esau's descendants, according to their clans and their regions, by their names: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These were the clan heads of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Chapter 37

¹ Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

² This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, who was a young man seventeen years old, was guarding the flock with his brothers. He was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an unfavorable report about them to their father.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. He made him a beautifully decorated garment. ⁴ His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. They hated him and would not speak peaceably to him.

⁵ Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brothers about it. They hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I dreamed.

⁷ Behold, we were tying bundles of grain in the field and behold, my bundle rose and stood upright, and behold, your bundles came around and bowed down to my bundle." ⁸ His brothers said to him, "Will you really reign over us? Will you actually rule over us?" They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream: The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." ¹⁰ He told it to his father just as to his brothers, and his father rebuked him. He said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground to you?" ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

¹² His brothers went to tend their father's flock in Shechem. ¹³ Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers tending the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." Joseph said to him, "I am ready." ¹⁴ He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and Joseph went to Shechem.

¹⁵ A certain man found Joseph. Behold, Joseph was wandering in a field. The man asked him, "What do you seek?" ¹⁶ Joseph said, "I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock." ¹⁷ The man said, "They left this place, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸ They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they plotted against him to kill him. ¹⁹ His brothers said to one another, "Look, this master of dreams is approaching. ²⁰ Come now, therefore, let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits. We will say, 'A wild animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."

²¹ Reuben heard it and rescued him from their hand. He said, "Let us not take his life." ²² Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him"—that he might rescue him out of their hand to bring him back to his father.

²³ It came about that when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his beautifully decorated garment. ²⁴ They took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty with no water in it.

²⁵ They sat down to eat bread. They lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh. They were traveling to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

²⁷ Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands upon him. For he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him. ²⁸ The Midianite merchants passed by. His brothers drew Joseph up and lifted him up out of the pit. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹ Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. He tore his clothes. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! And I, where can I go?"

³¹ They slaughtered a goat and then took Joseph's garment and dipped it into the blood. ³² Then they brought the beautifully decorated garment to their father and said, "We found this. Please see whether it is your son's garment or not." ³³ Jacob recognized it and said, "It is my son's clothing. A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has certainly been torn to pieces."

³⁴ Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth upon his loins. He mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "Indeed I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son." His father wept for him. ³⁶ The Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard.

Chapter 38

¹ It came about at that time that Judah left his brothers and stayed with a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ² He met there a daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua. He took her and went to her.

³ She conceived and had a son. He was named Er. ⁴ She conceived again and had a son. She called his name Onan. ⁵ She again had a son and called his name Shelah. It was at Kezib where she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah found a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. ⁷ Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him.

⁸ Judah said to Onan, "Go to your brother's wife. Do the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a child for your brother." ⁹ Onan knew that the child would not be his. Whenever he went to his brother's wife, he wasted it on the ground so he would not have a child for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him also.

¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house until Shelah, my son, grows up." For he feared, "He might also die, just like his brothers." Tamar left and lived in her father's house.

¹² After a long time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted and went up to the shearers of his sheep at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ Tamar was told, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." ¹⁴ She took off the clothing of her widowhood and covered herself with her veil and wrapped herself. She sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up but she had not been given to him as a wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her he thought that she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He went to her by the road and said, "Come, please let me come to you"—for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law—and she said, "What will you give me so you can come to me?"

¹⁷ He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?" ¹⁸ He said, "What pledge can I give you?" She replied, "Your seal and cord, and the staff that is in your hand." He gave them to her and he went to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹ She got up and went away. She took off her veil and put on the clothing of her widowhood. ²⁰ Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order that he might receive the pledge back from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.

²¹ Then the Adullamite asked the men of the place, "Where is the cultic prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has not been a cultic prostitute here." ²² He returned to Judah and said, "I did not find her. Also, the men of the place said, 'There has not been a cultic prostitute here.'" ²³ Judah said, "Let her keep the things, that we not be put to shame. Indeed, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her."

²⁴ It came about after about three months that it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has committed prostitution, and indeed, she is pregnant by it." Judah said, "Bring her here and let her be burned." ²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law a message, "By the man who owns these I am pregnant." She said, "Determine please whose these are, the seal and cords and staff." ²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I am, since I did not give her as a wife to Shelah, my son." He did not know her again.

²⁷ It came about at the time for her to give birth that, behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸ It came about as she was giving birth one put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand and said, "This one came out first."

²⁹ But then he drew back his hand, and, behold, his brother came out first. The midwife said, "How you have broken out!" So he was named Perez. ³⁰ Then his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread upon his hand, and he was named Zerah.

Chapter 39

¹ Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh who was captain of the guard and an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there. ² Yahweh was with Joseph and he became a prosperous man. He lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

³ His master saw that Yahweh was with him and that Yahweh prospered everything that he did. ⁴ Joseph found favor in his sight. He served Potiphar. Potiphar made Joseph manager over his house, and everything that he possessed, he put under his care.

⁵ It came about from the time that he made him manager over his house and over everything he possessed, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The blessing of Yahweh was on everything that Potiphar had in the house and in the field. ⁶ Potiphar put everything that he had under Joseph's care. He did not have to think about anything except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and attractive.

⁷ It came about after this that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." ⁸ But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not pay attention to what I do in the house, and he has put everything that he owns under my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. He has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

¹⁰ She spoke to Joseph day after day, but he refused to lie with her or to be with her. ¹¹ It came about one day that he went into the house to do his work. None of the men of the house were there in the house. ¹² She caught him by his clothes and said, "Lie with me." He left his clothing in her hand, fled, and went outside.

¹³ It came about, when she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴ that she called to the men of her house and told them, "See, Potiphar has brought in a Hebrew to mock us. He came to me to lie with me, and I screamed. ¹⁵ It came about when he heard me scream, that he left his clothing with me, fled, and went outside."

¹⁶ She set his clothing next to her until his master came home. ¹⁷ She told him this explanation, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us, came in to mock me. ¹⁸ It came about that when I screamed, he left his clothing with me and fled outside."

¹⁹ It came about that, when his master heard the explanation his wife told him, "This is what your servant did to me," he became very angry. ²⁰ Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. He was there in the prison.

²¹ But Yahweh was with Joseph and showed covenant faithfulness to him. He gave him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ²² The prison warden gave into Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, Joseph was in charge of it. ²³ The prison warden did not worry about anything that was in his hand, because Yahweh was with him. Whatever he did, Yahweh prospered.

Chapter 40

¹ It came about that after these things, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and king's baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers. ³ He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

⁴ The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he served them. They remained in custody for some time. ⁵ Both of them dreamed a dream—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison—each man had his own dream in the same night, and each dream had its own interpretation.

⁶ Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them. Behold, they were upset. ⁷ He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?" ⁸ They said to him, "We have both dreamed a dream and no one can interpret it." Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me, please."

⁹ The chief of the cupbearers told his dream to Joseph. He said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me. ¹⁰ In the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters of grapes ripened. ¹¹ Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I placed the cup into Pharaoh's hand."

¹² Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, just as when you were his cupbearer.

¹⁴ But think of me when it goes well with you, and please show kindness to me. Mention me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For indeed I was abducted out of the land of the Hebrews. Here also have I done nothing that they should put me in this dungeon."

¹⁶ When the chief of the bakers saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream, and, behold, three baskets of bread were on my head. ¹⁷ In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head."

¹⁸ Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation. The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree. The birds will eat your flesh off you."

²⁰ It came about on the third day that it was Pharaoh's birthday. He made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers, among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief of the cupbearers to his responsibility, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand again. ²² But he hanged the chief of the bakers, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot about him.

Chapter 41

¹ It came about at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream. Behold, he stood by the Nile. ² Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, desirable and fat, and they grazed in the reeds. ³ Behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, undesirable and thin. They stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

⁴ Then the undesirable and thin cows ate the seven desirable and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. ⁵ Then he slept and dreamed a second time. Behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, wholesome and good. ⁶ Behold, seven heads, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

⁷ The thin heads swallowed up the seven wholesome and full heads. Pharaoh woke up, and, behold, it was a dream. ⁸ It came about in the morning that his spirit was troubled. He sent and called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I have remembered my sins today. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, the chief baker and me. ¹¹ We dreamed a dream the same night, he and I. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

¹² There was with us there a young Hebrew man, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him and he interpreted for us our dreams. He interpreted for each of us according to his dream. ¹³ It came about as he interpreted for us, so it happened. Pharaoh restored me to my post, but the other one he hanged."

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph. They quickly took him out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, but there is no interpreter for it. But I have heard about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." ¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me. God will answer Pharaoh with favor."

¹⁷ Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the Nile. ¹⁸ Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, fat and desirable, and they grazed among the reeds.

¹⁹ Behold, seven other cows came up after them, weak, very undesirable, and thin. I never saw in all the land of Egypt such undesirableness like them. ²⁰ The thin and undesirable cows ate up the first seven fat cows. ²¹ When they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still as undesirable as before. Then I awoke.

²² I looked in my dream, and, behold, seven heads came up upon one stalk, full and good. ²³ Behold, seven more heads—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind—sprang up after them. ²⁴ The thin heads swallowed up the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but there was none that could explain it to me."

²⁵ Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are the same. What God is about to do, he has declared to Pharaoh. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are the same.

²⁷ The seven thin and undesirable cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven thin heads scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine. ²⁸ That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has revealed to Pharaoh. ²⁹ Look, seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt.

³⁰ Seven years of famine will come after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will devastate the land. ³¹ The abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. ³² That the dream was repeated to Pharaoh is because the matter has been established by God, and God will soon do it.

³³ Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and put him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them take a fifth of the crops of Egypt in the seven abundant years.

³⁵ Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, for food to be used in the cities. They should preserve it. ³⁶ The food will be a supply for the land for the seven years of famine which will be in the land of Egypt. In this way the land will not be devastated by the famine."

³⁷ This advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸ Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"

³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You will be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than you." ⁴¹ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt."

⁴² Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand. He clothed him with clothes of fine linen, and put a gold chain on his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in the second chariot which he possessed. Men shouted before him, "Bend the knee." Pharaoh put him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and apart from you, no man will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." ⁴⁵ Pharaoh called Joseph's name "Zaphenath-Paneah." He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ In the seven bountiful years the land produced abundantly.

⁴⁸ He gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities. He put into each city the food from the fields that surrounded it. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the sea, so much that he stopped counting, because it was beyond counting.

⁵⁰ Joseph had two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh, for he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." ⁵² He called the name of the second son Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

⁵³ The seven years of abundance that was in the land of Egypt came to an end. ⁵⁴ The seven years of famine began, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was food.

⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people loudly called on Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he says." ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the whole land. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ All the earth was coming to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

Chapter 42

¹ Now Jacob became aware that there was grain in Egypt. He said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" ² He said, "See here, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there so we may live and not die." ³ Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he said, "I fear that harm might come to him."

⁵ The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. ⁶ Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke severely with them. He said to them, "Where have you come from?" They said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." ⁸ Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

⁹ Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the undefended parts of the land." ¹⁰ They said to him, "No, my master. 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 He said to them, "No, you have come to see the undefended parts of the land." ¹³ They said, "We your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. See, the youngest is this day with our father, and one brother is no longer alive."

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, "It is what I said to you; you are spies. ¹⁵ By this you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave here, unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of yourselves and let him get your brother. You will remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies." ¹⁷ He put them all in custody for three days.

¹⁸ Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God. ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in this prison, but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰ Bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you will not die." So they did so.

²¹ They said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us." ²² Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen? Now, see, his blood is required of us."

²³ They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. ²⁴ He turned from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them. He took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes. ²⁵ Then Joseph commanded his servants to fill his brothers' bags with grain, and to put every man's money back into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. It was done for them.

²⁶ The brothers loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. ²⁷ As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the opening of his sack. ²⁸ He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back. Look at it; it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

²⁹ They went to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰ "The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us and thought that we were spies in the land. ³¹ We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.'

³³ The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine in your houses, and go your way. ³⁴ Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you will trade in the land.'"

³⁵ It came about as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bag of silver was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid. ³⁶ Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no longer alive, Simeon is gone, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me."

³⁷ Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him to you again." ³⁸ Jacob said, "My son will not go down with you. For his brother is dead and he alone is left. If harm comes to him on the road in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol."

Chapter 43

¹ The famine was severe in the land. ² It came about when they had eaten the grain that they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again; buy us some food."

³ Judah told him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. ⁵ But if you do not send him, we will not go down. For the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

⁶ Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?" ⁷ They said, "The man asked details about us and our family. He said, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We answered him according to these questions. How could we have known that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'"

⁸ Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me. We will rise and go that we may live and not die, both we, you, and also our children. ⁹ I will be a guarantee for him. You will hold me responsible. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have come back here a second time."

¹¹ Their father Israel said to them, "If it be so, now do this. Take some of the best products of the land in your bags. Carry down to the man a gift—some balm and honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take double money in your hand. The money that was returned in the opening of your sacks, carry again in your hand. Perhaps it was a mistake.

¹³ Take also your brother. Rise and go again to the man. ¹⁴ May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, so that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." ¹⁵ The men took this gift, and in their hand they took double the amount of money, along with Benjamin. They got up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon." ¹⁷ The steward did as Joseph said. He brought the men to Joseph's house.

¹⁸ The men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time we were brought in, that he may seek an opportunity against us. He might arrest us and take us as slaves, and take our donkeys." ¹⁹ They approached the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, ²⁰ saying, "My master, we came down the first time to buy food.

²¹ It came about, when we reached the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the opening of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hands. ²² Other money we have also brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks." ²³ The steward said, "Peace be to you, do not fear. Your God and the God of your father must have put your money in your sacks. I received your money." The steward then brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴ The steward took the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave feed to their donkeys. ²⁵ They prepared the gifts for Joseph's coming at noon, for they had heard that they would eat there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they brought the gifts which were in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the ground. ²⁷ He asked them about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

²⁸ They said, "Your servant our father is well. He is still alive." And they bowed down and gave him honor. ²⁹ When he lifted up his eyes he saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and he said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son."

³⁰ Joseph hurried to go out of the room, for he was deeply moved about his brother. He sought somewhere to weep. He went to his room and wept there. ³¹ He washed his face and came out. He controlled himself, saying, "Serve the food."

³² The servants served Joseph by himself and the brothers by themselves. The Egyptians there ate with him by themselves because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is detestable to the Egyptians. ³³ The brothers sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. The men were astonished together. ³⁴ Joseph sent portions to them from the food in front of him. But Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of his brothers. They drank freely and were merry with him.

Chapter 44

¹ Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's opening. ² Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's opening of the youngest, and also his money for the grain." The steward did as Joseph had said.

³ The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they were out of the city but were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you returned evil for good? ⁵ Is this not the cup from which my master drinks, and the cup that he uses for divination? You have done evil, this thing that you have done.'"

⁶ The steward overtook them and spoke these words to them. ⁷ They said to him, "Why does my master speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they would do such a thing.

⁸ Look, the money that we found in our sacks' openings, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then could we steal out of your master's house silver or gold? ⁹ If any of your servants is found with it, let him die, and we also will be my master's slaves." ¹⁰ The steward said, "Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom the cup is found will be my slave, and you others will be innocent."

¹¹ Then each man hurried and brought his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ¹² The steward searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes. Each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

¹⁴ Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house. He was still there, and they bowed before him to the ground. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, "What is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?"

¹⁶ Judah said, "What can we say to my master? What can we speak? Or how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Look, we are my master's slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup was found." ¹⁷ Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was found, that person will be my slave, but as for you others, go up in peace to your father."

¹⁸ Then Judah came near to him and said, "My master, please let your servant speak a word in my master's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are just like Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My master asked his servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'

²⁰ We said to my master, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one. But his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.' ²¹ Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may see him.' ²² After that, we said to my master, 'The boy cannot leave his father. For if he should leave his father his father would die.'

²³ Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' ²⁴ Then it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my master. ²⁵ Our father said, 'Go again, buy us some food.' ²⁶ Then we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then will we go down, for we will not be able to see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'

²⁷ Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ One of them went out from me and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces, and I have not seen him since." ²⁹ Now if you also take this one from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol.'

³⁰ Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the boy's life, ³¹ it will come about, when he sees the boy is not with us, he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. ³² For your servant became a guarantee for the boy to my father and said, 'If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the guilt to my father forever.'

³³ Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as slave to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I am afraid to see the evil that would come on my father."

Chapter 45

¹ Then Joseph could not control himself before all the servants who stood by him. He said loudly, "Everyone must leave me." So no servant stood by him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² He wept loudly, the Egyptians heard it, and the house of Pharaoh heard of it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" His brothers could not answer him, for they were shocked in his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." They came near. He said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

⁷ God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, master of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

⁹ Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says, "God has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine, so that you do not come to poverty, you, your household, and all that you have."'

¹² Look, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ You will tell my father about all my honor in Egypt and of all that you have seen. You will hurry and bring my father down here."

¹⁴ He hugged his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ The news of the matter was told in Pharaoh's house: "Joseph's brothers have come." It pleased Pharaoh and his servants very much. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.'

¹⁹ Now you are commanded, 'Do this, take carts out of the land of Egypt for your children and for your wives. Get your father and come. ²⁰ Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

²¹ The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To all of them he gave each man changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. ²³ For his father he sent this: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt; and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other supplies for his father for the journey.

²⁴ So he sent his brothers away and they left. He said to them, "See that you do not quarrel on the journey." ²⁵ They went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father. ²⁶ They told him saying "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." His heart was astonished, for he could not believe what they told him.

²⁷ They told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them. When Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. ²⁸ Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

Chapter 46

¹ Israel made his journey with all that he had and went to Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, saying, "Jacob, Jacob." He said, "Here I am." ³ He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. ⁴ I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up again and Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand."

⁵ Jacob rose up from Beersheba. The sons of Israel transported Jacob their father, their children, and their wives, in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ They took their livestock and their possessions that they had accumulated in the land of Canaan. They came into Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ He brought with him to Egypt his sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants.

⁸ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt: Jacob and his descendants, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn;

⁹ the sons of Reuben, Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi;

¹⁰ the sons of Simeon, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman;

¹¹ and the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹² The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

¹³ The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These were the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with his daughter Dinah. His sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷ The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; and Serah was their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel. ¹⁸ These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to Leah his daughter. These sons she bore to Jacob—sixteen in all.

¹⁹ The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ In Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On.

²¹ The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²² These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

²³ The son of Dan was Hushim.

²⁴ The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter—seven in all.

²⁶ All those who went to Egypt with Jacob, who were his direct descendants, not counting Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six in all. ²⁷ With the two sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, the people of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy in all.

²⁸ Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He saw him, hugged his neck, and wept on his neck a long time. ³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."

³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's house, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, saying, 'My brothers and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock. They have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.'

³³ It will come about, when Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?' ³⁴ that you should say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we, and our forefathers.' Do this so that you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

Chapter 47

¹ Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have arrived from the land of Canaan. See, they are in the land of Goshen." ² He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors." ⁴ Then they said to Pharaoh, "We come as temporary residents in the land. There is no pasture for your servants' flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen."

⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best region, the land of Goshen. If you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."

⁷ Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How long have you lived?" ⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130. The years of my life have been few and painful. They have not been as long as the days of my ancestors' sojourning." ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹ Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father's household, according to the number of their little ones.

¹³ Now there was no food in all the land; for the famine was severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph gathered all the money that was in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, by selling grain to the inhabitants. Then Joseph brought the money to Pharaoh's palace.

¹⁵ When all the money of the lands of Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, "Give us food! Why should we die in your presence because our money is gone?" ¹⁶ Joseph said, "If your money is gone, bring your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock." ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph. Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, for the flocks, for the herds, and for the donkeys. He fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

¹⁸ When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my master that our money is all gone, and the herds of cattle are my master's. There is nothing left in the sight of my master, except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was very severe. In this way, the land became Pharaoh's. ²¹ As for the people, he made them slaves from one end of Egypt's border to the other end. ²² It was only the land of the priests that Joseph did not buy, because the priests were given an allowance. They ate from the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land.

²³ Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you will plant the land. ²⁴ At the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field and for food for your households and your little ones."

²⁵ They said, "You have saved our lives. May we find favor in your eyes. We will be Pharaoh's servants." ²⁶ So Joseph made it a statute which is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day, that one-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

²⁷ So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. His people gained possessions there. They were fruitful and multiplied greatly. ²⁸ Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob's life were one hundred forty-seven years.

²⁹ When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh, and show me faithfulness and trustworthiness. Please do not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ When I lie down with my fathers, you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in my forefathers' burial place." Joseph said, "I will do as you have said." ³¹ Israel said, "Swear to me," and Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.

Chapter 48

¹ It came about after these things, that one said to Joseph, "Look, your father is sick." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² When Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph has arrived to see you," Israel gathered strength and sat up in bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me ⁴ and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you. I will make of you an assembly of nations. I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.'

⁵ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ The offspring who are born after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ But as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Whose are these?" ⁹ Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." Israel said, "Bring them to me, that I may bless them." ¹⁰ Now Israel's eyes were failing because of his age, so he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, but God has even allowed me to see your children." ¹² Joseph brought them out from between Israel's knees, and then he bowed with his face to the earth. ¹³ Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him.

¹⁴ Israel reached out with his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head. He crossed his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ Israel blessed Joseph, saying,

"The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has cared for me to this day,

¹⁶ the angel who has protected me from all harm,

may he bless these boys.

May my name be named in them,

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth."

¹⁷ When Joseph saw his father place his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head."

¹⁹ His father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. Yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations." ²⁰ Israel blessed them that day with these words,

"The people of Israel will pronounce blessings by your names saying,

'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh'."

In this way, Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Israel said to Joseph, "See, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² To you, as one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."

Chapter 49

¹ Then Jacob called for his sons, and said:

"Gather yourselves together,

that I may tell you what will happen to you in the future.

² Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob.

Listen to Israel, your father.

³ Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,

and the beginning of my strength,

outstanding in dignity, and outstanding in power.

⁴ Uncontrollable as rushing water,

you will not have the preeminence,

because you went up to your father's bed.

Then you defiled it; you went up to my couch.

⁵ Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Weapons of violence are their swords.

⁶ O my soul, do not come into their council;

O my glory, do not join in their meetings.

For in their anger they killed men.

It was for pleasure that they hamstrung oxen.

⁷ May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce

and their fury, for it was severe.

I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

⁸ Judah, your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.

Your father's sons will bow down before you.

⁹ Judah is a lion's cub.

My son, you have gone up from your victims.

He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, like a lioness.

Who would dare to awaken him?

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until Shiloh comes. The nations will obey him.

¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine,

and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine,

and his robe in the blood of grapes.

¹² His eyes will be as dark as wine,

and his teeth as white as milk.

¹³ Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea.

He will be a harbor for ships,

and his border will extend to Sidon.

¹⁴ Issachar is a strong donkey,

lying down between the sheepfolds.

¹⁵ He sees a good resting place

and the pleasant land.

He will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a servant for forced labor.

¹⁶ Dan will judge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷ Dan will be a snake beside the road,

a poisonous snake in the path

that bites the horse's heels,

so that his rider falls backward.

¹⁸ I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.

¹⁹ Gad—raiders will attack him,

but he will attack them at their heels.

²⁰ Asher's food will be rich,

and he will provide royal delicacies.

²¹ Naphtali is a doe let loose;

he will have beautiful fawns.

²² Joseph is a fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough near a spring,

whose branches climb over the wall.

²³ The archers will attack him bitterly

and shoot at him with hostility.

²⁴ But his bow will remain steady,

and his hands will be skillful

because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

²⁵ The God of your father will help you

and the Almighty God will bless you

with blessings of the sky above,

blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

and blessings of the breasts and womb.

²⁶ The blessings of your father are greater

than the blessings of the ancient mountains

or the desirable things of the ancient hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

even upon the crown of the head of the prince of his brothers.

²⁷ Benjamin is a hungry wolf.

In the morning he will devour the prey,

and in the evening he will divide the plunder."

²⁸ These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. Each one he blessed with an appropriate blessing. ²⁹ Then he instructed them and said to them, "I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people of Heth." ³³ When Jacob finished these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and went to his people.

Chapter 50

¹ Then Joseph was so distressed that he collapsed on the face of his father, and he wept over him, and he kissed him. ² Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ They took forty days, for that was the full time for embalming. The Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

⁴ When the days of weeping were over, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ 'My father made me swear, saying, "See, I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan. There you will bury me." Now let me go up and bury my father, and then I will return.'" ⁶ Pharaoh answered, "Go and bury your father, as he made you swear."

⁷ Joseph went up to bury his father. All the servants of Pharaoh went with him—the elders of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, ⁸ with all Joseph's household and his brothers, and his father's household. But their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went with him. It was a very large group of people.

¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned with very great and grievous sorrow. There Joseph made a seven-day mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a very sad occasion for the Egyptians." That is why the name of the place was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹² So his sons did for Jacob just as he had instructed them. ¹³ His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. Abraham had bought the cave with the field for a burial place. He had bought it from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned into Egypt, he, along with his brothers, and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph continues to be angry against us and wants to repay us in full for all the evil we did to him?" ¹⁶ So they commanded the presence of Joseph, saying, "Your father gave instructions before he died, saying, ¹⁷ 'Tell Joseph this, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin when they did evil to you."' Now please forgive the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ His brothers also went and lay facedown before him. They said, "See, we are your servants." ¹⁹ But Joseph answered them, "Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant to harm me, but God meant it for good, to preserve the lives of many people, as you see today. ²¹ So now do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children." He comforted them in this way and spoke kindly to their hearts.

²² Joseph lived in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived one hundred ten years. ²³ Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir son of Manasseh, who were placed on the knees of Joseph.

²⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die; but God will surely come to you and lead you up out of this land to the land which he swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, "God will surely come to you. At that time you must carry up my bones from here." ²⁶ So Joseph died, 110 years old. They embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Judges

Chapter 1

¹ After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked Yahweh, saying, "Who first will attack the Canaanites for us, to fight against them?" ² Yahweh said, "Judah will attack. See, I have given them control of this land." ³ The men of Judah said to men of Simeon, their brothers, "Come up with us into our territory that was assigned to us that together we may fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you to the territory that was assigned to you." So the tribe of Simeon went with them.

⁴ The men of Judah attacked, and Yahweh gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They killed ten thousand of them at Bezek. ⁵ They found Adoni-Bezek at Bezek, and they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

⁶ But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes. ⁷ Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, who had their thumbs and their big toes cut off, picked up food from under my table. As I have done, even so God has done to me." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸ The men of Judah fought against the city of Jerusalem and took it. They attacked it with the edge of the sword and they set the city on fire. ⁹ After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev, and the lowlands. ¹⁰ Judah advanced against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath Arba), and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

¹¹ From there the men of Judah advanced against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath Sepher). ¹² Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give him Aksah, my daughter, to be his wife." ¹³ Othniel, son of Kenaz (Caleb's younger brother) captured Debir, so Caleb gave him Aksah, his daughter, to be his wife.

¹⁴ Soon Aksah came to Othniel, and she urged him to ask her father to give her a field. As she was getting off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What can I do for you?" ¹⁵ She said to him, "Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negev, also give me springs of water." So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶ The descendants of Moses' father-in-law the Kenite went up from the City of Palms with the people of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev, to live with the people of Judah near Arad. ¹⁷ The men of Judah went with the men of Simeon their brothers and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and they completely destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.

¹⁸ The people of Judah also captured Gaza and the land around it, Ashkelon and the land around it, and Ekron and the land around it. ¹⁹ Yahweh was with the people of Judah and they took possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had iron chariots.

²⁰ Hebron was given to Caleb (like Moses had said), and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak. ²¹ But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²² The house of Joseph prepared to attack Bethel, and Yahweh was with them. ²³ They sent out men to spy on Bethel (the city that was formerly named Luz). ²⁴ The spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us, please, how to get into the city, and we will be kind to you."

²⁵ He showed them a way into the city, and so they attacked the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family get away. ²⁶ Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.

²⁷ The people of Manasseh did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shan and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or those who lived in Dor and its villages, or those who lived in Ibleam and its villages, or those who lived in Megiddo and its villages, because the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. ²⁸ When Israel became strong, they forced the Canaanites to serve them with hard labor, but they never drove them out completely.

²⁹ Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live in Gezer among them.

³⁰ Zebulun did not drive out the people living in Kitron, or the people living in Nahalol, and so the Canaanites continued to live among them, but Zebulun forced the Canaanites to serve them with hard labor.

³¹ Asher did not drive out the people living in Akko, or the people living in Sidon, or those living in Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. ³² So the tribe of Asher lived among the Canaanites (those who lived in the land), because they did not drive them out.

³³ The tribe of Naphtali did not drive out those who were living in Beth Shemesh, or those living in Beth Anath. So the tribe of Naphtali lived among the Canaanites (the people who were living in that land). However, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced into hard labor for Naphthali.

³⁴ The Amorites forced the tribe of Dan out into the hill country, not allowing them to come down to the plain. ³⁵ So the Amorites lived at Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the military might of the house of Joseph conquered them, and they were forced to serve them with hard labor. ³⁶ The border of the Amorites ran from the hill of Akrabbim at Sela up into the hill country.

Chapter 2

¹ The angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokim, and said, "I brought you up from Egypt, and have brought you to the land I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you. ² You must make no covenant with those who live in this land. You must break down their altars.' But you have not listened to my voice. What is this that you have done?

³ So now I say, 'I will not drive the Canaanites out before you, but they will become thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a trap for you.'" ⁴ When the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people shouted and wept. ⁵ They called the name of that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.

⁶ Now when Joshua had sent the people on their way, the people of Israel went, each to his own property, to take ownership of the land. ⁷ The people served Yahweh during the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, those who had seen all of Yahweh's great deeds he had done for Israel. ⁸ Joshua son of Nun the servant of Yahweh, died at the age of 110 years old.

⁹ They buried him within the border of his property in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All that generation was also gathered to their fathers. Another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or the deeds he had done for Israel.

¹¹ The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and they served the Baals. ¹² They broke away from Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, the very gods of the peoples who were around them, and they bowed down to them. They provoked Yahweh to anger because ¹³ they broke away from Yahweh and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

¹⁴ The anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and he gave them to the raiders who stole their possessions from them. He sold them as slaves who were held by the strength of their enemies around them, so they could no longer defend themselves against their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever Israel went out to fight, Yahweh's hand was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them and they were in terrible distress.

¹⁶ Then Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who were stealing their possessions. ¹⁷ Yet they would not listen to their judges. They were unfaithful to Yahweh and gave themselves like prostitutes to other gods and worshiped them. They soon turned aside from the way their fathers had lived—those who had obeyed the commandments of Yahweh—but they themselves did not do so.

¹⁸ When Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh helped the judges and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days the judge lived. Yahweh had pity on them as they groaned because of those who oppressed them and afflicted them. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, they would turn away and do things that were even more corrupt than their fathers had done. They would go after other gods to serve them and worship them. They refused to give up any of their evil deeds or their stubborn ways.

²⁰ The anger of Yahweh burned against Israel; he said, "Because this nation has broken the terms of my covenant that I had set in place for their fathers—because they have not listened to my voice— ²¹ I will not, from now on, drive out from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died. ²² I will do this so that I may test Israel, whether or not they will keep the way of Yahweh and walk in it, as their fathers kept it." ²³ That is why Yahweh left those nations and did not drive them out quickly and give them into the hand of Joshua.

Chapter 3

¹ Now Yahweh left these nations to test Israel, namely everyone in Israel who had not experienced any of the wars fought in Canaan. ² (He did this to teach warfare to the new generation of the people of Israel who had not known it before.) ³ These are the nations: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ¹

⁴ These nations were left as a means by which Yahweh would test Israel, to confirm whether they would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses. ⁵ So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁶ Their daughters they took to be their wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

⁷ The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and forgot Yahweh their God. They worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ⁸ Therefore, the anger of Yahweh was set on fire against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The people of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

⁹ When the people of Israel called out to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up someone who would come to help the people of Israel, and who would rescue them: Othniel son of Kenaz (Caleb's younger brother). ¹⁰ Yahweh's Spirit empowered him, and he judged Israel and he went out to war. Yahweh gave him victory over Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram. The hand of Othniel defeated Cushan-Rishathaim. ¹¹ The land had peace for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

¹² After that, the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave strength to Eglon king of Moab to overpower Israel. ¹³ Eglon joined with the Ammonites and the Amalekites and they went and defeated Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. ¹⁴ The people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ When the people of Israel called out to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent him, with their tribute payment, to Eglon king of Moab.

¹⁶ Ehud made himself a sword that had two edges, one cubit in length; he bound it to his right thigh under his clothing. ¹⁷ He gave the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.) ¹⁸ After Ehud had presented the tribute payment, he left with those who had carried it in.

¹⁹ As for Ehud himself, however, when he reached the place where the carved images were made near Gilgal, he turned and went back, and he said, "I have a secret message for you, my king." Eglon said, "Silence!" So all those serving him left the room. ²⁰ Ehud came to him. The king was sitting by himself, alone in the coolness of the upper room. Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." The king got up out of his seat.

²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and he stabbed it into the king's body. ²² The hilt of the sword also went into him following the blade. The tip of the sword came out of his back and the fat closed over it, for Ehud did not pull the sword out of his belly. ²³ Then Ehud went out on the porch and closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

²⁴ After Ehud had gone, the king's servants came; they saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, so they thought, "Surely he is relieving himself in the coolness of the upper room." ²⁵ They were growing more concerned until they felt they were neglecting their duty when the king still did not open the doors to the upper room. So they took the key and opened them, and there lay their master, fallen to the floor, dead.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, wondering what they should do, Ehud escaped and passed beyond the place where there were carved images of idols, and so he escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived, he blew a ram's horn in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hills, and he was leading them.

²⁸ He said to them, "Follow me, for Yahweh is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites." They followed him and they captured the fords of the Jordan across from the Moabites, and they did not allow anyone to cross the river. ²⁹ At that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, and all were strong and capable men. Not one escaped. ³⁰ So that day Moab was subdued by the strength of Israel, and the land had rest for eighty years.

³¹ After Ehud the next judge was Shamgar son of Anath who killed 600 men of the Philistines with a stick used to goad oxen. He also delivered Israel from danger.

¹Some modern English translations read, Hamath Pass

Chapter 4

¹ After Ehud died, the people of Israel once again did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ² Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was named Sisera, and he lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ The people of Israel called out to Yahweh for help, because Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots and he oppressed the people of Israel with force for twenty years.

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophetess (the wife of Lappidoth), was a leading judge in Israel at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came to her to settle their disputes.

⁶ She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, commands you, 'Go to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun. ⁷ I will draw out Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, to meet you by the Kishon River, with his chariots and his army, and I will give you victory over him.'"

⁸ Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go, but if you do not go with me, I will not go." ⁹ She said, "I will certainly go with you. However, the road on which you are going will not lead to your honor, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰ Barak called for the men of Zebulun and Naphtali to come together at Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah went along with him.

¹¹ Now Heber (the Kenite) had separated himself from the Kenites—they were the descendants of Hobab (Moses' father-in-law)—and he pitched his tent by the oak in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

¹² When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³ Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the soldiers who were with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴ Deborah said to Barak, "Go! For this is the day in which Yahweh has given you victory over Sisera. Is not Yahweh leading you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

¹⁵ Yahweh confused Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and ran away on foot. ¹⁶ But Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth Haggoyim, and the whole army of Sisera was killed by the edge of the sword, and not a man survived.

¹⁷ But Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn aside, my master; turn aside to me and do not be afraid." So he turned aside to her and came into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." She opened a leather bag of milk and gave him drink, and then she covered him up again. ²⁰ He said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent. If someone comes and asks you, 'Is anyone here?', say 'No'."

²¹ Then Jael (the wife of Heber) took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand and went in secretly to him, for he was in a deep sleep, and she hammered the tent peg into the side of his head until it went down into the ground, and he died. ²² As Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael want out to meet him and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man you are looking for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in the side of his head.

²³ So on that day God subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the people of Israel. ²⁴ The might of the people of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed him.

Chapter 5

¹ On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

² "When the leaders take the lead in Israel,

when the people volunteer—

praise Yahweh!

³ Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you rulers!

I, I will sing to Yahweh;

I will sing praises to Yahweh,

the God of Israel.

⁴ Yahweh, when you went out from Seir,

when you marched from Edom,

the earth shook, and the skies also trembled;

also the clouds poured down water.

⁵ The mountains quaked before the face of Yahweh;

even Mount Sinai quaked before the face of Yahweh,

the God of Israel.

⁶ In the days of Shamgar (son of Anath),

in the days of Jael,

the main roads were abandoned,

and those who walked only used the winding paths.

⁷ There were few rural people in Israel,

until I, Deborah, arose—

arose as a mother in Israel!

⁸ When they chose new gods,

there was fighting at the city gates

and yet there were no shields or spears seen

among forty thousand in Israel.

⁹ My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,

along with the people who gladly volunteered—

we bless Yahweh for them!

¹⁰ Think about this—you who ride on white donkeys

sitting on rugs for saddles,

and you who walk along the road.

¹¹ Hear the voices of those who sing

at the watering places.

There they tell again of Yahweh's righteous deeds,

and the righteous actions of his warriors in Israel.

Then the people of Yahweh went down to the city gates.

¹² Awake, awake, Deborah!

Awake, awake, sing a song!

Get up, Barak,

and capture your prisoners, you son of Abinoam.

¹³ Then the survivors came down to the nobles;

the people of Yahweh came down to me with the warriors.

¹⁴ They came from Ephraim, whose root is in Amalek;

the people of Benjamin followed you.

From Makir commanders came down,

and from Zebulun those who carry an officer's staff.

¹⁵ My princes in Issachar were with Deborah;

and Issachar was with Barak

rushing after him into the valley under his command.

Among the clans of Reuben

there were great searchings of heart.

¹⁶ Why did you sit between the fireplaces,

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks?

As for the clans of Reuben

there were great searchings of heart.

¹⁷ Gilead stayed on the other side of the Jordan;

and Dan, why did he wander about on ships?

Asher remained on the coast

and lived close to his harbors.

¹⁸ Zebulun was a people who despised their lives to the point of death,

and Naphtali, also, on the field of battle.

¹⁹ The kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach

by the waters of Megiddo.

But they took away no silver as plunder.

²⁰ From heaven the stars fought,

from their paths across the heavens they fought against Sisera.

²¹ The Kishon River swept them away,

that old river, the Kishon River.

March on my soul, be strong!

²² Then came the sound of horses' hooves—

galloping, the galloping of his mighty ones.

²³ 'Curse Meroz!' says the angel of Yahweh.

'Surely curse its inhabitants!—

because they did not come to help Yahweh—

to help Yahweh in the battle against the mighty warriors.'

²⁴ Jael is blessed more than all other women,

Jael (the wife of Heber the Kenite),

she is more blessed than all the women who live in tents.

²⁵ The man asked for water, and she gave him milk;

she brought him butter in a dish fit for princes.

²⁶ She put her hand to the tent peg,

and her right hand to the laborer's hammer;

with the hammer she struck Sisera, she crushed his head.

She smashed his skull into pieces when she pierced him through the side of his head.

²⁷ He collapsed between her feet, he fell and he lay there.

Between her feet he fell limp.

The place he collapsed is where he was violently killed.

²⁸ Out of a window she looked—

the mother of Sisera looked through the lattice and she called out in sadness,

'Why has it taken his chariot so long to come?

Why have the hoofbeats of the horses that pull his chariots been delayed?'

²⁹ Her wisest princesses replied,

and she gave herself the same answer:

³⁰ 'Have they not found and divided up the plunder—

a womb, two wombs for every man;

the plunder of dyed fabric for Sisera,

the plunder of dyed fabric embroidered,

two pieces of dyed fabric embroidered for the necks of those who plunder?'

³¹ So may all your enemies perish, Yahweh!

But your friends be like the sun when it rises in its might."

Then the land had peace for forty years.

Chapter 6

¹ The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. ² The power of Midian oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the people of Israel made shelters for themselves from the dens in the hills, the caves, and the strongholds.

³ It happened that any time the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people from the east would attack the Israelites. ⁴ They would set up their camp on the land and destroy the crops, all the way to Gaza. They would leave no food in Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.

⁵ Whenever they and their livestock and tents came up, they would come as a swarm of locusts, and it was impossible to count either the people or their camels. They invaded the land in order to destroy it. ⁶ Midian weakened the people of Israel so severely that the people of Israel called out to Yahweh.

⁷ When the people of Israel called out to Yahweh because of Midian, ⁸ Yahweh sent a prophet to the people of Israel. The prophet said to them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you out of the house of slavery.

⁹ I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all who were oppressing you. I drove them out before you, and I gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you, "I am Yahweh your God; I commanded you not to worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living." But you have not obeyed my voice.'"

¹¹ Now the angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash (the Abiezrite), while Gideon, Joash's son, was threshing wheat in the winepress—to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh is with you, you strong warrior!"

¹³ Gideon said to him, "Oh, my master, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers told us about, when they said, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has abandoned us and gave us into the hand of Midian."

¹⁴ Yahweh looked at him and said, "Go in the strength you already have. Deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" ¹⁵ Gideon said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? See, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least important in my father's house."

¹⁶ Yahweh said to him, "I will be with you, and you will defeat the entire Midianite army as one man." ¹⁷ Gideon said to him, "If you are pleased with me, then give me a sign that it is you who is speaking to me. ¹⁸ Please, do not leave here, until I come to you and bring out my gift and set it before you." Yahweh said, "I will wait until you return."

¹⁹ Gideon went and prepared a young goat and from an ephah of flour he made unleavened bread. He put the meat in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot and brought them to him under the oak tree, and presented them. ²⁰ The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth over them." That is what Gideon did.

²¹ Then the angel of Yahweh reached out with the end of the staff in his hand. With it he touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; a fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of Yahweh went away and Gideon could no longer see him.

²² Gideon understood that this was the angel of Yahweh. Gideon said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! For I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face!" ²³ Yahweh said to him, "Peace to you! Do not be afraid, you will not die." ²⁴ So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it, "Yahweh is Peace." To this day it still stands at Ophrah of the clan of Abiezer.

²⁵ That night Yahweh said to him, "Take your father's bull, and a second bull that is seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it. ²⁶ Build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this place of refuge, and construct it the correct way. Offer the second bull as a burnt offering, using the wood from the Asherah that you cut down."

²⁷ So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the town to do it during the day, he did it at night.

²⁸ In the morning when the men of the town got up, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull had been offered on the altar that had been built. ²⁹ The men of the city said to one another, "Who has done this?" When they talked with others and searched for answers, they said, "Gideon son of Joash has done this thing."

³⁰ Then the men of the town said to Joash, "Bring out your son so that he may be put to death, because he broke down the altar of Baal, and because he cut down the Asherah beside it."

³¹ Joash said to all who opposed him, "Will you plead the case for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever pleads the case for him, let him be put to death while it is still morning. If Baal is a god, let him defend himself when someone breaks his altar down." ³² Therefore on that day they called Gideon "Jerub-Baal," because he said, "Let Baal defend himself against him," because Gideon broke down Baal's altar.

³³ Now all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the people of the east gathered together. They crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

³⁴ But the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon. Gideon blew a trumpet, calling out the clan of Abiezer, so they might follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers all throughout Manasseh, and they too, were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet him.

³⁶ Gideon said to God, "If you intend to use me to save Israel, as you have said— ³⁷ Look, I am putting a woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said."

³⁸ This is what happened—Gideon rose early the next morning, he pressed the fleece together, and wrung out the dew from the fleece, enough to fill a bowl with water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me, I will speak one more time. Please allow me one more test using the fleece. This time make the fleece dry, and let there be dew on all the ground around it." ⁴⁰ God did what he asked for that night. The fleece was dry, and there was dew on all the ground around it.

Chapter 7

¹ Then Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) rose up early, and all the people who were with him, and they encamped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was to their north in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

² Yahweh said to Gideon, "There are too many soldiers for me to give you victory over the Midianites, so that Israel may not boast over me, saying, 'Our own power has saved us.' ³ Now therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people and say, 'Whoever is afraid, whoever trembles, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand people went away, and ten thousand remained.

⁴ Yahweh said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will make their number smaller for you there. If I say to you, 'This one will go with you,' he will go with you; but if I say, 'This one will not go with you,' he will not go."

⁵ So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and Yahweh said to him, "Separate everyone who laps up the water, as a dog laps, from those who kneel down to drink." ⁶ Three hundred men lapped. The rest of the men kneeled down to drink water.

⁷ Yahweh said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped, I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Let every other man go back to his own place." ⁸ So those who were chosen took their supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent away all the men of Israel, every man to his tent, but he kept the three hundred men. Now the Midian camp was down below him in the valley.

⁹ That same night Yahweh said to him, "Get up! Attack the camp, for I am going to give you victory over it. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, ¹¹ and listen to what they are saying, and your courage will be strengthened to attack the camp." So Gideon went with Purah his servant, down to the guard posts of the camp.

¹² The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the people of the east settled along in the valley, as thick as a cloud of locusts. Their camels were more than could be counted; they were more in number than the grains of the sand on the seashore.

¹³ When Gideon arrived there, a man was telling a dream to his companion. The man said, "Look! I had a dream, and I saw a round loaf of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian. It came to the tent, and hit it so hard that it fell down and turned it upside down, so that it lay flat." ¹⁴ The other man said, "This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has given him victory over Midian and all their army."

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the retelling of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down in worship. He went back to the camp of Israel and said, "Get up! Yahweh has given you victory over the Midian army." ¹⁶ He divided the three hundred men into three groups, and he gave them all rams' horns and empty jars, with torches inside each jar.

¹⁷ He said to them, "Look at me and do what I do. Watch! When I come to the edge of the camp, you must do what I do. ¹⁸ When I blow the ram's horn, I and all who are with me, then blow your ram's horns also on every side of the entire camp and shout, 'For Yahweh and for Gideon!'"

¹⁹ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp, right at the beginning of the middle watch. Just as the Midianites were changing guard, they blew the rams' horns and broke the jars that were in their hands.

²⁰ The three companies blew the rams' horns and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the rams' horns in their right hands to blow them. They shouted out, "The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon." ²¹ Every man stood in his place around the camp and all the Midianite army ran. They shouted and ran away.

²² When they blew the three hundred rams' horns, Yahweh set every Midianite man's sword against his comrades and against all their army. The army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, near Tabbath. ²³ The men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh were called out, and they went after Midian.

²⁴ Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Go down against Midian and take control of the Jordan River, as far as Beth Barah, to stop them." So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and took control of the waters, as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River. ²⁵ They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They went after the Midianites, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was on the other side of the Jordan.

Chapter 8

¹ The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, "What is this you have done to us? You did not call us when you went to fight against Midian." Then they had a violent argument with him.

² He said to them, "What have I done now compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? ³ God has given you victory over the princes of Midian—Oreb and Zeeb! What have I accomplished compared to you?" Their anger toward him died down when he said this.

⁴ Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over it, he and the three hundred men who were with him. They were exhausted, yet they still kept up the pursuit. ⁵ He said to the men of Sukkoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

⁶ Then the officials of Sukkoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand? Why should we give bread to your army?" ⁷ Gideon said, "When Yahweh has given us victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will thresh your skin with desert thorns and briers."

⁸ He went up from there to Peniel and spoke to the people there in the same way, but the men of Peniel answered him just as the men of Sukkoth had answered. ⁹ He spoke also to the men of Peniel and said, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who remained out of the entire army of the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men who drew the sword.

¹¹ Gideon went up the road taken by tent dwellers, past Nobah and Jogbehah. He defeated the enemy army, because they were not expecting an attack. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and as Gideon pursued them, he captured the two kings of Midian—Zebah and Zalmunna—and set their whole army into a panic.

¹³ Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle going through the pass of Heres. ¹⁴ He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him. The young man wrote down the names of seventy-seven officials and elders of Sukkoth.

¹⁵ Gideon came to the men of Sukkoth and said, "Look at Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you mocked me and said, 'Have you already conquered Zebah and Zalmunna? We do not know that we should give bread to your army.'" ¹⁶ Gideon took the elders of the city, and he punished the men of Sukkoth with the desert thorns and briers. ¹⁷ Then he broke down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of that city.

¹⁸ Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they. Every one of them looked like the son of a king." ¹⁹ Gideon said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you."

²⁰ He said to Jether (his firstborn), "Get up and kill them!" But the young man did not draw his sword for he was afraid, because he was still a young boy. ²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself and kill us! For as the man is, so is his strength." Gideon rose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took off the crescent-shaped ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson—because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian." ²³ Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither will my son rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you."

²⁴ Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you, that every one of you give me the earrings from his plunder."(The Midianites had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵ They answered, "We are glad to give them to you." They spread out a cloak and every man threw on it the earrings from his plunder.

²⁶ The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold. This plunder was in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple clothing that was worn by the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that had been around their camels' necks.

²⁷ Gideon made an ephod out of the earrings and put it in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there. It became a trap for Gideon and for those in his house. ²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel and they did not raise their heads up again. So the land had peace for forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹ Jerub-Baal, son of Joash, went and lived in his own house. ³⁰ Gideon had seventy sons who were his descendants, for he had many wives. ³¹ His concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son, and Gideon gave him the name Abimelek.

³² Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the clan of Abiezer.

³³ It came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, the people of Israel turned again and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.

³⁴ The people of Israel did not remember to honor Yahweh, their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side. ³⁵ They did not keep their promises to the house of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon), in return for all the good he had done in Israel.

Chapter 9

¹ Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's relatives at Shechem and he said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, ² "Please say this, so that all the leaders in Shechem may hear, 'Which is better for you, that all seventy sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that just one rule over you?' Remember that I am your bone and your flesh."

³ His mother's relatives spoke for him to the leaders of Shechem, and they agreed to follow Abimelek, for they said, "He is our brother." ⁴ They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used the silver to hire worthless and reckless men, who traveled with him.

⁵ Abimelek went to his father's house at Ophrah, and upon one stone he murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. Only Jotham was left, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, for he hid himself. ⁶ All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo came together and they went and made Abimelek king, beside the oak near the pillar which is in Shechem.

⁷ When Jotham was told about this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He shouted and said to them, "Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ⁸ The trees once went out to anoint a king over them. For they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.'

⁹ But the olive tree said to them, 'Should I give up my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, to sway over the other trees?' ¹⁰ The trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and reign over us.' ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, just so I could return and sway over the other trees?'

¹² The trees said to the vine, 'Come and reign over us.' ¹³ The vine said to them, 'Should I give up my new wine, which makes gods and mankind glad, and return and sway over the other trees?' ¹⁴ Then said all the trees to the thornbush, 'Come and reign over us.'

¹⁵ The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you truly want to anoint me as king over you, then come and find refuge under my shade. If not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and let it burn up the cedars of Lebanon.' ¹⁶ Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and honesty, when you made Abimelek king, and if you have done well concerning Jerub-Baal and his house, and if you have punished him as he deserves—

¹⁷ and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life, and rescued you out of the hand of Midian— ¹⁸ but today you have risen up against my father's house and have killed his sons, seventy persons, upon one stone. Then you have made Abimelek, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, because he is your relative.

¹⁹ If you acted with faithfulness and integrity with Jerub-Baal and his house, then you should rejoice in Abimelek, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, let fire come out from Abimelek and burn up the men of Shechem and Beth Millo. Let fire come out from the men of Shechem and Beth Millo, to burn up Abimelek." ²¹ Jotham fled and ran away, and he went to Beer. He lived there because it was far away from Abimelek, his brother.

²² Abimelek ruled over Israel for three years. ²³ God sent an evil spirit between Abimelek and the leaders of Shechem. The leaders of Shechem betrayed the trust they had with Abimelek. ²⁴ God did this so the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might be avenged and their blood be laid on Abimelek their brother, and the men of Shechem would be held responsible because they helped him murder his brothers.

²⁵ So the leaders of Shechem positioned men to lie in wait on the hilltops that they might ambush him, and they robbed all who passed by them along that road. This was reported to Abimelek.

²⁶ Gaal son of Ebed came with his relatives and they went over to Shechem. The leaders of Shechem had confidence in him. ²⁷ They went out into the field and gathered grapes from the vineyards, and they trampled on them. They held a festival in the house of their god, where they ate and drank, and they cursed Abimelek.

²⁸ Gaal son of Ebed, said, "Who is Abimelek, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal? Is Zebul not his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelek? ²⁹ I wish that this people were under my command! Then would I remove Abimelek. I would say to Abimelek, 'Call out all your army.'"

³⁰ When Zebul, the official of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed his anger was kindled. ³¹ He sent messengers to Abimelek in order to deceive, saying, "See, Gaal son of Ebed and his relatives are coming to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you.

³² Now, get up during the night, you and the soldiers with you, and prepare an ambush in the fields. ³³ Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and make a raid on the city. When he and the people with him come out against you, do whatever you can to them."

³⁴ So Abimelek got up during the night, he and all the men who were with him, and they set an ambush against Shechem—dividing into four units. ³⁵ Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the city gate. Abimelek and the men who were with him came out of their hiding place.

³⁶ When Gaal saw the men, he said to Zebul, "See, men are coming down from the hilltops!" Zebul said to him, "You are seeing the shadows on the hills like they are men." ³⁷ Gaal spoke again and said, "Look, men are coming down in the middle of the land, and one unit is coming by way of the oak of the diviners."

³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, "Where are your proud words now, you who said, 'Who is Abimelek that we should serve him?' Are these not the men you despised? Go out now and fight against them." ³⁹ Gaal went out and he was leading the men of Shechem, and he fought Abimelek. ⁴⁰ Abimelek chased him, and Gaal fled before him. Many fell with deadly wounds before the entrance to the city gate.

⁴¹ Abimelek stayed in Arumah. Zebul forced Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem. ⁴² On the next day the people of Shechem went out into the field, and this was reported to Abimelek. ⁴³ He took his people, divided them into three units, and they set an ambush in the fields. He looked and saw the people coming out from the city and he attacked and killed them.

⁴⁴ Abimelek and the units that were with him attacked and blocked the entrance to the city gate. The other two units attacked all who were in the field and killed them. ⁴⁵ Abimelek fought against the city all that day. He captured the city, and killed the people who were in it. He broke down the city walls and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ When all the leaders of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-Berith. ⁴⁷ Abimelek was told that all the leaders had gathered together at the tower of Shechem.

⁴⁸ Abimelek went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the men who were with him. Abimelek took an ax and cut off branches. He put it on his shoulder and ordered the men with him, "What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done." ⁴⁹ So every one cut off branches and followed Abimelek. They piled them against the wall of the tower, and they set the stronghold on fire, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰ Then Abimelek went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵² Abimelek came to the tower and fought against it, and he came up near to the door of the tower to burn it. ⁵³ But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelek's head and it crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Then he called urgently to the young man who was his armor-bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so no one will say about me, 'A woman killed him.'" So his young man pierced him through, and he died.

⁵⁵ When the men of Israel saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home. ⁵⁶ So God avenged the evil of Abimelek that he did to his father by killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ God made all the evil of the men of Shechem turn back on their own heads and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal.

Chapter 10

¹ After Abimelek, Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, a man from Issachar who lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim, arose to deliver Israel. ² He judged Israel twenty-three years. He died and was buried in Shamir.

³ He was followed by Jair the Gileadite. He judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. ⁵ Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

⁶ The people of Israel added to the evil they had done in the sight of Yahweh and worshiped the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned Yahweh and no longer worshiped him. ⁷ Yahweh burned with anger toward Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites.

⁸ They crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year, and for eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ⁹ Then the Ammonites crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah, against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

¹⁰ Then the people of Israel called out to Yahweh, saying, "We have sinned against you, because we abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals." ¹¹ Yahweh said to the people of Israel, "Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, ¹² and also from the Sidonians? The Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you; you called out to me, and I delivered you from their power.

¹³ Yet you abandoned me again and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not keep adding to the times I deliver you. ¹⁴ Go and call out to the gods that you have worshiped. Let them rescue you when you have trouble."

¹⁵ The people of Israel said to Yahweh, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please, rescue us this day." ¹⁶ They got rid of the foreign gods among them and they worshiped Yahweh. Then Yahweh could bear Israel's misery no longer.

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were summoned and set up camp in Gilead. The people of Israel came together and set up their camp at Mizpah. ¹⁸ The leaders of the people of Gilead said one to another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight the Ammonites? He will become the leader over all those who are living in Gilead."

Chapter 11

¹ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was his father. ² Gilead's wife also gave birth to his other sons. When his wife's sons grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave the house and said to him, "You are not going to inherit anything from our father's household. You are the son of another woman." ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless men gathered around Jephthah and they traveled with him.

⁴ Some days later, the people of Ammon made war against Israel. ⁵ When the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. ⁶ They said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader that we may fight with the people of Ammon."

⁷ Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "You hated me and forced me to leave my father's house. Why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?" ⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we are turning to you now; come with us and fight with the people of Ammon, and you will become the leader over all who live in Gilead."

⁹ Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to fight against the people of Ammon, and if Yahweh gives us victory over them, I will be your leader." ¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "May Yahweh be witness between us if we do not do as we say!" ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him leader and commander over them. When he was before Yahweh in Mizpah, Jephthah repeated all the promises he made.

¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, "What is this conflict between us? Why have you come with force to take our land?" ¹³ The king of the people of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, "Because when Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, over to the Jordan. Now give back those lands in peace."

¹⁴ Again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, ¹⁵ and he said, "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab and the land of the people of Ammon, ¹⁶ but they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds and on to Kadesh.

¹⁷ When Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let us pass through your land,' the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. ¹⁸ Then they went through the wilderness and turned away from the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and they went along the east side of the land of Moab and they camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not go into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was Moab's border.

¹⁹ Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon; Israel said to him, 'Please, let us pass through your land to the place that is ours.' ²⁰ But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his army together and camped at Jahaz, and there he fought against Israel.

²¹ Then Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel and they defeated them. So Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country. ²² They took over everything within the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³ So then Yahweh, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, and should you now take possession of their land? ²⁴ Will you not take over the land that Chemosh, your god, gives you? So whatever land Yahweh our God has given us, we will take over. ²⁵ Now are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to have an argument with Israel? Did he ever wage war against them?

²⁶ While Israel lived for three hundred years in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon—why then did you not take them back during that time? ²⁷ I have not done you wrong, but you are doing me wrong by attacking me. Yahweh, the judge, will decide today between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon."

²⁸ But the king of the people of Ammon rejected the warning Jephthah sent him.

²⁹ Then the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed through to the people of Ammon. ³⁰ Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, "If you give me victory over the people of Ammon, ³¹ then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the people of Ammon will belong to Yahweh, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."

³² So Jephthah passed through to the people of Ammon to fight against them, and Yahweh gave him victory. ³³ He attacked them and caused a great slaughter from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim. So the people of Ammon were subdued before the people of Israel.

³⁴ Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah, and there his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. She was his only child, and besides her he had neither son nor daughter. ³⁵ As soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Oh! My daughter! You have crushed me with sorrow, and you have become one who troubles me! For I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I cannot turn back on my promise."

³⁶ She said to him, "My father, you have made a vow to Yahweh, do to me everything you promised, because Yahweh has taken vengeance for you against your enemies, the Ammonites." ³⁷ She said to her father, "Let this promise be kept for me. Leave me alone for two months, that I may leave and go down to the hills and grieve over my virginity, I and my companions."

³⁸ He said, "Go." He sent her away for two months. She left him, she and her companions, and they grieved her virginity in the hills. ³⁹ At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did with her according to the promise of the vow he had made. Now she had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ that the daughters of Israel every year, for four days, would retell the story of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Chapter 12

¹ A call went out to the men of Ephraim; they passed through Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass through to fight against the people of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you." ² Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were in a great conflict with the people of Ammon. When I called you, you did not rescue me from them.

³ When I saw that you did not rescue me, I put my life in my own hand and passed through against the people of Ammon, and Yahweh gave me victory. Why have you come to fight against me today?" ⁴ Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and he fought against Ephraim. The men of Gilead attacked the men of Ephraim because they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim—in Ephraim and Manasseh."

⁵ The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. When any of the survivors of Ephraim said, "Let me go over the river," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," ⁶ then they would say to him, "Say: Shibboleth," and if he said "Sibboleth" (for he could not pronounce the word correctly), the Gileadites would seize him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

⁷ Jephthah served as a judge over Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

⁸ After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem served as a judge over Israel. ⁹ He had thirty sons. He gave away thirty daughters in marriage and he brought from the outside thirty daughters of other men for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years.

¹⁰ Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem. ¹¹ After him Elon the Zebulunite served as judge over Israel. He judged Israel for ten years. ¹² Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After him, Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite served as a judge over Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons. They rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel for eight years. ¹⁵ Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Chapter 13

¹ The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

² There was a man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and so she had not given birth.

³ The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, "See now, you have been barren, and you have not given birth, but you will conceive and you will give birth to a son. ⁴ Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean.

⁵ Look, you will become pregnant and give birth to a son. No razor will be used upon his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, very terrible. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. ⁷ He said to me, 'Look! You will become pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and do not eat any food that the law declares to be unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the time he is in your womb until the day of his death.'"

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said, "Oh, Lord, please let the man of God you sent come again to us so that he may teach us what we are to do for the child who soon will be born." ⁹ God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came to the woman again when she was sitting in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Look! The man has appeared to me—the one who came to me the other day!" ¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the man who spoke with my wife?" The man said, "I am."

¹² So Manoah said, "Now may your words come true. What will be the rules for the child, and what will be his work?" ¹³ The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "She must carefully do everything that I said to her. ¹⁴ She may not eat anything that comes from the vines, and do not let her drink wine or strong drink or eat anything unclean. She must obey everything I have commanded her to do."

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "Please stay for a while, to give us time to prepare a young goat for you." ¹⁶ The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh." (Manoah did not know that he was the angel of Yahweh.)

¹⁷ Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "What is your name, so we may honor you when your words come true?" ¹⁸ The angel of Yahweh said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is wonderful!"

¹⁹ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered them on the rock to Yahweh. He did something marvelous while Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ When the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. Manoah and his wife saw this and lay facedown on the ground.

²¹ The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh. ²² Manoah said to his wife, "We are sure to die, because we have seen God!"

²³ But his wife said to him, "If Yahweh wanted to kill us, he would not have received the burnt offering and the grain offering we gave him. He would not have shown us all these things, nor at this time would he have let us hear such things."

²⁴ Later the woman gave birth to a son, and called his name Samson. The boy grew up and Yahweh blessed him. ²⁵ Yahweh's Spirit began to stir him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Chapter 14

¹ Samson went down to Timnah, and there he saw a woman, one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² When he returned, he told his father and mother, "I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. Now get her for me to be my wife."

³ His father and mother said to him, "Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people? Are you going to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for when I look at her, she pleases me." ⁴ But his father and his mother did not know that this matter came from Yahweh, for he desired to create a conflict with the Philistines (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

⁵ Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and his mother, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And, look, there one of the young lions came up and was roaring at him. ⁶ Yahweh's Spirit suddenly came on him, and he tore the lion apart as easily as he would have torn apart a small goat, and he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷ He went and spoke with the woman, and when he looked at her, she pleased Samson. ⁸ A few days later when he returned to marry her, he turned aside to look for the carcass of the lion. And, look, there was a swarm of bees and honey in what was left of the lion's body. ⁹ He scraped up the honey in his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and his mother, he gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them he had taken the honey out of what was left of the lion's body.

¹⁰ Samson's father went down to where the woman was, and Samson gave a feast there, for this was the custom of the young men. ¹¹ As soon as her relatives saw him, they brought him thirty of their friends to be with him.

¹² Samson said to them, "Let me now tell you a riddle. If one of you can find it out and tell me the answer during the seven days of the feast, I will give out thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes. ¹³ But if you cannot tell me the answer, then you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes." They said to him, "Tell us your riddle, so we may hear it."

¹⁴ He said to them,

"Out of the eater was something to eat;

out of the strong was something sweet."

But his guests could not find the answer in three days.

¹⁵ On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, "Trick your husband so that he may tell us the answer to the riddle, or we will burn up you and your father's house. Did you invite us here in order to make us poor?"

¹⁶ Samson's wife started to weep in front of him; she said, "All you do is hate me! You do not love me. You have told a riddle to some of my people, but you have not told me the answer." Samson said to her, "Look here, if I have not told my father or my mother, should I tell you?" ¹⁷ She cried during the seven days that their feast lasted. On the seventh day he told her the answer because she pressured him very much. She told the answer to the relatives of her people.

¹⁸ Before the sun went down on the seventh day the men of the city said to him,

"What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?"

Samson said to them,

"If you had not plowed with my heifer,

you would not have found the answer to my riddle."

¹⁹ Then Yahweh's Spirit suddenly came on Samson with power. Samson went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He took their plunder, and he gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. ²⁰ Samson's wife was given to his best friend.

Chapter 15

¹ After some days, during the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said to himself, "I will go to my wife's room." But her father would not allow him to go in. ² Her father said, "I really thought you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. Her younger sister is more beautiful than she is, is she not? Take her instead."

³ Samson said to them, "This time I will be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I hurt them." ⁴ Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and he tied together each pair, tail to tail. Then he took torches and tied them in the middle of 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 they set fire to both the stacked grain and the grain standing in the field, along with the vineyards and the olive orchards. ⁶ The Philistines asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, did this because the Timnite took Samson's wife and gave her to his friend." Then the Philistines went and burned up her and her father.

⁷ Samson said to them, "If this is what you do, I will get my revenge against you, and after that is done, I will stop." ⁸ Then he cut them to pieces, hip and thigh, with a great slaughter. Then he went down and lived in a cave in the cliff of Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and spread out in Lehi. ¹⁰ The men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up so we may capture Samson, and do to him as he has done to us."

¹¹ Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this you have done to us?" Samson said to them, "They did to me, and so I have done to them."

¹² They said to Samson, "We have come down to tie you up and give you into the hands of the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves." ¹³ They said to him, "No, we will only tie you with ropes and hand you over to them. We promise we will not kill you." Then they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting as they met him. Then Yahweh's Spirit came on him with power. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and they fell off his hands.

¹⁵ Samson found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and he picked it up and killed a thousand men with it. ¹⁶ Samson said,

"With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps,

with the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men."

¹⁷ When Samson finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone, and he called the place Ramath Lehi. ¹⁸ Samson was very thirsty and called on Yahweh and said, "You have given this great victory to your servant. But now will I die of thirst and fall into the hands of those who are uncircumcised?"

¹⁹ God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi and water came out. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. So he called the name of that place En Hakkore, and it is at Lehi to this day. ²⁰ Samson judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.

Chapter 16

¹ Samson went to Gaza and saw a prostitute there, and he went to her. ² The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here." The Gazites surrounded the place and in secret, they waited for him all night at the city gate. They kept silent all night. They had said, "Let us wait until daylight, and then let us kill him."

³ Samson lay in bed until midnight. At midnight he got up and he took hold of the city gate and its two posts. He pulled them up out of the ground, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill, in front of Hebron.

⁴ After this, Samson came to love a woman who lived in the Valley of Sorek. Her name was Delilah. ⁵ The rulers of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, "Trick Samson to see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him in order to humiliate him. Do this, and each one of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

⁶ Then Delilah said to Samson, "Please, tell me how is it that you are so strong, and how could anyone bind you, so you might be controlled?" ⁷ Samson said to her, "If they tie me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man."

⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought up to Delilah seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied Samson up with them. ⁹ Now she had men hiding in secret, staying in her inner room. She said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he broke the bowstrings like a thread of yarn when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, "This is how you have deceived me and told me lies. Please, tell me how you can be overpowered." ¹¹ He said to her, "If they tie me up with new ropes which have never been used for work, I will become weak and like any other man." ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" The men lying in wait were in the inner room. But Samson tore off the ropes from his arms like they were a piece of thread.

¹³ Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you may be overpowered." Samson said to her, "If you weave seven locks of my hair into a fabric on a loom, and then nail that to the loom, I will be like any other man." ¹⁴ While he slept, Delilah wove seven locks of his hair into the fabric on the loom and nailed it to the loom, and she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" He woke from his sleep and he pulled out the fabric and the pin from the loom.

¹⁵ She said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you do not share your secrets with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me how you have such great strength." ¹⁶ Every day she pressed him hard with her words, and she pressured him so much that he wished he would die.

¹⁷ So Samson told her everything and said to her, "I have never had a razor cut the hair on my head, for I have been a Nazirite for God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like every other man."

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her the truth about everything, she sent and called for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me everything." Then the rulers of the Philistines went up to her, bringing the silver in their hands. ¹⁹ She had him fall asleep in her lap. She called for a man to shave off the seven locks of his head, and she began to subdue him, for his strength had left him.

²⁰ She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" He woke up out of his sleep and said, "I will get out like the other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that Yahweh had left him. ²¹ The Philistines captured him and put out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. He turned the millstone at the prison house. ²² But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

²³ The rulers of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. They said, "Our god has conquered Samson, our enemy, and put him in our hands." ²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has conquered our enemy and given him to us—the destroyer of our country, who killed many of us."

²⁵ When they were celebrating, they said, "Call for Samson, that he may make us laugh." They called for Samson out of the prison and he made them laugh. They made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ Samson said to the boy who held his hand, "Permit me to touch the pillars on which the building rests, so that I can lean against them."

²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women. All the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who were looking on while Samson was entertaining them.

²⁸ Samson called to Yahweh and said, "Lord Yahweh, call me to mind! Please strengthen me only this once, God, so that I may have revenge in one blow on the Philistines for taking my two eyes." ²⁹ Samson held on to the two middle pillars on which the building rested, and he leaned against them, one pillar with his right hand, and the other with his left.

³⁰ Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" He stretched out with his strength and the building fell on the rulers and on all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed when he died were more than those he killed during his life. ³¹ Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down. They took him, brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial place of Manoah, his father. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.

Chapter 17

¹ There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Micah. ² He said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you spoke a curse, and which I heard—look here! I have the silver with me. I stole it." His mother said, "May Yahweh bless you, my son!"

³ He restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother and his mother said, "I set apart this silver to Yahweh, for my son to make a carved image and a cast metal figure. So now, I restore it to you." ⁴ When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to a metal worker who made them into a carved image and a cast metal figure, and they were placed in the house of Micah.

⁵ The man Micah had a house of idols and he made an ephod and household gods, and he hired one of his sons to become his priest. ⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷ Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah, who was a Levite. He stayed there to fulfill his duties. ⁸ The man left Bethlehem in Judah to go and find a place to live. As he journeyed, he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim. ⁹ Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" The man said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am traveling to find a place where I might live."

¹⁰ Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your food." So the Levite went into his house. ¹¹ The Levite was content to live with the man, and the young man became to Micah like one of his sons.

¹² Micah set apart the Levite for sacred duties, and the young man became his priest, and was in Micah's house. ¹³ Then Micah said, "Now I know that Yahweh will do good for me, because this Levite has become my priest."

Chapter 18

¹ In those days there was no king in Israel. The tribe of the descendants of Dan was looking for a territory to live in, for up to that day they had not received any inheritance from among the tribes of Israel. ² The people of Dan sent five men from the whole number of their tribe, men who were experienced warriors from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to scout the land on foot, and to look it over. They said to them, "Go and look over the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there.

³ When they were near Micah's house, they recognized the speech of the young Levite. So they stopped and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?" ⁴ He said to them, "This is what Micah has done for me: He has hired me to become his priest."

⁵ They said to him, "Please seek the advice of God, so we may know whether the journey we are going on will be successful." ⁶ The priest said to them, "Go in peace. Yahweh will lead you in the way you should go."

⁷ Then the five men left and came to Laish, and they saw that the people were living in safety, in the same way the Sidonians lived, undisturbed and secure. There was no one who conquered them or who oppressed them in any way in the land. They lived far away from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸ They returned to their tribe in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, "What is your report?"

⁹ They said, "Come! Let us attack them! We have seen the land and it is very good. Are you doing nothing? Do not be slow to attack and conquer the land. ¹⁰ When you go, you will come to a secure people, and the land is wide! God has given it to you—a place that does not lack anything in the land."

¹¹ Six hundred men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹² They went up and camped at Kiriath Jearim, in Judah. This is why people called that place Mahaneh Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath Jearim.

¹³ They went away from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to scout the country of Laish said to their relatives, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a cast metal figure? Decide now what you will do."

¹⁵ So they turned in there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, at the house of Micah, and they greeted him. ¹⁶ Now the six hundred Danites, armed with weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.

¹⁷ The five men who had gone to scout out the land went there and they took the carved figure, the ephod, the household gods, and the cast metal figure, while the priest stood by the opening of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸ When these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the cast metal figure, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

¹⁹ They said to him, "Be quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man, or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?" ²⁰ The priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod, the household gods, and the carved figure, and went along with the people.

²¹ So they turned and went away, putting the little children, their livestock and their valuable possessions in front of them. ²² When they were a good distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called together, and they caught up with the Danites. ²³ They shouted to the Danites, and they turned and said to Micah, "Why have you been called together?"

²⁴ He said, "You stole the gods that I made, you have taken my priest, and you are leaving. What else do I have left? How can you ask me, 'What is bothering you?'" ²⁵ The people of Dan said to him, "You should not let us hear you say anything, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will be killed." ²⁶ Then the people of Dan went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷ The people of Dan took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and they came to Laish, to a people who were undisturbed and secure and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city. ²⁸ There was no one to rescue them because it was a long way from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that is near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and lived there. ²⁹ They named the city Dan, the name of Dan their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the name of the city used to be Laish.

³⁰ The people of Dan set up the carved figure for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the day of the land's captivity. ³¹ So they worshiped Micah's carved figure that he made as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Chapter 19

¹ In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a man, a Levite, living for a while in the most remote area of the hill country of Ephraim. He took for himself a woman, a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ² But his concubine acted like a prostitute against him; she left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah. She stayed there for four months.

³ Then her husband got up and went after her in order to persuade her to come back. His servant was with him, and a yoke of donkeys. She brought him into her father's house. When the girl's father saw him, he was glad to meet him. ⁴ His father-in-law, the girl's father, persuaded him to stay for three days. They ate and drank, and they spent the night there.

⁵ On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to go, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Strengthen yourself with a bit of bread, then you may go." ⁶ So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Then the girl's father said, "Please be willing to spend the night and have a good time."

⁷ When the Levite got up to leave, the father of the young woman urged him to stay, so he changed his plan and spent the night there again. ⁸ On the fifth day he woke up early to leave, but the girl's father said, "Strengthen yourself, and wait until the afternoon." So the two of them had a meal.

⁹ When the Levite and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl's father said to him, "See now, the day is advancing toward evening. Please stay another night, and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and go back home."

¹⁰ But the Levite was not willing to spend the night. He got up and left. He went toward Jebus (that is Jerusalem). He had a pair of saddled donkeys—and his concubine was with him. ¹¹ When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, "Come, let us turn aside to the city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it."

¹² His master said to him, "We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who do not belong to the people of Israel. We will go on to Gibeah." ¹³ The Levite said to his young man, "Come, let us go to one of those other places, and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah."

¹⁴ So they went on, and the sun set as they came near to Gibeah, in the territory of Benjamin. ¹⁵ They turned aside there to spend the night in Gibeah. They went and sat down in the city square, but no one took them into his house for the night.

¹⁶ But then an old man was coming from his work in the field that evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying for a while in Gibeah. But the men living in that place were Benjamites. ¹⁷ He raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the city square. The old man said, "Where are you going? Where are you coming from?"

¹⁸ The Levite said to him, "We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to the most remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, which is where I come from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of Yahweh, but there is no one who will take me into his house. ¹⁹ We have straw and feed for our donkeys, and there is bread and wine for me and your female servant here, and for this young man with your servants. We lack nothing."

²⁰ The old man greeted them, "Peace be with you! I will take care of all your needs. Only do not spend the night in the square." ²¹ So the man brought the Levite into his house and gave feed to the donkeys. They washed their feet and ate and drank.

²² While they were making their hearts glad, some men of the city, worthless men, surrounded the house, beating on the door. They spoke to the old man, the master of the house, saying, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so we can know him." ²³ The man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, please do not do this evil thing! Since this man is a guest in my house, do not do this act of disgraceful folly!

²⁴ See, my virgin daughter and his concubine are here. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them whatever you like. But do not do such an act of disgraceful folly to this man!" ²⁵ But the men would not listen to him, so the man seized his concubine and brought her out to them. They raped her and abused her all throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. ²⁶ At dawn the woman came and she fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, and she lay there until it was light.

²⁷ Her master rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way. He could see his concubine lying there at the door, with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ The Levite said to her, "Get up. Let us go." But there was no answer. He put her on the donkey, and the man set out for home.

²⁹ When the Levite came to his house, he took a knife, and he took hold of his concubine, and cut her up, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent the pieces everywhere throughout Israel. ³⁰ All who saw this said, "Such a thing has never been done or seen from the day the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this present day. Think about it! Give us advice! Tell us what to do!"

Chapter 20

¹ Then all the people of Israel—from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead also—came out, and the congregation assembled together as one man before Yahweh at Mizpah. ² The leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, took their places in the assembly of the people of God—400,000 footmen ready to fight with the sword.

³ Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The people of Israel said, "Tell us how this wicked thing happened." ⁴ The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, answered, "I came to Gibeah in the territory that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

⁵ During the night, the leaders of Gibeah attacked me, surrounding the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. ⁶ I took my concubine and cut her body into pieces, and sent them into each region of Israel's inheritance, because they have committed wickedness and an act of disgraceful folly in Israel. ⁷ Now, all you people of Israel, give your advice and counsel here."

⁸ All the people arose together as one man, and they said, "None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house! ⁹ But now this is what we must do to Gibeah: We will attack it as the lot directs us.

¹⁰ We will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of a thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to get provisions for these people, so that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may punish them for the act of disgraceful folly they committed in Israel." ¹¹ So all the men of Israel assembled against the city, united as one man.

¹² The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this wickedness that was done among you? ¹³ Therefore, give us those wicked men of Gibeah, so we may put them to death, and so we will completely remove this evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. ¹⁴ Then the sons of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to get ready to fight against the sons of Israel.

¹⁵ The people of Benjamin brought together from their cities to fight on that day twenty-six thousand soldiers who were trained to fight with the sword. In addition, there were seven hundred of their chosen men from the inhabitants of Gibeah. ¹⁶ Among all these soldiers were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed. Each of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷ The people of Israel, not counting the number from Benjamin, numbered 400,000 men, who were trained to fight with the sword. All of these were men of war. ¹⁸ The people of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked for advice from God. They asked, "Who first will attack the people of Benjamin for us?" Yahweh said, "Judah will attack first."

¹⁹ The sons of Israel got up in the morning and they moved their camp near Gibeah. ²⁰ The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin. They set up their battle positions against them at Gibeah. ²¹ The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and they killed twenty-two thousand men from among Israel on that day.

²² But the men of Israel strengthened themselves and they formed the battle line in the same place where they had taken positions on the first day. ²³ Then the people of Israel went up and they wept before Yahweh until evening, and they sought direction from Yahweh. They said, "Should we go again to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?" Yahweh said, "Attack them!"

²⁴ So the people of Israel went against the soldiers of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ On the second day, Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah and they killed eighteen thousand men from the people of Israel. All were men who trained to fight with the sword.

²⁶ Then all the people of Israel, all the people, went up to Bethel and wept, and there they sat before Yahweh and they fasted that day until the evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.

²⁷ The people of Israel asked Yahweh—for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸ and Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron, was serving before the ark in those days—"Should we go out to battle once more against the people of Benjamin, our brothers, or stop?" Yahweh said, "Attack, for tomorrow I will help you defeat them."

²⁹ So Israel set men in secret places around Gibeah. ³⁰ The people of Israel fought against the people of Benjamin for the third day, and they formed their battle lines against Gibeah as they had done before.

³¹ The people of Benjamin went and fought against the people, and they were drawn away from the city. They began to kill some of the people. There were about thirty men of Israel who died in the fields and on the roads. One of the roads went up to Bethel, and the other went to Gibeah.

³² Then the people of Benjamin said, "They are defeated and they are running away from us, just as at first." But the people Israel said, "Let us run back and draw them away from the city to the roads." ³³ All the men of Israel rose up out of their places and formed themselves into lines for battle at Baal Tamar. Then the people of Israel who had been hiding in secret places ran out from their places from Maareh Gibeah.

³⁴ Ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came out against Gibeah, and the fighting was fierce, but the Benjamites did not know that disaster was close to them. ³⁵ Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel. On that day, the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin. All these who died were those who had been trained to fight with the sword.

³⁶ So the people of Benjamin saw they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin, because they were trusting in the men they had placed in hidden positions outside Gibeah. ³⁷ Then the men who were hiding got up and hurried, and they rushed into Gibeah, and they struck all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸ The arranged signal between the men of Israel and the men hiding in secret would be that a great cloud of smoke would rise up out of the city.

³⁹ When the signal was sent the men of Israel would turn from the battle. Now Benjamin began to attack and they killed about thirty men of Israel, and they said, "It is sure that they are defeated before us, as in the first battle."

⁴⁰ But when a pillar of smoke began to rise up out of the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the smoke rising to the sky from the whole city. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned against them. The men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had come on them.

⁴² So they ran away from the men of Israel, escaping on the way to the wilderness. But the fighting overtook them. The men of Israel came out of the cities and destroyed them where they stood.

⁴³ They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and trampled them down at Nohah, all the way to the east side of Gibeah. ⁴⁴ From the tribe of Benjamin, eighteen thousand people died, all of them men who were distinguished in battle.

⁴⁵ They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. The Israelites killed five thousand more of them along the roads. They kept going after them, following them closely all the way to Gidom, and there they killed two thousand more. ⁴⁶ All the soldiers of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand—men who were trained to fight with the sword; all of them were distinguished in battle.

⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness, toward the rock of Rimmon. For four months they stayed at the rock of Rimmon. ⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned back against the descendants of Benjamin and struck down with the edge of the sword the entire city, the animals and everything that they found. They also burned down every town in their path.

Chapter 21

¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, "None of us will give his daughter to marry a Benjamite." ² Then the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, and with loud voices they wept bitterly. ³ They called out, "Why, Yahweh, God of Israel, has this happened to Israel, that one of our tribes should be missing today?"

⁴ The next day the people got up early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ⁵ The people of Israel said, "Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?" For they had made an important oath concerning anyone who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah. They said, "He would certainly be put to death."

⁶ The people of Israel had compassion for their brother Benjamin. They said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel. ⁷ Who will provide wives for those who are left, since we have made an oath to Yahweh that we will not let any of them marry our daughters?"

⁸ They said, "Which of the tribes of Israel did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?" It was found that no one had come to the assembly from Jabesh Gilead. ⁹ For when the people were set out in an orderly manner, behold, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there. ¹⁰ The assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with instructions to go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children.

¹¹ "Do this: Every male and every woman who has known a man by lying with him you will devote to destruction." ¹² The men found among those living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

¹³ The entire assembly sent a message and told the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon that they were offering them peace. ¹⁴ The Benjamites returned at that time and they were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been kept alive, but there were not enough women for all of them. ¹⁵ The people had compassion on Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a division between the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the assembly said, "How will we arrange wives for the Benjamites who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been killed?" ¹⁷ They said, "There must be an inheritance for the escaped remnant of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not destroyed from Israel.

¹⁸ We cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the people of Israel had sworn, saying, 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.'" ¹⁹ So they said, "You know there is a feast for Yahweh every year at Shiloh (which is north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah)."

²⁰ They instructed the men of Benjamin, saying, "Go and hide in secret and wait in the vineyards. ²¹ Watch for the time when the girls from Shiloh come out to dance, then rush out of the vineyards and each one of you should grab a wife from the girls of Shiloh, then go back to the land of Benjamin.

²² When their fathers or their brothers come to protest to us, we will say to them, 'Show us favor! Let them remain because we did not get wives for each man during the war. You are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'"

²³ The people of Benjamin did so. They took the number of wives that they needed from the girls who were dancing and they carried them off to be their wives. They went and returned to the place of their inheritance. They rebuilt the towns and lived in them. ²⁴ Then the people of Israel left that place and went home, each one to his own tribe and clan, and each one to his own inheritance.

²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

¹Some modern translations read Please let me glean and gather among the bundle of grain after the reapers .

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have, Put on your best piece of clothing . However, a marginal note instructs readers to read, Put on your best clothes. Translators are free to choose for themselves.

1 Samuel

Chapter 1

¹ There was a certain man of Ramathaim of the Zuphites, of the hill country of Ephraim; his name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ¹ ² He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ This man went from his city year after year to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Yahweh, were there. ⁴ When the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice each year, he always gave portions of the meat to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters.

⁵ But to Hannah he always gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival provoked her severely in order to irritate her, because Yahweh had closed her womb.

⁷ So year after year, when she went up to the house of Yahweh with her family, her rival always provoked her. Therefore she used to weep and eat nothing. ⁸ Elkanah her husband always said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

⁹ On one of these occasions, Hannah rose up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon his seat by the doorway to the temple of Yahweh. ¹⁰ She was deeply distressed; she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly.

¹¹ She made a vow and said, "Yahweh of hosts, if you will look on the affliction of your servant and call me to mind, and do not forget your servant, but give your servant a son, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor will ever touch his head."

¹² As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ Hannah spoke in her heart. Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Get rid of your wine."

¹⁵ Hannah answered, "No, my master, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before Yahweh. ¹⁶ Do not consider your servant to be a worthless woman; I have been speaking out of the abundance of my great concern and provocation."

¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace; may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked him for." ¹⁸ She said, "Let your servant find favor in your eyes." Then the woman went her way and ate; her face was no longer sad.

¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh, and then they returned again to their house in Ramah. Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. ²⁰ When the time came, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from Yahweh."

²¹ Once again, Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go; she had said to her husband, "I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh and live there forever." ²³ Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only, may Yahweh confirm his word." So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴ When she had weaned him, she took him with her, along with a three-year-old bull, ² one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the house of Yahweh in Shiloh. Now the child was still young. ²⁵ They killed the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.

²⁶ She said, "Oh, my master! As you live, my master, I am the woman who stood here next to you praying to Yahweh. ²⁷ For this child I prayed and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him. ²⁸ I have given him to Yahweh, as long as he lives he is lent to Yahweh." Then he worshiped Yahweh there. ³

¹Some modern translations have Ramathaim Zophim, but it is understood that Zophim really refers to the region in which the clan descended from Zuph resided.

²Some translations of the copies of the ancient Hebrew text have three bulls instead of a three-year-old bull .

³Some modern translations have Then they worshiped Yahweh there .

Chapter 2

¹ Hannah prayed and said,

"My heart rejoices in Yahweh.

My horn is exalted in Yahweh.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

² There is no one holy like Yahweh,

for there is none besides you;

there is no rock like our God.

³ Boast no more so very proudly;

let no arrogance come out of your mouth.

For Yahweh is a God of knowledge;

by him acts are weighed.

⁴ The bows of the mighty men are broken,

but those who stumble are girded with strength.

⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread;

those who were hungry have stopped being hungry.

Even the barren one gives birth to seven,

but the woman who has many children becomes weak.

⁶ Yahweh kills and brings to life.

He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

⁷ Yahweh makes some people poor and some rich.

He humbles, but he also lifts up.

⁸ He raises up the poor out of the dust.

He lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit the seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's

and he has set the world upon them.

⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful people,

but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness,

for no one will prevail by strength.

¹⁰ Those who oppose Yahweh will be broken to pieces;

he will thunder against them from heaven.

Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed."

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. The child served Yahweh in the presence of Eli the priest.

¹² Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know Yahweh. ¹³ The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand, while the meat was boiling. ¹⁴ He would stick it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. They did this in Shiloh with all of Israel that came there.

¹⁵ Worse, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw." ¹⁶ If the man said to him, "They must burn the fat first, and then take as much as you want." Then he would say, "No, you will give it me now; if not, I will take it by force." ¹⁷ The sin of these young men was very great before Yahweh, for they despised Yahweh's offering.

¹⁸ But Samuel served Yahweh as a child clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ His mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May Yahweh give you more children by this woman because of the request she made of Yahweh." Then they would return to their own home. ²¹ Yahweh again helped Hannah, and again she conceived. She bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before Yahweh.

²² Now Eli was very old; he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they were lying with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ He said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear. You make Yahweh's people disobey.

²⁵ If one man sins against another, God will judge him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who will speak for him?" But they would not listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh intended to kill them. ²⁶ The child Samuel grew up, and increased in favor with Yahweh and also with men.

²⁷ Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Yahweh says, 'Did I not reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to the house of Pharaoh? ²⁸ I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the people of Israel made with fire.

²⁹ Why, then, do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings, which I commanded in the place where I live? Why do you honor your sons above me by making yourselves fat with the best of every offering of my people Israel?' ³⁰ Therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.' But now Yahweh declares, 'Far be it from me to do this, for I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.

³¹ See, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will no longer be any old man in your house. ³² You will see distress in the place where I live. Although good will be given to Israel, there will no longer be any old man in your house. ³³ Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your eyes to fail, and I will cause grief in your heart, then all the increase of your house will die while men.

³⁴ This will be the sign for you that will come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do what is in my heart and in my soul. I will build him a sure house; and he will walk before my anointed king forever.

³⁶ Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him, asking for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, "Please assign me to one of the priests' positions so I can eat a piece of bread."'"

Chapter 3

¹ The child Samuel served Yahweh under Eli. Yahweh's word was rare in those days; there was no frequent prophetic vision. ² At that time, Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see well, was lying down in his own bed. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh, where the ark of God was. ⁴ Yahweh called to Samuel, who said, "Here I am."

⁵ Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Eli said, "I did not call you; lie down again." So Samuel went and lay down. ⁶ Yahweh called again, "Samuel." Again Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son; lie down again."

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet have any experience of Yahweh, nor had any message from Yahweh ever been revealed to him. ⁸ Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. Again Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli realized that Yahweh had called the boy.

⁹ Then Eli said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again; if he calls you again, you must say, 'Speak, Yahweh, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his own place once more.

¹⁰ Yahweh came and stood; he called as at the other times, "Samuel, Samuel." Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." ¹¹ Yahweh said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

¹² On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ I have told him that I am about to judge his house once for all for the iniquity that he knew about, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves and he did not stop them. ¹⁴ Because of this I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering."

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel said, "Here I am."

¹⁷ He said, "What was the word he spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and even more, if you hide anything from me of all the words that he spoke to you." ¹⁸ Samuel told him everything; he hid nothing from him. Eli said, "It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him."

¹⁹ Samuel grew up, and Yahweh was with him, and he let none of his prophetic words fall to the ground. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was appointed to be a prophet of Yahweh. ²¹ Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh, for he revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by his word.

Chapter 4

¹ The word of Samuel came to all of Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They set up camp at Ebenezer, and the Philistines set up camp at Aphek.

² The Philistines lined up for battle against Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.

³ When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh here from Shiloh, that it may be here with us, that it might keep us safe from the hands of our enemies." ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh; from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts, who sits above the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ When the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all of the people of Israel gave a great shout of joy, and the earth resounded. ⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the joyful shouting, they said, "What does this loud joyful shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they realized that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.

⁷ The Philistines were afraid; they said, "A god has come into the camp." They said, "Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before! ⁸ Woe to us! Who will protect us from the strength of these mighty gods? These are the gods who attacked the Egyptians with many different kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹ Take courage, and be men, you Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you. Be men, and fight."

¹⁰ The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Every man fled to his tent, and the slaughter was very great; for thirty thousand footmen from Israel fell. ¹¹ The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, arriving with his clothes torn and earth on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching because his heart trembled with concern for the ark of God. When the man entered the city and told the news, the whole city cried out.

¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man quickly came and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; his eyes did not focus, and he could not see.

¹⁶ The man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle line. I fled from the battle today." Eli said, "How did it go, my son?" ¹⁷ The man who brought the news answered and said, "Israel fled from the Philistines. Also, 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 taken."

¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate. His neck was broken, and he died, because he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she knelt down and gave birth, but her labor pains overwhelmed her. ²⁰ About the time of her death the women attending to her said, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or take what they said to heart.

²¹ She called the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has gone away from Israel!" for the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, "The glory has gone away from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured."

Chapter 5

¹ Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² The Philistines took the ark of God, brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it up beside Dagon. ³ When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and set him up in his place again.

⁴ But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon remained. ⁵ This is why, even today, the priests of Dagon and anyone who comes into Dagon's house does not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod.

⁶ Yahweh's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god."

⁸ So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, "What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" They answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they brought it around, Yahweh's hand was against the city, causing a very great tumult. He afflicted the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.

¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came into Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people."

¹¹ So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was a deathly tumult throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were afflicted with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to the heavens.

Chapter 6

¹ Now the ark of Yahweh was in the country of the Philistines for seven months. ² Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners; they said to them, "What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Tell us how we should send it back to its own country."

³ The priests and diviners said, "If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it without a gift; by all means send him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted off of you until now." ⁴ Then they said, "What should the guilt offering be that we are returning to him?" They replied, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, five being the number that is the same as the number of the rulers of the Philistines. For the same plague afflicted you and your rulers.

⁵ So you must make models of your tumors, and models of your mice that are ruining the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. ⁶ Why should you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? That was when the God of Israel dealt severely with them; did not the Egyptians send away the people, and they left?

⁷ Now then, prepare a new cart with two nursing cows that have never been yoked. Tie the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart, and put the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering, in a box beside it. Send it off and let it go its way, ⁹ but watch. If it goes up the road to its own land toward Beth Shemesh, then it is Yahweh who has caused us this great harm. But if not, then we will know that it is not his hand that afflicted us; it happened to us by chance."

¹⁰ The men did as they were told; they took two nursing cows, tied them to the cart, and confined their calves at home. ¹¹ They put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, together with a box containing the golden mice and the castings of their tumors. ¹² The cows went straight in the direction of Beth Shemesh. They went along one highway, lowing as they went, and they did not turn aside either to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. When they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced.

¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua from the town of Beth Shemesh and stopped there. A great stone was there, and they split the wood from the cart, and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, where the golden figures were, and put them on the great stone. The men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to Yahweh.

¹⁶ When the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned that day to Ekron.

¹⁷ These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Yahweh—one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. ¹⁸ The golden mice were the same in number as the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five rulers, both fortified cities and country villages. The great stone, beside which they set down the ark of Yahweh, remains a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite.

¹⁹ Yahweh attacked some of the men of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh. He killed 50,070 men. The people mourned, because Yahweh had given the people a great blow. ¹ ²⁰ The men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from us?"

²¹ They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down and take it back with you."

¹Instead of 50,070 men , some later copies and modern translations have, seventy men .

Chapter 7

¹ The men of Kiriath Jearim came, took the ark of Yahweh, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill. They set apart his son Eleazar to keep the ark of Yahweh. ² From the day the ark remained in Kiriath Jearim, a long time passed, twenty years. All the house of Israel lamented and wished to turn to Yahweh.

³ Samuel said to the entire house of Israel, "If you return to Yahweh with your whole heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, turn your hearts to Yahweh, and worship him only, then he will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines." ⁴ Then the people of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and worshiped Yahweh only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, "Bring together all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you." ⁶ They gathered at Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted that day and said, "We have sinned against Yahweh." It was there that Samuel decided disputes for the people of Israel and led the people.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines attacked Israel. When the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ Then the people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not stop calling out to Yahweh our God for us, so he will save us from the hand of the Philistines."

⁹ Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. Then Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and Yahweh answered him.

¹⁰ As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to attack Israel. But Yahweh thundered with a loud sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel. ¹¹ The men of Israel went from Mizpah, and they pursued the Philistines and killed them as far as below Beth Kar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far Yahweh has helped us."

¹³ So the Philistines were subdued and they did not enter the border of Israel. The hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; Israel brought back their territory from the Philistines. Then there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ Each year he went on a circuit to Bethel, to Gilgal, and to Mizpah. He decided disputes for Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would return to Ramah, because his house was there; and there also he decided disputes for Israel. He also built an altar there to Yahweh.

Chapter 8

¹ When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³ His sons did not walk in his ways, but chased after dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."

⁶ But it displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to Yahweh. ⁷ Yahweh said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in everything they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

⁸ The same deeds they have done since the day I brought them out of Egypt—abandoning me and serving other gods—they are now doing also to you. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know by what ordinances the king will reign over them."

¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who were asking for a king. ¹¹ He said, "These will be the ordinances of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots. ¹² He will appoint for himself captains of thousands and captains of fifties. He will make some plow his ground, some reap his harvest, and some make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots.

¹³ He will also take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the very best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive orchards, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give to his officers and his servants.

¹⁶ He will take your male servants and your female servants and the best of your cattle ¹ and your donkeys; he will put them all to work for him. ¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. ¹⁸ Then on that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves; but Yahweh will not answer you on that day."

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel; they said, "No! There must be a king over us ²⁰ so that we might be like all the other nations, and so that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

²¹ When Samuel heard all the words of the people he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. ²² Yahweh said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and cause a king to reign over them." So Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man must go to his own city."

¹The Hebrew text can be read as: young men instead of cattle.

Chapter 9

¹ There was a man from Benjamin, a man of great wealth. His name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Bekorath son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite. ² He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no man among the people of Israel who was a more handsome person than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, "Take one of the servants with you; arise and go search for the donkeys." ⁴ So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and went through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, let us go back, or my father may stop caring for the donkeys and become anxious about us." ⁶ But the servant said to him, "See now, there is a man of God in this city. He is a man who is held in honor; everything that he says comes true. Let us go there; maybe he can tell us which way we should go on our journey."

⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, "But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sack is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?" ⁸ The servant answered Saul and said, "Here, I have with me one-fourth of a shekel of silver that I will give to the man of God, to tell us which way we should go."

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to seek the knowledge of God's will, he said, "Come, let us go to the seer." For today's prophet was formerly called a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, "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, they found young women coming out to draw water; Saul and his servant said to them, "Is the seer here?"

¹² They answered, and said, "He is; see, he is just ahead of you. Hurry up, for he is coming to the city today, because the people are sacrificing today at the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he will bless the sacrifice; afterwards those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will find him immediately."

¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them, to go up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, Yahweh had revealed to Samuel: ¹⁶ "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you will anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked on my people with pity because their cry for help has come to me."

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh told him, "Here is the man I told you about! He is the one who will rule over my people." ¹⁸ Then Saul came close to Samuel in the gate and said, "Tell me where is the house of the seer?" ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you will eat with me. In the morning I will let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your mind.

²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. Then on whom are all the desires of Israel set? Is it not on you and all your father's house?" ²¹ Saul answered and said, "Am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel? Is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this manner?"

²² So Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them at the head place of those who had been invited, who were about thirty people.

²³ Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion which I gave to you, of which I said to you, 'Put it aside.'" ²⁴ So the cook took up the thigh and what was on it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, "See what has been kept is set before you. Eat it, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, from the time when I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the rooftop. ²⁶ Then at the break of dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the rooftop and said, "Get up, so I can send you on your way." So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

²⁷ As they were going to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go ahead of us"—and he went ahead—"but you must stay here awhile, that I may announce the message of God to you."

Chapter 10

¹ Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul's head, and kissed him. He said, "Has not Yahweh anointed you to be a ruler over his inheritance? ² When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The donkeys that you were looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, "What should I do about my son?"'

³ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will take from their hands.

⁵ After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different man.

⁷ Now, when these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. ⁸ Go down before me to Gilgal. Then I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you must do."

⁹ When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. Then all these signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰ When they came to the hill, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him so that he prophesied with them.

¹¹ When everyone who knew him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people said to each other, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets now?" ¹² A man who was from that same place answered, "Then who is their father?" Because of this, it became a saying, "Is Saul also one of the prophets?" ¹³ When he finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ Then Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, "Where did you go?" He replied, "To search for the donkeys. When we saw that we could not find them, we went to Samuel." ¹⁵ Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you." ¹⁶ Saul replied to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken.

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the people together before Yahweh at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said to the people of Israel, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' ¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all of your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, 'Set a king over us.' Now present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their clans; and the clan of the Matrites was chosen; and Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they went looking for him, he could not be found.

²² Then the people wanted to ask God more questions, "Is there still another man to come?" Yahweh answered, "He has hidden himself among the baggage." ²³ Then they ran and retrieved Saul from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, "Do you see the man whom Yahweh has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people!" All the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the customs and rules of kingship, wrote them down in a book, and placed it before Yahweh. Samuel then sent all the people away, each man to his own house.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went some strong men, whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But some worthless men said, "How can this man save us?" These people despised Saul and did not bring him any gifts. But Saul kept silent. ¹

¹Some modern translations add to this verse the following paragraph: Nahash king of the Ammonites had severely oppressed the Gadites and Reubenites. He dug out the right eye of each man and did not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Across the Jordan River was left no Israelites whose right eye Nahash king of the Ammonites had not dug out. But seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and had gone into Jabesh Gilead .

Chapter 11

¹ Then Nahash the Ammonite went and besieged Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you." ² Nahash the Ammonite replied, "On this condition will I make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all of your right eyes, and in this way bring disgrace on all Israel."

³ Then the elders of Jabesh replied to him, "Leave us alone for seven days, so that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you."

⁴ The messengers came to Gibeah, where Saul lived, and told the people what had happened. All the people wept loudly. ⁵ Now Saul was following the oxen out of the field. Saul said, "What is wrong with the people that they are weeping?" They told Saul what the men of Jabesh had said.

⁶ When Saul heard what they said, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he was very angry. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel with the messengers. He said, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, this is what will be done to his oxen." Then the terror of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out together as one man. ⁸ When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ They said to the messengers that came, "You will tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, deliverance will be yours.'" So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you."

¹¹ The next day Saul put the people in three groups. They came into the middle of the camp during the morning watch, and they attacked and defeated the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, "Who was it who said, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Bring the men, so we can put them to death." ¹³ But Saul said, "No one must be put to death this day, because today Yahweh has brought about deliverance in Israel."

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there." ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before Yahweh, and Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Chapter 12

¹ Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me, and I have set a king to reign over you. ² Now, here is the king walking before you; and I am old and gray; and, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until today.

³ Here I am; testify against me before Yahweh and before his anointed one. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with? Testify against me, and I will restore it to you."

⁴ They said, "You have not defrauded us, oppressed us, or stolen anything from any man's hand." ⁵ He said to them, "Yahweh is witness against you, and his anointed one is witness today, that you have found nothing in my hand." They replied, "Yahweh is witness."

⁶ Samuel said to the people, "It is Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, present yourself, so that I may plead with you before Yahweh about all of the righteous deeds of Yahweh, which he did for you and your fathers.

⁸ When Jacob came to Egypt, and your ancestors cried out to Yahweh, then Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and they settled in this place. ⁹ But they forgot Yahweh their God; he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the armies of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; these all fought against your ancestors.

¹⁰ They cried out to Yahweh and said, 'We have sinned, because we have abandoned Yahweh and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.' ¹¹ So Yahweh sent Jerub-Baal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and gave you victory over your enemies all around you, so that you lived in security.

¹² When you saw that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon came against you, you said to me, 'No, a king must rule over us'—even though Yahweh your God was your king. ¹³ Now here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for and whom Yahweh has now appointed as king over you.

¹⁴ If you fear Yahweh, serve him, obey his voice, and not rebel against the command of Yahweh, then both you and the king who reigns over you will be followers of Yahweh your God. ¹⁵ If you do not obey the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the commands of Yahweh, then Yahweh's hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

¹⁶ Even now present yourself and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon Yahweh, that he may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of Yahweh, in asking for yourselves a king." ¹⁸ So Samuel called to Yahweh; and that same day Yahweh sent thunder and rain. Then all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we do not die. For we have added to all our sins this evil in asking for a king for ourselves." ²⁰ Samuel replied, "Do not be afraid. You have done all this evil, but do not turn away from Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after empty things that cannot profit or rescue you, because they are useless.

²² For the sake of his great name, Yahweh will not reject his people, because it has pleased Yahweh to make you a people for himself. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the way that is good and right.

²⁴ Only fear Yahweh and serve him in truth with all your heart. Consider the great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be destroyed."

Chapter 13

¹ Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign; when he had reigned forty years over Israel, ² he chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with him in Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the soldiers he sent home, each man to his tent.

³ Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the ram's horn throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear." ⁴ All Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a rotten smell to the Philistines. Then the soldiers were summoned together to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines gathered together to fight against Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand men to drive the chariots, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They came up and encamped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven.

⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble—for the people were distressed, the people hid in caves, in the underbrush, in rocks, in wells, and in pits. ⁷ Some of the Hebrews went over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸ He waited seven days, the time Samuel had set. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from Saul. ⁹ Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." Then he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.

¹¹ Then Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were leaving me, and that you did not come within the set time, and that the Philistines had assembled at Mikmash, ¹² I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of Yahweh.' So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering."

¹³ Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God that he commanded you. For then Yahweh would have established your rule over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your rule will not continue. Yahweh has sought out a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not obeyed what he commanded you."

¹⁵ Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.

Then Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

¹⁶ Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them, stayed in Geba of Benjamin. But the Philistines camped at Mikmash.

¹⁷ Raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One group turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual. ¹⁸ Another group turned toward Beth Horon, and another group turned toward the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboyim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ No blacksmith could be found throughout all of Israel, because the Philistines said, "Otherwise the Hebrews would make swords or spears for themselves." ²⁰ But all the men of Israel used to go down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plow points, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle. ²¹ The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plow points, and the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening axes and for straightening the goads.

²² So on the day of battle, there were no swords or spears found in the hands of any of the soldiers who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. ²³ The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Mikmash.

Chapter 14

¹ One day, Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who was his armor bearer, "Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison on the other side." But he did not tell his father.

² Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron. About six hundred men were with him, ³ including Ahijah son of Ahitub (Ichabod's brother) son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, who wore an ephod. The people did not know that Jonathan was gone.

⁴ On each side of the pass through which Jonathan wanted to go in order to get to the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky cliff on one side and another rocky cliff on the other side. One rocky cliff was named Bozez and the other rocky cliff was named Seneh. ⁵ One rocky cliff stood on the north in front of Mikmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, "Come, let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised fellows. It may be that Yahweh will work on our behalf, for nothing can stop Yahweh from saving by many or by few people." ⁷ His armor bearer replied, "Do everything that is in your heart. Go ahead, see, I am with you, to obey all your commands."

⁸ Then Jonathan said, "We will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, 'Wait there until we come over to you'—then we will stay in our place and will not cross over to them. ¹⁰ But if they reply, 'Come over to us,' then we will cross over; because Yahweh has given them into our hand. This will be the sign to us."

¹¹ So both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. The Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves." ¹² Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Follow after me, because Yahweh has given them into the hand of Israel."

¹³ Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor bearer followed behind him. The Philistines were put to death before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death behind him. ¹⁴ That first attack that Jonathan and his armor bearer made, killed about twenty men within an area of half an acre.

¹⁵ There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among the people. Even the garrison and the raiders panicked. The earth quaked, and there was a great panic.

¹⁶ Then Saul's watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; the crowd of Philistine soldiers was dispersing, and they were going here and there. ¹⁷ Then Saul said to the people that were with him, "Count and see who is missing from us." When they had counted, Jonathan and his armor bearer were missing.

¹⁸ Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here," for at that time it was with the people of Israel. ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines was continuing and increasing. Then Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."

²⁰ Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into battle. Every Philistine's sword was against his fellow countrymen, and there was very great tumult. ²¹ Now those Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines, and who had gone with them into the camp, even they joined with Israel who were with Saul and Jonathan.

²² When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hills near Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, even they chased after them in battle. ²³ So Yahweh saved Israel that day, and the battle passed beyond Beth Aven.

²⁴ That day the men of Israel were distressed because Saul had put the people under an oath and said, "Cursed be the man that eats any food until evening and I am avenged on my enemies." So none of the troops tasted food. ²⁵ Then all the people entered the forest and there was honey upon the ground. ²⁶ When the people entered into the forest, the honey flowed, but no one put his hand to his mouth for the people feared the curse.

²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with an oath. He reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. ²⁸ Then one of the people, answered, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, by saying, 'Cursed be the man that eats food on this day,' even though the people are weak from hunger."

²⁹ Then Jonathan said, "My father has made trouble for the land. See how my eyes have become brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the plunder from their enemies that they found? Because now the slaughter has not been great among the Philistines."

³¹ They attacked the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon. The people were very weary. ³² The people rushed greedily on the plunder and took sheep, cattle and calves, and killed them on the ground. The people ate them with the blood.

³³ Then they told Saul, "Look, the people are sinning against Yahweh by eating with the blood." Saul said, "You have acted unfaithfully. Now, roll a big stone here to me." ³⁴ Saul said, "Go out among the people, and tell them, 'Let every man bring his cattle and his sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against Yahweh by eating meat with the blood.'" So each of the people brought his own ox with him that night and killed it there.

³⁵ Saul built an altar to Yahweh, which was the first altar that he built to Yahweh.

³⁶ Then Saul said, "Let us pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave one of them alive." They replied, "Do whatever seems good to you." But the priest said, "Let us approach God here." ³⁷ Saul asked God, "Should I pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But God did not answer him that day.

³⁸ Then Saul said, "Come here, all you leaders of the people; learn and see how this sin has happened today. ³⁹ For, as Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in Jonathan my son, he will surely die." But none of the men among all the people answered him.

⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, "You must stand on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other." The people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you." ⁴¹ Saul said, "Yahweh, God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, Yahweh, God of Israel, give the Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, give the Thummim." ¹ Then Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, but the army was exonerated. ⁴² Then Saul said, "Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son." Then Jonathan was taken by lot.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan told him, "I tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die." ⁴⁴ Saul said, "God do so and more also to me, if you do not die, Jonathan."

⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, "Should Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great salvation for Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God today." So the people ransomed Jonathan so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side. He fought against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. ⁴⁸ He acted with great courage and defeated the Amalekites. He rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

⁴⁹ The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the younger. ⁵⁰ The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam; she was the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the captain of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's uncle. ⁵¹ Kish was Saul's father; and Ner, the father of Abner, was the son of Abiel.

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. When Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.

¹The ULB is following the ancient Greek translation in the quotation. The Hebrew copies have: Give me the right answer .

Chapter 15

¹ Samuel said to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now listen to the words of Yahweh. ² This is what Yahweh of hosts says, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way, when they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go and attack Amalek and completely destroy all that they have. Do not spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, cattle and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

⁴ Saul summoned the people and numbered them at the city of Telaim—two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and waited in the valley.

⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, come out from among the Amalekites, so I do not destroy you along with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel, when they came from Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. ⁷ Then Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁸ Then he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive; he completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, as well as the best of the sheep and cattle, fattened calves and the lambs. Everything that was good, they did not destroy. But they completely destroyed anything that was despised and worthless.

¹⁰ Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ "I regret that I have set Saul to reign as king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." Samuel was angry; he cried out to Yahweh all night.

¹² Samuel got up early to meet Saul in the morning. Samuel was told, "Saul came to Carmel and he set up a monument to himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal." ¹³ Then Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you by Yahweh! I have fulfilled the command of Yahweh."

¹⁴ Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the cattle that I hear?" ¹⁵ Saul replied, "They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and cattle, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God. The rest we have completely destroyed." ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me tonight." Saul said to him, "Speak!"

¹⁷ Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel? Then Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, ¹⁸ and Yahweh sent you on your way and said, 'Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.' ¹⁹ Why did you not obey the voice of Yahweh? Why did you rush to the plunder and do what was evil in the sight of Yahweh?"

²⁰ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have indeed obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone on the way that Yahweh sent me. I have captured Agag, the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took some of the booty—sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal."

²² Samuel replied, "Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to listen is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and stubbornness is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king."

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; for I have broken Yahweh's commandment and your words, because I was afraid of the people and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now, please pardon my sin, and return with me so that I may worship Yahweh."

²⁶ Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel." ²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul took hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.

²⁸ Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours, one who is better than you. ²⁹ Also, the Strength of Israel will not lie nor change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."

³⁰ Then Saul said, "I have sinned. But please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God." ³¹ So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh.

³² Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me." Agag came to him confined with chains and said, "Surely death is bitter." ³³ Samuel replied, "As your sword has made women childless, so must your mother be childless among women." Then Samuel chopped Agag to pieces before Yahweh at Gilgal.

³⁴ Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul until the day of his death, for he mourned for Saul. Yahweh regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Chapter 16

¹ Yahweh said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected for myself a king among his sons."

² Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.' ³ Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. You will anoint for me the one whom I tell you."

⁴ Samuel did as Yahweh said and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the city were trembling as they came to meet him and said, "Are you coming in peace?" ⁵ He said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Prepare to set yourselves apart and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he set apart Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked at Eliab and said to himself that Yahweh's anointed was certainly standing before him. ⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his outward appearance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him. For Yahweh does not see as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks on the heart."

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. Then Samuel said, "Neither has Yahweh chosen this one." ⁹ Jesse then made Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Neither has Yahweh chosen this one." ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen any of these."

¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the boys?" He replied, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." ¹² Jesse sent and brought him in. Now this son was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him; for he is the one."

¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the middle of his brothers. The Spirit of Yahweh rushed on David from that day forward. Then Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of Yahweh left Saul, and a harmful spirit from Yahweh tormented him instead. ¹⁵ Saul's servants said to him, "See now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our master now command your servants who are before you to search for a man who is a skillful player on the harp. Then when the harmful spirit from God is on you, he will play it and you will be well."

¹⁷ Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man that can play well and bring him to me." ¹⁸ Then one of the young men answered, and said, "I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a strong, courageous man, a man of war, one prudent in speech, a handsome man; and Yahweh is with him." ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep."

²⁰ Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat, and sent them with his son David to Saul. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes." ²³ Whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the harp and played it. So Saul would be refreshed and well, and the harmful spirit would depart from him.

Chapter 17

¹ Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. They were gathered at Sokoh, which belongs to Judah. They had encamped between Sokoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.

² Saul and the men of Israel gathered and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up their battle line to meet 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 A strong man came out of the Philistines' camp, a man named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. ⁵ He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was clothed in scale armor of bronze that weighed five thousand shekels.

⁶ He had bronze armor on his legs and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders. ⁷ The staff of his spear was large, with a loop of cord for throwing it like the cord on a weaver's beam. His spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. His shield bearer went before him.

⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants 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 will we be your servants. But if I defeat him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us."

¹⁰ Again the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel today. Give me a man so we may fight together." ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard what the Philistine said, they were discouraged and greatly afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons. Jesse was an old man in the days of Saul, very old among men. ¹³ The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

¹⁴ David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul. ¹⁵ Now David went back and forth between Saul's army and his father's sheep at Bethlehem, in order to feed them. ¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine strong man came near morning and evening to present himself for battle.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take to your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp for your brothers. ¹⁸ Also bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand. Look to the well-being of your brothers, and bring back some evidence that they are doing well.

¹⁹ Your brothers are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines." ²⁰ David got up early in the morning and left the flock in the care of a shepherd. He took the supplies and left, as Jesse commanded him. He came to the camp as the army was going out to the battlefield shouting the war cry. ²¹ Then Israel and the Philistines lined up for battle, army against army.

²² David left his belongings with the keeper of supplies, ran to the army, and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, the strong man, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out of the ranks of the Philistines and said the same words as before, and David heard them. ²⁴ When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very afraid.

²⁵ The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? He has come to defy Israel. The king will give great riches to the man who kills him, and he will give his daughter to him in marriage, and will make his father's house free from taxation in Israel."

²⁶ David said to the men who stood by him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" ²⁷ Then the people repeated what they had been saying and told him, "So it will be done for the man who kills him."

²⁸ Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the mischief in your heart; for you have come down here so that you might see the battle." ²⁹ David said, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?" ³⁰ He turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way. The people answered the same thing as before.

³¹ When the words that David said were heard, soldiers repeated them to Saul, and he sent for David. ³² Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of that Philistine; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." ³³ Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are only a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

³⁴ But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to shepherd his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵ I chased after him and attacked him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he rose up against me, I caught him by his beard, struck him, and put him to death.

³⁶ Your servant has killed both a lion and a bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God."

³⁷ David said, "Yahweh rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear. He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." Then Saul said to David, "Go, and may Yahweh be with you." ³⁸ Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he clothed him with a coat of chainmail.

³⁹ David strapped his sword on his armor. But he was not able to walk, because he had not trained with them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go out to fight with these, for I have not trained with them." So David put them off. ⁴⁰ He took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook; he put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand as he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came and approached David, with his shield bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked around and saw David, he despised him, for he was only a boy, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ Then the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?," and the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the wild animals of the field." ⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin. But I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶ Today Yahweh will give me victory over you, and I will kill you and remove your head from your body. Today I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the heavens and to the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this gathering may know that Yahweh does not save with sword or spear. For the battle is Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand."

⁴⁸ When the Philistine rose and approached David, then David ran quickly toward the enemy army to meet him. ⁴⁹ David put his hand in his bag, took a stone from it, slung it, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank into the Philistine's forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ David defeated the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. He hit the Philistine and put him to death. There was no sword in David's hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword, drew it out of the sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.

⁵² Then the men of Israel and of Judah rose with a shout, and chased after the Philistines as far as the valley and the gates of Ekron. The dead Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, all the way to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ The people of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴ David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" Abner said, "As you live, king, I do not know." ⁵⁶ The king said, "Ask those who might know, whose son the boy is."

⁵⁷ When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸ Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

Chapter 18

¹ When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took David into his service that day; he did not let him return to his father's house.

³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant of friendship because Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ⁴ Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David with his armor, as well as his sword, bow, and belt.

⁵ David went out wherever Saul sent him, and he succeeded. Saul set him over the men of war. This was pleasing in the eyes of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

⁶ As they came home from defeating the Philistines, the women came from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ The women sang one to another as they played. They sang:

"Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his ten thousands."

⁸ Saul was very angry, and this song displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but they have ascribed only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingship?" ⁹ Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

¹⁰ The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within the house. So David played his instrument, as he did each day. Saul had a spear in his hand. ¹¹ Saul threw the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David escaped from Saul's presence twice in this way. ¹² Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, but was no longer with Saul.

¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him a commander of a thousand. In this way David went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ David was prospering in all his ways, for Yahweh was with him.

¹⁵ When Saul saw that he prospered, he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, "Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I will give her to you as a wife. Only be courageous for me and fight Yahweh's battles." For Saul thought, "Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him." ¹⁸ David said to Saul, "Who am I, and who are my relatives, or my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?"

¹⁹ But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

²⁰ But Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. They told Saul, and this pleased him. ²¹ Then Saul thought, "I will give her to him, so that she can be a trap for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David a second time, "You will be my son-in-law."

²² Saul commanded his servants, "Speak with David in private, and say, 'See, the king takes pleasure in you, and all his servants love you. Now then, become the king's son-in-law.'"

²³ So Saul's servants spoke these words to David. Then David said, "Is it a small matter to you to be the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?" ²⁴ The servants of Saul reported to him the words which David spoke.

²⁵ Then Saul said, "Say this to David, 'The king does not desire any price for the bride except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged from the king's enemies.'" Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to be the king's son-in-law.

²⁷ Before those days had expired, David went with his men and killed two hundred Philistines. David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, so that he might be the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter as his wife. ²⁸ When Saul saw, and he knew that Yahweh was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. Saul was continually David's enemy.

³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines came out for battle, and as often as they came out, David behaved more prudently than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly regarded.

Chapter 19

¹ Saul said to Jonathan his son and to all his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, took great pleasure in David. ² So Jonathan told David, "Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning and hide yourself in a secret place. ³ I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. If I learn anything, I will tell you."

⁴ Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Do not let the king sin against his servant David. For he has not sinned against you, and his deeds have brought you good. ⁵ For he took his life in his hand and killed the Philistine. Yahweh brought about great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?"

⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan. Saul swore, "As Yahweh lives, he will not be put to death." ⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸ There was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with a great slaughter. They fled before him. ⁹ A harmful spirit from Yahweh came on Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, and as David was playing his instrument.

¹⁰ Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence, so that Saul drove the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night. ¹¹ Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him that he might kill him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."

¹² So Michal let David down through the window. He went and fled, and escaped. ¹³ Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed. Then she put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes.

¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." ¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David; he said, "Bring him up to me in the bed, so that I may kill him."

¹⁶ When the messengers came in, behold, the household idol was in the bed along with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go. Why should I kill you?'"

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel in Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. ¹⁹ It was told to Saul, saying, "See, David is at Naioth in Ramah." ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came on the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

²¹ When Saul was told this, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he also went to Ramah and came to the deep well that is in Seku. He asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" Someone said, "See, they are at Naioth in Ramah."

²³ Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He stripped off his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why they ask, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Chapter 20

¹ Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said to Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks to take my life?" ² Jonathan said to David, "Far from it; you will not die. My father does nothing either great or small without telling it to me. Why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so."

³ Yet David vowed again and said, "Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes. He has said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.' But as truly as Yahweh lives, and as you live, there is but a step between me and death."

⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you." ⁵ David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, so that I may hide myself in the field until the third day at evening.

⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.' ⁷ If he says, 'It is well,' your servant will have peace. But if he is very angry, then know that he has decided on evil.

⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant. For you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?" ⁹ Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! If I learned my father decided harm to come upon you, would I not tell you?"

¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if by chance your father should answer you roughly?" ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So they both went out into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, "May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness. When I have questioned my father around this time tomorrow, or the third day, see, if there is good will toward David, will I not then send to you and make it known to you? ¹³ If it pleases my father to do you harm, may Yahweh do to Jonathan and more also if I do not make it known to you and send you away, so that you may go in peace. May Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my father.

¹⁴ If I am still alive, will you not show me the covenant faithfulness of Yahweh, that I may not die? ¹⁵ Do not cut off your covenant faithfulness from my house forever—not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David and said, "May Yahweh require an accounting from the hand of the enemies of David."

¹⁷ Jonathan made David vow again because of the love that he had for him, because he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself when this matter began, and stay by the stone Ezel.

²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send my young man and say to him, 'Go find the arrows.' If I say to the young boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them," then come; for there will be safety for you and not harm, as Yahweh lives.

²² "But if I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go your way, for Yahweh has sent you away. ²³ As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, see, Yahweh is between you and me forever.'"

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ The king sat on his seat, as usual, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side. But David's place was empty.

²⁶ Yet Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, "Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean." ²⁷ But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal either yesterday or today?"

²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked permission from me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, 'Please let me go. For our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table."

³⁰ Then Saul's anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious 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, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die."

³² Jonathan answered Saul his father, "For what reason should he be put to death? What has he done?" ³³ Then Saul threw his spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴ Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved over David, because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵ In the morning, Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and a young man was with him. ³⁶ He said to his young man, "Run and find the arrows that I shoot." As the young man ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the young man came to the place where the arrow that Jonathan shot had landed, Jonathan called after the young man, and said, "Is not the arrow beyond you?"

³⁸ Then Jonathan called after the young man, "Hurry, be quick, do not stay!" So Jonathan's young man gathered up the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹ But the young man did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, "Go, take them to the city."

⁴¹ As soon as the young man was gone, David stood up from behind the mound, lay facedown on the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, with David weeping the more. ¹ ⁴² Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the name of Yahweh and said, 'May Yahweh be between you and me, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.'" Then David stood up and left, and Jonathan returned to the city.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text read, David came out from beside the south . Modern translations interpret this passage in different ways because the text is difficult to understand.

Chapter 21

¹ Then David came to Nob to see Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek came to meet David trembling and said to him, "Why are you alone and have no one with you?" ² David said to Ahimelek the priest, "The king has sent me on a mission and has said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the business I am sending you, and what I have commanded you.' I have directed the young men to a certain place.

³ Now then what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here." ⁴ The priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women."

⁵ David answered the priest, "Surely women have been kept from us for the past three days, as usual when I set out. The things belonging to the young men have been set apart even on ordinary missions. How much more today will what they have be set apart!" ⁶ So the priest gave him the bread that was set apart. For there was no bread there except the bread of the presence, which was removed from before Yahweh, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelek, "Now is there not here on hand any spear or sword? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business was urgent." ⁹ The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take that, take it, for there is no other weapon here." David said, "There is no other sword like that one; give it to me."

¹⁰ David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish, the king of Gath. ¹¹ Achish's servants said to him, "Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another about him in dances,

'Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his ten thousands?'"

¹² David took these words to heart and was very afraid of Achish, the king of Gath. ¹³ He changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands; he made marks on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.

¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is mad. Why have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack madmen, so that you have brought this fellow to behave like one in my presence? Will this fellow really come into my house?"

Chapter 22

¹ So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. ² Everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented—they all gathered to him. David became captain over them. There were about four hundred men with him.

³ Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab. He said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother go out with you until I know what God will do for me." ¹ ⁴ He left them with the king of Moab. His father and mother stayed with him the whole time that David was in his stronghold. ⁵ Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in your stronghold. Leave and go into the land of Judah." So David left there and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ Saul heard that David had been discovered, along with the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on a hill, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.

⁷ Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Listen now, people of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, ⁸ in exchange for all of you plotting against me? None of you informs me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me. None of you informs me that my son has incited my servant David against me. Today he hides and waits for me so he may attack me."

⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered, "I saw the son of Jesse come to Nob, to Ahimelek son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ He prayed to Yahweh that he might help him, and he gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

¹¹ Then the king sent someone to summon the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob. All of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." He answered, "Here I am, my master." ¹³ Saul said to him, "Why have you plotted against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have prayed to God that he might help him, so that he might rise up against me, to hide in secret, as he does today?"

¹⁴ Then Ahimelek answered the king and said, "Who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law and is over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Is today the first time I have prayed to God to help him? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father. For your servant knows nothing of this whole matter."

¹⁶ The king replied, "You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and all your father's house." ¹⁷ The king said to the guard that stood around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh. Because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, but did not reveal it to me." But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to kill the priests of Yahweh.

¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, "Turn and kill the priests." So Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; he killed eighty-five persons who wore a linen ephod that day. ¹⁹ He also put to the sword Nob, the city of the priests, both men and women, children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep, he put to the sword.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. ²¹ Abiathar told David that Saul had killed Yahweh's priests.

²² David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for every death in your father's family! ²³ Stay with me and do not be afraid. For the one who seeks your life seeks mine as well. You will be safe with me."

¹Some ancient translations have, Please let my father and my mother stay with you, and some modern translations read this way.

Chapter 23

¹ They told David, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors." ² So David prayed to Yahweh for help and asked him, "Should I go and attack these Philistines?" Yahweh said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

³ David's men said to him, "See, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" ⁴ Then David prayed to Yahweh for help yet again. Yahweh answered him, "Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will give you victory over the Philistines."

⁵ David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines. He led away their cattle and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ When Abiathar son of Ahimelek had fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷ Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. Saul said, "God has given him into my hand. For he is shut in because he has entered a city that has gates and bars." ⁸ Saul summoned all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹ David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. He said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."

¹⁰ Then David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has indeed heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, please tell your servant." Yahweh said, "He will come down."

¹² Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?" Yahweh said, "They will surrender you."

¹³ Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, got up and went away from Keilah, and they went from place to place. It was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he stopped the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul looked for him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

¹⁵ David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life; now David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul's son, got up and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.

¹⁷ He said to him, "Do not be afraid. For the hand of Saul my father will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. Saul my father also knows this." ¹⁸ They made a covenant before Yahweh. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

¹⁹ Then Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, which is south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now come down, king! According to your desire, come down! Our part will be to surrender him into the king's hand."

²¹ Saul said, "May you be blessed by Yahweh. For you have had compassion on me. ²² Go, make even more sure. Learn and find out where his hiding place is and who has seen him there. It is told to me that he is very crafty. ²³ So look, and learn all of the places where he hides himself. Come back to me with sure information, and then I will return with you. If he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

²⁴ Then they rose up and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul and his men went to seek him. But David was told of it, so he went down to a rocky hill and lived in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard it, he chased David in the wilderness of Maon.

²⁶ Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men were going on the other side of the mountain. David hurried to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to take them, ²⁷ a messenger came to Saul and said, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land."

²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called Sela Hammahlekoth. ²⁹ David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

Chapter 24

¹ When Saul returned from chasing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the wilderness of En Gedi." ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³ He came to sheep pens on the way, where there was a cave. Saul went inside to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting far back in the cave. ⁴ David's men said to him, "This is the day of which Yahweh spoke when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, for you to do with him as you wish.'" Then David arose and quietly crept forward and cut off the corner of Saul's robe.

⁵ Afterward David's heart afflicted him because he had cut a corner off Saul's robe. ⁶ He said to his men, "May Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Yahweh's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is Yahweh's anointed." ⁷ So David rebuked his men with these words, and did not permit them to attack Saul. Saul stood up, left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸ Afterward, David also stood up, left the cave, and called out after Saul: "My master the king." When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and showed him respect. ⁹ David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the men who say, 'See, David is seeking your harm?'

¹⁰ Today your eyes have seen how Yahweh put you into my hand when we were in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, 'I will not put out my hand against my master; for he is Yahweh's anointed.' ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no evil or treason in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, even though you hunt my life to take it.

¹² May Yahweh judge between you and me, and may Yahweh avenge me against you, but my hand must not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes wickedness.' But my hand will not be against you.

¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! ¹⁵ May Yahweh be judge and give judgment between you and me, and see to it, and plead my cause and permit me to escape from your hand."

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

¹⁷ He said to David, "You are more righteous than I am. For you have repaid me good, where I have repaid you evil. ¹⁸ You have declared today how you have done good to me, for you did not kill me when Yahweh had put me at your mercy.

¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go safely? May Yahweh reward you with good for what you have done to me today. ²⁰ Now, I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

²¹ Swear to me by Yahweh that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house." ²² So David made an oath to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Chapter 25

¹ Now Samuel died. All Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

² There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel. The man was very wealthy. He had three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ The man's name was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance. But the man was harsh and evil in his dealings. He was a descendant of the house of Caleb.

⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men. David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. ⁶ You will say to him, 'Live in prosperity. Peace to you and peace to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

⁷ I hear that you have shearers. Your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing the whole time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Now let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.'"

⁹ When David's young men arrived, they said all of this to Nabal in David's name and then waited. ¹⁰ Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?"

¹² So David's young men turned away and came back, and told him everything that was said. ¹³ David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword." So every man strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed after David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife; he said, "David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he screamed at them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us. We were not harmed and did not miss anything as long as we went with them when we were in the fields.

¹⁶ They were a wall to us both day and night, all the while we were with them tending the sheep. ¹⁷ Therefore know this and consider what you will do, for evil is plotted against our master, and against his whole house. He is such a worthless fellow that one cannot reason with him."

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five sheep already prepared, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. ¹⁹ She said to her young men, "Go on before me, and I will come after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰ As she rode on her donkey and came down by the cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

²¹ Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. ²² May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by the morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him."

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from her donkey and lay before David facedown and bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴ She lay at his feet and said, "On me alone, my master, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak to you, and listen to the words of your servant.

²⁵ Let not my master regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my master, whom you sent. ²⁶ Now then, my master, as Yahweh lives, and as you live, since Yahweh has restrained you from bloodshed, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those who seek to do evil to my master, be like Nabal.

²⁷ Now let this present that your servant has brought to my master be given to the young men who follow my master. ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant, for Yahweh will certainly make my master a sure house, because my master is fighting the battles of Yahweh; and evil will not be found in you so long as you live.

²⁹ Though men rise up to pursue you to take your life, yet the life of my master will be bound in the bundle of the living by Yahweh your God; and he will sling away the lives of your enemies, as from the pocket of a sling.

³⁰ Yahweh will have done for my master everything he promised you, and has appointed you leader over Israel. ³¹ This will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my master—that you have poured out innocent blood, or because my master attempted to rescue himself. For when Yahweh will do good for my master, remember your servant."

³² David said to Abigail, "May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be blessed, he who sent you to meet me today. ³³ Your wisdom is blessed and you are blessed, because you have kept me today from bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand!

³⁴ For in truth, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, he who has kept me from hurting you, unless you had hurried to come meet me, there would certainly have not been left to Nabal so much as one male baby by the morning light." ³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, "Go up in peace to your house; see, I have listened to your voice and have accepted you."

³⁶ Abigail went back to Nabal; behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light.

³⁷ It came about in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things; his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. ³⁸ It came about ten days later that Yahweh attacked Nabal so that he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "May Yahweh be blessed, who has avenged the scorn I have received from the hand of Nabal and has kept back his servant from doing wrong. He has turned Nabal's evil action back on his own head." Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her to himself as wife. ⁴⁰ When David's servants had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her and said, "David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife."

⁴¹ She arose, bowed herself with her face to the ground, and said, "See, your female servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my master." ⁴² Abigail hurried and arose, and rode on a donkey with five servant girls of hers who followed her; and she followed David's messengers and became his wife.

⁴³ Now David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel as a wife; both of them became his wives. ⁴⁴ Also, Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Chapter 26

¹ The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding in the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon?" ² Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³ Saul camped on the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the road. But David was staying in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul was coming after him into the wilderness. ⁴ So David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come.

⁵ David arose and went to the place where Saul had camped; he saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army; Saul lay in the camp, and the people were camped around him, all asleep.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelek the Hittite, and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" Abishai said, "I! I will go down with you." ⁷ So David and Abishai went to the army by night. Saul was there sleeping inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and his soldiers lay around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has put your enemy into your hand. Now please let me pin him to the ground with the spear with just one blow. I will not strike him a second time."

⁹ David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him; for who can extend his hand against Yahweh's anointed one and be guiltless?" ¹⁰ David said, "As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will kill him, or his day will come to die, or he will go into battle and perish.

¹¹ May Yahweh forbid that I should extend my hand against his anointed one; but now, I beg you, take the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go." ¹² So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they got away. No one saw them or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain far off; a great distance was between them. ¹⁴ David shouted out to the people and to Abner son of Ner; he said, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you who is shouting to the king?"

¹⁵ David said to Abner, "Are not you a courageous man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your master the king? For someone came in to destroy the king your master. ¹⁶ This thing you have done is not good. As Yahweh lives, you deserve to die because you have not kept watch over your master, Yahweh's anointed one. Now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was near his head!"

¹⁷ Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David said, "It is my voice, my master, king." ¹⁸ He said, "Why does my master pursue his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?

¹⁹ Now therefore, I beg you, let my master the king listen to the words of his servant. If it is Yahweh who has stirred you up against me, may he be pleased with an offering; but if it is human beings, may they be cursed in the sight of Yahweh, for they have today driven me out, that I should not cling to the inheritance of Yahweh; they have said to me, 'Go worship other gods.' ²⁰ Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the earth away from Yahweh's presence; for the king of Israel has come out to search for the one flea as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

²¹ Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, David, my son; for I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes today. See, I have played the fool and have made a very bad mistake."

²² David answered and said, "See, your spear is here, king! Let one of the young men come over and get it and bring it to you. ²³ May Yahweh pay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; because Yahweh put you into my hand today, but I would not strike his anointed.

²⁴ See, as your life was precious in my eyes today, so may my life be much valued in the eyes of Yahweh, and may he rescue me out of all trouble." ²⁵ Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, David my son! You will certainly do great things and you will succeed in them." So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Chapter 27

¹ David said in his heart, "I will now perish one day by Saul's hand; there is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines; Saul will give up looking for me any more within all the borders of Israel; in this way I will escape out of his hand."

² David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish son of Maok, the king of Gath. ³ David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his own household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman, and Abigail the Carmelite woman, Nabal's wife. ⁴ Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, so he looked for him no longer.

⁵ David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" ⁶ So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; that is why Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this very day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the land of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

⁸ David and his men attacked various places, making raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, as you go to Shur, as far as the land of Egypt. They had been living there in the land from ancient times. ¹ ⁹ David attacked the land and saved neither man nor woman alive. He took away the sheep and cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and went back to Achish.

¹⁰ Achish would say, "Against whom have you made a raid today?" David would answer, "Against the south of Judah," or "Against the south of the Jerahmeelites," or "Against the south of the Kenites."

¹¹ David would keep neither man nor woman alive to bring them to Gath, saying, "So that they cannot say about us, 'David did such and such.'" This was what he did all the while he was living in the country of the Philistines. ¹² Achish believed David, saying, "He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; he will therefore be my servant forever."

¹Instead of the Girzites which is found in some ancient copies of the Hebrew text, some modern translations have the Gizrites which is found in the margin of some Hebrew copies.

Chapter 28

¹ It came about in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for battle to fight with Israel. Achish said to David, "Know for certain that you will go out with me in the army, you and your men." ² David said to Achish, "That being the case, you will know what your servant can do." Achish said to David, "Then I will make you my bodyguard all your days."

³ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. Also, Saul had banned sorcerers and spiritists from the land. ⁴ Then the Philistines gathered themselves together and came and camped at Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped at Gilboa.

⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled very much. ⁶ Saul prayed to Yahweh for help, but Yahweh did not answer him—neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a sorceress, so that I may go to her and seek her advice." His servants said to him, "See, there is a woman in Endor who is a sorceress."

⁸ So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothing and went, he and two men with him. They went to the woman by night. He said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me the one I name." ⁹ The woman said to him, "See, you know what Saul has done, how he has banned sorcerers and spiritists from the land. So why are you setting a trap for my life, to make me die?" ¹⁰ Saul swore to her by Yahweh and said, "As Yahweh lives, no punishment will happen to you for this thing."

¹¹ Then the woman said, "Whom should I bring up to you?" Saul said, "Bring up Samuel for me." ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice and spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul."

¹³ The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the earth." ¹⁴ He said to her, "What does he look like?" She said, "An old man is coming up; he is clothed with a robe." Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and showed him respect.

¹⁵ Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me and brought me up?" Saul answered, "I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has left me and does not answer me any more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I will do."

¹⁶ Samuel said, "What then do you ask me, since Yahweh has left you, and he has become your enemy? ¹⁷ Yahweh has done to you what he said he would. Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and he has given it to someone else—to David.

¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of Yahweh and did not carry out his fierce wrath on Amalek, he has therefore done this today to you. ¹⁹ Yahweh will give Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines."

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell his full length on the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel. There was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all that day, neither that whole night. ²¹ The woman came to Saul and saw that he was very troubled, She said to him, "See, your woman servant has listened to your voice; I have put my life in my hand and have listened to the words that you said to me.

²² Now therefore, I beg you, listen also to the voice of your woman servant, and let me set a little food in front of you. Eat so that you may gain strength for when you go on your way." ²³ But Saul refused and said, "I will not eat." But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him, and he listened to their voice. So he rose from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ The woman had a fatted calf in the house; she hurried and killed it; she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread with it. ²⁵ She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.

Chapter 29

¹ Now the Philistines gathered together all their army at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring that is in Jezreel. ² The princes of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; David and his men passed on in the rear guard with Achish.

³ Then the princes of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish said to the other princes of the Philistines, "Is not this David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault with him since he came away to me to this day?"

⁴ But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He will not go down with us into battle, for he will become our adversary during the fighting. For how else could he make himself acceptable to his master than by taking the heads of our own men?

⁵ Is this not David of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying,

'Saul has killed his thousands,

and David his ten thousands'?"

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, "As Yahweh lives, you have been good, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my view; for I have found nothing wrong with you since the day of your coming to me to this very day. Nevertheless, the princes are not favorable to you. ⁷ So now return and go in peace, so that you do not displease the princes of the Philistines."

⁸ David said to Achish, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant as long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my master the king?" ⁹ Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless, the princes of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us to the battle.'

¹⁰ So now rise up early in the morning with the servants of your master who have come with you; as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, go away." ¹¹ So David rose up early, he and his men, to leave in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Chapter 30

¹ It came about, when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the Negev and on Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag, burned it, ² and captured the women and everyone who was in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off as they went on their way.

³ When David and his men came to the city, it was burned, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters were taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people that were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep.

⁵ David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite woman, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ David was greatly distressed, for the people were talking about stoning him, for all the people were bitter in spirit, each man for his sons and daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh, his God.

⁷ David said to Abiathar son of Ahimelek, the priest, "I beg you, bring the ephod here for me." Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ David prayed to Yahweh for direction, saying, "If I pursue after this troop, will I overtake them?" Yahweh answered him, "Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will surely recover everything."

⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him; they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David kept pursuing, he and four hundred men; for two hundred had stayed behind, who were so weak that they could not go over the brook Besor.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David; they gave him bread, and he ate; they gave him water to drink; ¹² and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, he gained strength again, for he had eaten no bread nor drunk any water for three days and three nights.

¹³ David said to him, "To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; my master left me because three days ago I fell sick. ¹⁴ We made a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, and what belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag."

¹⁵ David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this raiding party?" The Egyptian said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or betray me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this raiding party."

¹⁶ When the Egyptian had brought David down, the raiders were spread out over all the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the booty they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ David attacked them from the twilight to the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped except for four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.

¹⁸ David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither booty, nor anything that the raiders had taken for themselves. David brought back everything. ²⁰ David took all the flocks and the herds, which the men drove ahead of the other livestock. They said, "This is David's booty."

²¹ David came to the two hundred men who had been too weak to follow him, the ones the others had made to stay at the brook Besor. These men went ahead to meet David and the people who were with him. When David came to these people, he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked men and worthless fellows among those who had gone with David said, "Because these men did not go with us, we will not give them any of the booty that we have recovered. However, each man may lead away his wife and children and go."

²³ Then David said, "You must not act like this, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the marauding band that came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to you in this matter? For as the share is for anyone who goes into battle, so also will the share be for anyone who waits by the baggage; they will share and share alike." ²⁵ It has been so from that day to this day, for David made it a statute and a decree for Israel.

²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the booty to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "See, here is a present for you from the booty from Yahweh's enemies." ²⁷ He also sent some to the elders who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir, ²⁸ and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa.

²⁹ He also sent some to the elders who were in Rakal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰ and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor Ashan, and to those who were in Athak, ³¹ and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men habitually went.

Chapter 31

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down dead on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons. The Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, his sons. ³ The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers overtook him. He was in severe pain because of them.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it. Otherwise, these uncircumcised will come and abuse me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell on his sword in the same way and died with him. ⁶ So Saul died, his three sons, and his armor bearer—these men all died together that same day.

⁷ When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them. ⁸ It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹ They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers into the land of the Philistines throughout to carry the news to their idols' temples and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the city wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the fighting men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They went to Jabesh and burned them there. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.

2 Samuel

Chapter 1

¹ After the death of Saul, David returned from attacking the Amalekites and remained in Ziklag for two days. ² On the third day, a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he came to David he fell to the ground and bowed down.

³ David said to him, "Where did you come from?" He answered, "I escaped from the camp of Israel." ⁴ David said to him, "Please tell me how things went." He answered, "The people fled from the battle. Many have fallen and many are dead. Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead." ⁵ David said to the young man, "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?"

⁶ The young man replied, "By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there Saul was leaning on his spear, and chariots and riders were about to catch up with him. ⁷ Saul turned around and saw me and called out to me. I answered, 'Here I am.'

⁸ He said to me, 'Who are you?' I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.' ⁹ He said to me, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for great suffering has taken hold of me, but life is still in me.' ¹⁰ So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that he would not live after he had fallen. Then I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm, and brought them here to you, my master."

¹¹ Then David tore his clothes, and all the men with him did the same. ¹² They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, for Jonathan his son, for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ David said to the young man, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I am the son of a foreigner in the land, an Amalekite."

¹⁴ David said to him, "Why were you not afraid to destroy Yahweh's anointed king with your own hand?" ¹⁵ David called one of the young men and said, "Go and kill him." So that man went and struck him down, and the Amalekite died. ¹⁶ Then David said to the dead Amalekite, "Your blood is on your head because your own mouth has testified against you and said, 'I have killed Yahweh's anointed king.'"

¹⁷ Then David sang this lament about Saul and Jonathan his son. ¹⁸ He commanded the people to teach this Song of the Bow to the sons of Judah, which has been written in the Book of Jashar.

¹⁹ "Your glory, Israel, is dead, killed on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰ Do not tell it in Gath,

do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,

so that the daughters of the Philistines may not rejoice,

so that the daughters of the uncircumcised may not celebrate.

²¹ Mountains of Gilboa,

let there not be dew or rain on you,

nor fields giving grain for offerings,

for there the shield of the mighty was defiled.

The shield of Saul is no longer anointed with oil.

²² From the blood of those who have been killed,

from the bodies of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,

and the sword of Saul did not return empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan were loved and gracious in life,

and in their death they were not separated.

They were swifter than eagles,

they were stronger than lions.

²⁴ You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewels,

and who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

²⁵ How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan is killed on your high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan.

You were very dear to me.

Your love to me was wonderful,

exceeding the love of women.

²⁷ How the mighty have fallen,

and the weapons of war perished!"

Chapter 2

¹ After this David asked Yahweh and said, "Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?" Yahweh replied to him, "Go up." David said, "To which city should I go?" Yahweh replied, "To Hebron." ² So David went up with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail from Carmel, the widow of Nabal. ³ David brought the men who were with him, who each brought his family, to the cities of Hebron, where they began to live.

⁴ Then men from Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah.

They told David, "The men of Jabesh Gilead have buried Saul."

⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said to them, "You are blessed by Yahweh, since you have shown this loyalty to your master Saul and have buried him.

⁶ Now may Yahweh show you steadfast love and faithfulness. I also will show you this goodness because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now then, let your hands be strong; be courageous for Saul your master is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

⁸ But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him to Mahanaim. ⁹ He made Ish-Bosheth king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel.

¹⁰ Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹² Abner son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³ Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. There they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the other side.

¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and compete before us." Then Joab said, "Let them arise." ¹⁵ Then the young men got up and gathered together, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from servants of David.

¹⁶ Each man seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into the side of his opponent, and they fell down together. Therefore that place was called "Helkath Hazzurim," or "Field of Swords," which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ The battle was very severe that day and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated before the servants of David.

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was swift in his feet like a wild gazelle. ¹⁹ Asahel closely pursued Abner and followed him without turning away in any direction.

²⁰ Abner looked behind him and said, "Is that you Asahel?" He answered, "It is I." ²¹ Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his armor." But Asahel would not turn aside.

²² So Abner said again to Asahel, "Stop pursuing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I hold up my face to Joab, your brother?" ²³ But Asahel refused to turn aside, and so Abner stabbed him in the body with the blunt end of his spear, so that the spear came out the other side. Asahel fell down and died there. So it came about that anyone who arrived at the place where Asahel fell down and died, he stopped and stood still.

²⁴ But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. When the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is near Giah by the road to the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵ The men of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and stood on the top of the hill.

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, "Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know it will be bitter in the end? How long will it be before you tell your men to stop pursuing their brothers?" ²⁷ Joab replied, "Just as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have pursued their brothers until the morning!"

²⁸ So Joab blew the ram's horn, and all his men stopped and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. ²⁹ Abner and his men traveled all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all the next morning, and then reached Mahanaim.

³⁰ Joab returned from pursuing Abner. He assembled all his people, from whom were missing Asahel and nineteen of David's servants. ³¹ But the servants of David had slaughtered from Benjamin and of Abner's men 360 men who died. ³² Then they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men traveled all night, and the day dawned on them at Hebron.

Chapter 3

¹ Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. David grew stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

² Sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam from Jezreel.

³ His second son, Kileab, was born to Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. The third, Absalom, was son of Maakah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.

⁴ David's fourth son, Adonijah, was the son of Haggith. His fifth son was Shephatiah son of Abital,

⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, was the son of David's wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

⁶ It came about during the war between the house of Saul and the house of David that Abner made himself strong in the house of Saul. ⁷ Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, "Why have you gone to my father's concubine?"

⁸ Then Abner was very angry at the words of Ish-Bosheth and said, "Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I am showing faithfulness to the house of Saul, your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, by not delivering you into the hand of David. But now you accuse me of iniquity concerning this woman?

⁹ May God do so to me, Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as Yahweh has sworn to him, ¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." ¹¹ Ish-Bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David to speak for him saying, "Whose land is this? Make a covenant with me, and you will see that my hand is with you, to bring all Israel to you." ¹³ David answered, "Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require from you is that you cannot see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see me."

¹⁴ Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I betrothed to myself at the price of one hundred Philistine foreskins." ¹⁵ So Ish-Bosheth sent for Michal and took her from her husband, Paltiel son of Laish. ¹⁶ Her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Return home now." So he returned.

¹⁷ Abner spoke with the elders of Israel saying, "In the past you were trying to have David be king over you. ¹⁸ Now do it. For Yahweh has spoken of David saying, 'By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.'"

¹⁹ Abner also spoke personally to the people of Benjamin. Then Abner went also to speak with David in Hebron to explain everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin desired to accomplish. ²⁰ When Abner and twenty of his men arrived in Hebron to see David, David had a feast prepared for them.

²¹ Abner explained to David, "I will arise and gather all Israel to you, my master the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, so that you may reign over all that you desire." So David sent Abner away, and Abner left in peace.

²² Then the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much plunder with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron. David had sent him away, and Abner had left in peace. ²³ When Joab and all the army with him arrived, they told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and the king has sent him away, and Abner left in peace."

²⁴ Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you! Why have you sent him away, and he is gone? ²⁵ Do you not know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to discover your plans and learn everything you are doing?" ²⁶ When Joab left David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah, but David did not know this.

²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the middle of the gate to speak with him quietly. There Joab stabbed him in the stomach and so that Abner died. In this way, Joab avenged the blood of Asahel his brother.

²⁸ When David heard about this he said, "I and my kingdom are innocent before Yahweh forever regarding the blood of Abner son of Ner. ²⁹ May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house! May Joab's house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who is lame and must walk with a staff or who is killed by the sword or does not have enough food." ³⁰ So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in battle.

³¹ David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner's body." Now King David walked behind the body in the funeral procession. ³² They buried Abner in Hebron. The king wept and cried loudly at the tomb of Abner, and all the people also wept.

³³ The king lamented for Abner and sang,

"Should Abner die as a fool dies?

³⁴ Your hands were not bound.

Your feet were not shackled.

As a man falls before the sons of injustice, so you have fallen."

Once more all the people wept over him.

³⁵ All the people came to make David eat while it was still day, but David swore, "May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down." ³⁶ All the people took notice of David's grief, and it pleased them, as whatever the king did pleased them.

³⁷ So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not the king's desire to kill Abner son of Ner. ³⁸ The king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? ³⁹ Now I am weak today, though I am an anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too severe for me. May Yahweh repay the evildoer by punishing him for his wickedness, as he deserves."

Chapter 4

¹ When Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became weak, and all Israel was troubled. ² Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of groups of soldiers. The name of one was Baanah and the other Rekab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was from the people of Benjamin (for Beeroth is also considered part of Benjamin, ³ and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been living there until this very time).

⁴ Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up to flee, but in her hurry, Jonathan's son fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

⁵ So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rekab and Baanah, traveled during the heat of the day to the house of Ish-Bosheth, as he was resting at noon. ⁶ The woman guarding the door had fallen asleep while sifting wheat, and Rekab and Baanah walked in quietly and passed her. ⁷ So after they entered the house, they attacked him and killed him as he was lying on his bed in his room. Then they cut off his head and carried it away, traveling on the road all night to the Arabah.

⁸ They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, and they said to the king, "Look, this is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. Today Yahweh has avenged our master the king against Saul and his descendants." ⁹ David answered Rekab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite; he said to them, "As Yahweh lives, who delivered my life from every trouble, ¹⁰ when someone told me, 'Look, Saul is dead,' thinking he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news.

¹¹ How much more, when wicked men have killed an innocent person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand and completely remove you from the earth?" ¹² Then David gave orders to the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

Chapter 5

¹ Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "Look, we are your flesh and bone. ² In the recent past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led the Israelite army. Yahweh said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become ruler over Israel.'"

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them before Yahweh. They anointed David king over Israel. ⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶ The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land. They said to David, "You will not come here except to be turned away by the blind and the lame. David cannot come here." ⁷ Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Zion, which now is the city of David.

⁸ At that time David said, "Those who attack the Jebusites will have to go through the water shaft to reach the 'lame and the blind' who are David's enemies." That is why people say, "The 'blind and the lame' must not enter the palace." ⁹ So David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. He fortified around it, from the terrace toward the inside. ¹⁰ David became very powerful because Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him.

¹¹ Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, carpenters, and masons. They built a house for David. ¹² David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

¹³ After David left Hebron and came to Jerusalem, he took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. ¹⁴ These were the names of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

¹⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed as king over Israel, they all went out looking for him. But David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. ¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹ Then David asked for help from Yahweh. He said, "Should I attack the Philistines? Will you give victory over them?" Yahweh said to David, "Attack, for I will certainly give you victory over the Philistines." ²⁰ So David attacked at Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He commented, "Yahweh has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood of water." So he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. ²¹ The Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

²² Then the Philistines came up again and spread out once more in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ So David sought help from Yahweh again, and Yahweh said to him, "You must not attack their front, but rather circle around behind them and come on them through the balsam woods.

²⁴ When you hear the sound of marching in the wind blowing through the balsam treetops, then attack with force. Do this because Yahweh will have gone out before you to attack the army of the Philistines." ²⁵ So David did as Yahweh had commanded him. He killed Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.

Chapter 6

¹ Now David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ² David arose and went with all his men who were with him from Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of Yahweh of hosts, who sits enthroned over the cherubim.

³ They set the ark of God on a new cart. They brought it out of Abinadab's house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, his sons, were guiding the new cart. ⁴ They brought the cart out of Abinadab's house on the hill with the ark of God on it. Ahio was walking in front of the ark. ⁵ Then David and all the house of Israel began to play before Yahweh, celebrating with instruments made of fir wood, harps, lyres, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals.

⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out with his hand to grab the ark of God, and he took hold of it. ⁷ Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Uzzah. God attacked him there for his sin. Uzzah died there by the ark of God.

⁸ David was angry because Yahweh had attacked Uzzah, and he called the name of that place Perez Uzzah. That place is called Perez Uzza to this day. ⁹ David was afraid of Yahweh that day. He said, "How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?"

¹⁰ So David was not willing to take the ark of Yahweh with him into the city of David. Instead, he put it aside in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ¹¹ The ark of Yahweh remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. So Yahweh blessed him and all his household.

¹² Now King David was told, "Yahweh has blessed Obed-Edom's house and everything that belongs to him because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from Obed-Edom's house to the city of David with joy. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of Yahweh had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

¹⁴ David danced before Yahweh with all his might; he was wearing only a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Yahweh with shouting and the sound of rams' horns.

¹⁶ Now as the ark of Yahweh came into the city of David, Michal, daughter of Saul, looked out the window. She saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh. Then she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ They brought in the ark of Yahweh and put it in its place, in the middle of the tent that David had set up for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.

¹⁸ When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh of hosts. ¹⁹ Then he distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people left; each one returned to his own house.

²⁰ Then David returned to bless his family. Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, "How honored the king of Israel was today, who undressed himself today before the eyes of the slave girls among his servants, like one of the crude fellows who shamelessly undresses himself!"

²¹ David responded to Michal, "I did that before Yahweh, who chose me above your father and above all his family, who appointed me leader over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. Before Yahweh I will be joyful! ²² I will be even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you have spoken about, I will be honored." ²³ So Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death.

Chapter 7

¹ It happened that after the king had settled in his house, and after Yahweh had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ² the king said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God is staying in the middle of a tent."

³ Then Nathan said to the king, "Go, do what is in your heart, for Yahweh is with you."

⁴ But that same night the word of Yahweh came to Nathan, saying: ⁵ "Go and tell David my servant, 'This is what Yahweh says: Will you build me a house in which to live?

⁶ For I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought up the people of Israel out of Egypt until this present day. Rather, I have been moving about in a tent, a tabernacle. ⁷ In all places where I have moved among all the people of Israel, did I ever say anything to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I appointed to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'

⁸ "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what Yahweh of hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, so that you would be ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you went. I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the great ones of the earth.

¹⁰ I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them there, so that they may live in their own place and be troubled no more. No longer will wicked people oppress them, as they did before, ¹¹ as they were doing from the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Now I will give you rest from all your enemies.

"Moreover, Yahweh declares to you that Yahweh will make you a house.

¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up a descendant after you, one who will come out from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be a father to him, and he will be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the whipping of the sons of men.

¹⁵ But my covenant faithfulness will not leave him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and kingdom will be confirmed forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.'"

¹⁷ Nathan spoke to David and reported to him all these words, and he told him about the entire vision.

¹⁸ Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh and said, "Who am I, Lord Yahweh, and what is my family that you have brought me to this point? ¹⁹ Now this was a small thing in your sight, Lord Yahweh. You have even spoken about your servant's family for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, Lord Yahweh!

²⁰ "What more can I, David, say to you? You have known your servant, Lord Yahweh.

²¹ For your word's sake, and to fulfill your own purpose, you have done this great thing and revealed it to your servant.

²² "Therefore you are great, Lord Yahweh, for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²³ What nation is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom you, God, went and rescued for yourself? You did this so that they would become a people for yourself, to make a name for yourself, and to do great and fearful deeds for your land. You drove out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you rescued from Egypt.

²⁴ You established Israel as your own people forever, and you, Yahweh, became their God.

²⁵ "So now, Yahweh God, may the promise that you made concerning your servant and his family be established forever. Do as you have spoken. ²⁶ May your name be forever great, so the people will say, 'Yahweh of hosts is the God of Israel,' while the house of me, David, your servant is established before you.

²⁷ "For you, Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house. That is why I, your servant, have found courage to pray to you. ²⁸ Now, Lord Yahweh, you are God, and your words are trustworthy, and you have made this good promise to your servant. ²⁹ Now then, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, Lord Yahweh, have said these things, and with your blessing your servant's house will be blessed forever."

Chapter 8

¹ After this it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. So David took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

² Then he defeated Moab and measured their men with a line by making them lie down on the ground. He measured off two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. So the Moabites became servants to David and began to pay him tribute.

³ David then defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, the king of Zobah, as Hadadezer was traveling to recover his rule by the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured from him 1,700 chariots and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand Aramean men. ⁶ Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to him and brought him tribute. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.

⁷ David took the golden shields that were on Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tebah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.

⁹ When Tou, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ Tou sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, and because Hadadezer had waged war against Tou. Hadoram brought with himself objects of silver, gold, and bronze.

¹¹ King David dedicated these objects to Yahweh, together with the silver and gold that he had dedicated, which came from all the nations that he had conquered— ¹² from Aram, Moab, the people of Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek, along with all of the plundered goods of Hadadezer son of Rehob, the king of Zobah.

¹³ David's name was well known when he returned from conquering the Arameans in the Valley of Salt, with their eighteen thousand men. ¹⁴ He placed garrisons throughout all of Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to him. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁵ David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and righteousness to all his people. ¹⁶ Joab son of Zeruiah was the commander of the army, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder. ¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was scribe. ¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and Pelethites, and David's sons were the priests. ¹

¹The ancient Greek translations and some modern translations have this as it is in 1 Chronicles 18:17, were the chief officials .

Chapter 9

¹ David said, "Is there anyone left in Saul's family to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" ² There was in Saul's family a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. The king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" He replied, "Yes. I am your servant."

³ So the king said, "Is there not anyone left of Saul's family to whom I may show the kindness of God?" Ziba replied to the king, "Jonathan still has a son, who is lame in his feet." ⁴ The king said to him, "Where is he?" Ziba replied to the king, "Look, he is in the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."

⁵ Then King David sent and had him brought out of the house of Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar. ⁶ So Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul, came to David and bowed down his face to the floor in honor of David. David said, "Mephibosheth." He answered, "See, I am your servant!"

⁷ David said to him, "Do not be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather, and you will always eat at my table." ⁸ Mephibosheth bowed and said, "What is your servant, that you should look with favor on such a dead dog as I am?"

⁹ Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and his family I have given to your master's grandson. ¹⁰ You, your sons, and your servants must till the land for him and you must harvest the crops so that your master's grandson will have food to eat. For Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, must always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do all that my master the king commands his servant." The king added, "As for Mephibosheth he will eat at my table, as one of the king's sons." ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mika. All who lived in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, and he always ate at the king's table, though he was lame in both his feet.

Chapter 10

¹ It came about later that the king of the people of Ammon died, and that Hanun his son became king in his place. ² David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent his servants to comfort Hanun concerning his father. His servants entered the land of the people of Ammon. ³ But the leaders of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their master, "Do you really think that David is honoring your father because he has sent men to comfort you? Has not David sent his servants to you to look at the city, to spy it out, in order to overthrow it?"

⁴ So Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half their beards, cut off their garments up to their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ When they explained this to David, he sent to meet with them, for the men were deeply ashamed. The king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return."

⁶ When the people of Ammon saw that they had become a stench to David, the people of Ammon sent messengers and hired the Arameans of Beth Rehob and Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men. ⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of soldiers. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and formed a line of battle at the entrance to their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maakah, stood by themselves in the open fields.

⁹ When Joab saw the battle lines facing him both in front and behind, he chose some of Israel's best fighters and arranged them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ The rest of his people he put into the hand of Abishai his brother, and he set them out in position to fight against the army of Ammon.

¹¹ Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you, Abishai, must rescue me. But if the army of Ammon is too strong for you, then I will come and rescue you. ¹² Be strong, and let us show ourselves to be strong for our people and for the cities of our God, for Yahweh will do what is good for his purpose."

¹³ So Joab and the soldiers of his army advanced to the battle against the Arameans, who were forced to flee before the army of Israel. ¹⁴ When the army of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and went back into the city. Then Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they were being defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together again. ¹⁶ Then Hadarezer sent for Aramean troops from beyond the Euphrates River. They came to Helam, and Shobak, the commander of Hadarezer's army, went before them.

¹⁷ When David was told this, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and arrived at Helam. The Arameans arranged themselves in battle lines against David and fought him. ¹⁸ The Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their men in chariots and forty thousand horsemen. Shobak the commander of their army was wounded and died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings who were servants of Hadarezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. So the Arameans were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.

Chapter 11

¹ It came about in the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally go to war, that David sent out Joab, his servants, and all the army of Israel. They destroyed the army of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem.

² So it came about one evening that David got up from his bed and walked on the roof of his palace. From there he happened to see a woman who was bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at. ³ So David sent and he asked people who would know about the woman. Someone said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, and is she not the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

⁴ David sent messengers and took her; she came to him, and he lay with her (for she had just purified herself from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. ⁵ The woman conceived, and she sent and told David; she said, "I am pregnant."

⁶ Then David sent to Joab saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab was, how the army was doing, and how the war was going. ⁸ David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the king's palace, and the king sent a gift for Uriah after he left.

⁹ But Uriah lay down at the door of the king's palace with all the servants of his master, and he did not go down to his house. ¹⁰ When they told David, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" ¹¹ Uriah answered David, "The ark, and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my master's servants are camped in an open field. How then can I go into my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As sure as you are alive, I will not do this."

¹² So David said to Uriah, "Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will let you leave." So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next day. ¹³ When David called him, he ate and drank before him, and David made him drunk. At evening Uriah went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his master; he did not go down to his house.

¹⁴ So in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵ David wrote in the letter saying, "Set Uriah at the very front of the most severe battle, and then withdraw from him, that he may be hit and die."

¹⁶ So as Joab watched the siege upon the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the strongest enemy soldiers would be fighting. ¹⁷ When the men of the city went out and fought against Joab's army, some of the servants of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite was also killed there.

¹⁸ When Joab sent word to David about everything concerning the war, ¹⁹ he commanded the messenger, saying, "When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war to the king, ²⁰ it may happen that the king will become angry, and he will say to you, 'Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?

²¹ Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?' Then you must answer, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'"

²² So the messenger left and went to David and told him everything that Joab had sent him to say. ²³ Then the messenger said to David, "The enemy were stronger than we were at first; they came out to us into the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.

²⁴ Then their shooters shot at your soldiers from off the wall, and some of the king's servants were killed, and your servant Uriah the Hittite was killed too." ²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, "Say this to Joab, 'Do not let this displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle even stronger against the city, and overthrow it,' and encourage him."

²⁶ So when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented deeply for her husband. ²⁷ When her sorrow passed, David sent and took her home to his palace, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done displeased Yahweh.

Chapter 12

¹ Then Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, "There were once two men in a city. One man was rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and fed and raised. It grew up together with him and with his children. The lamb even ate with him and drank from his own cup, and it lay in his bosom and was like a daughter to him.

⁴ One day a visitor came to the rich man, but the rich man was unwilling to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for him. Instead, he took the poor man's ewe lamb and cooked it for his visitor." ⁵ David was hot with anger against the rich man, and he raged to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to be put to death. ⁶ He must pay back the lamb four times over because he did such a thing, and because he had no pity on the poor man."

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man! Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you out of the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your arms. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. But if that had been too little, I would have given you many other things in addition.

⁹ So why have you despised the commands of Yahweh, so as to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your own wife. You killed him with the sword of the army of Ammon. ¹⁰ So now the sword will never leave your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your wife.'

¹¹ Yahweh says, 'Look, I will raise up disaster against you out of your own house. Before your own eyes, I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² For you committed your sin secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, in the sunlight.'" ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh." Nathan replied to David, "Yahweh also has passed over your sin. You will not be killed.

¹⁴ However, because by this act you have despised Yahweh, the child who is born to you will surely die." ¹⁵ Then Nathan left and went home.

Yahweh attacked the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he was very sick.

¹⁶ David then implored God for the boy. David fasted and went inside and lay all night on the floor. ¹⁷ The elders of his house arose and stood beside him, to raise him up from the floor, but he would not get up, and he would not eat with them. ¹⁸ It came about on the seventh day that the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "Look, while the child was still alive we spoke to him, and he did not listen to our voice. What might he do to himself if we tell him that the boy is dead?!"

¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David realized that the child was dead. He said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They answered, "He is dead." ²⁰ Then David arose from the floor and washed himself, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went to the tabernacle of Yahweh and worshiped there, and then he came back to his own palace. When he asked for it, they set food before him, and he ate.

²¹ Then his servants said to him, "Why have you done this? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you got up and ate." ²² David answered, "While the child was still alive I fasted and wept. I said, 'Who knows whether or not Yahweh will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' ²³ But now he is dead, so why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

²⁴ David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went to her and lay with her. Later she gave birth to a son, and the child was named Solomon. Yahweh loved him ²⁵ and he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah, because Yahweh loved him.

²⁶ Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and he captured the royal city. ²⁷ So 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 army together and camp against the city and take it, because if I take the city, it will be named after me."

²⁹ So David gathered all the army together and went to Rabbah; he fought against the city and captured it. ³⁰ David took the crown from their king's head—it weighed a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it. The crown was placed on David's own head. Then he brought out the plunder of the city in large quantities.

³¹ He brought out the people who were in the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes; he also made them work at brick kilns. David required all the cities of the people of Ammon to do this labor. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 13

¹ It came about after this that David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and David's son Amnon loved her. ² Amnon was so frustrated that he became sick because of his sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.

³ But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. ⁴ Jonadab said to Amnon, "Why, son of the king, are you depressed every morning? Will you not tell me?" So Amnon answered him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."

⁵ Then Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to see you, ask him, 'Would you please send my sister Tamar to give me something to eat and cook it before me, so that I may see it and eat it from her hand?'" ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please send my sister Tamar to make some food for my sickness in front of me so that I may eat from her hand."

⁷ Then David sent word to Tamar at his palace, saying, "Go now to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him." ⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house where he was lying down. She took dough and kneaded it and formed bread in his sight, and then she baked it. ⁹ She took the pan and gave the bread to him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said to the others present, "Send everyone out, away from me." So everyone went out from him.

¹⁰ So Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into my room that I may eat from your hand." So Tamar took the bread that she had made, and brought it into the room of Amnon her brother. ¹¹ When she had brought the food to him, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister." ¹² She answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me, for nothing like this should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

¹³ How could I be rid of my shame? What about you? You would be like one of the fools in Israel! Now, please speak to the king, for he would not keep me from you." ¹⁴ However Amnon would not listen to her, and he was stronger than she was, and he overpowered her, and he lay with her.

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated Tamar with extreme hatred. The hatred with which he hated her was even greater than the love with which he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and go." ¹⁶ But she responded to him, "No! Because this great evil of making me leave is even worse than what you did to me!" But Amnon did not listen to her. ¹⁷ Instead, he called his personal servant and said, "Take this woman away from me, and bolt the door after her."

¹⁸ Then his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her. Tamar was wearing a beautifully decorated garment because the king's daughters who were virgins dressed in such robes. ¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her beautifully decorated garment. She put her hands on her head and walked away, crying aloud as she went.

²⁰ Absalom her brother said to her, "Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep quiet, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take this thing to heart." So Tamar remained alone in her brother Absalom's house. ²¹ But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. ²² Absalom said nothing to Amnon, for Absalom hated him for what he had done to her and how he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

²³ It came about after two full years that Absalom had sheep shearers working at Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons to visit there. ²⁴ Absalom went to the king and said, "See now, your servant has sheep shearers. Please, may the king and his servants go with me, your servant."

²⁵ The king answered Absalom, "No, my son, all of us should not go because we would be a burden to you." Absalom begged the king, but he would not go, but he gave him his blessing. ²⁶ Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us." So the king said to him, "Why should Amnon go with you?"

²⁷ Absalom pressed David, and so he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. ²⁸ Absalom commanded his servants saying, "Listen closely. When Amnon begins to be affected by the wine, and when I say to you, 'Attack Amnon,' then put him to death. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and brave." ²⁹ So Absalom's servants did to Amnon as he had commanded them. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man mounted his mule and fled.

³⁰ So it came about, while they were on the road, that the news came to David saying, "Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left." ³¹ Then the king arose and tore his clothes, and lay on the floor; all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

³² Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, "Let not my master believe that they have killed all the young men who are the king's sons, for Amnon only is dead. Absalom has planned this from the day that Amnon violated his sister Tamar. ³³ So therefore let not my master the king take this report to heart, so as to believe that all the king's sons are dead, for Amnon only is dead."

³⁴ Absalom fled away. A servant keeping watch raised his eyes and saw many people coming on the road on the hillside west of him. ³⁵ Then Jonadab said to the king, "Look, the king's sons are coming. It is just as your servant said." ³⁶ So it came about when he finished speaking, the king's sons arrived and raised their voices and wept. The king and all his servants also wept bitterly.

³⁷ But Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, where he was for three years. ³⁹ The mind of King David longed to go out to see Absalom, for he was comforted concerning Amnon and his death.

Chapter 14

¹ Now Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king's heart went out to Absalom. ² So Joab sent word to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought to him. He said to her, "Please pretend you are a mourner and put on mourning clothes. Please do not anoint yourself with oil, but be like a woman who has mourned a long time for the dead. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him about what I will describe." So Joab told her the words she was to say to the king.

⁴ When the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king, she lay facedown on the ground and said, "Help me, king." ⁵ The king said to her, "What is wrong?" She answered, "The truth is that I am a widow, and my husband is dead. ⁶ I, your servant, had two sons, and they fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to separate them. One struck the other and killed him.

⁷ Now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, 'Give into our hand the man who struck his brother, so that we may put him to death, to pay for the life of his brother whom he killed.' So they would also destroy the heir. Thus they will put out the burning coal that I have left, and they will leave for my husband neither name nor descendant on the surface of the earth."

⁸ So the king said to the woman, "Go to your house, and I will command something to be done for you." ⁹ The woman of Tekoa replied to the king, "My master, king, may the guilt be on me and on my father's family. The king and his throne are guiltless."

¹⁰ The king replied, "Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you anymore." ¹¹ Then she said, "Please, may the king call to mind Yahweh your God, so that the avenger of blood will not destroy anyone further, so that they will not destroy my son." The king replied, "As Yahweh lives, not one hair of your son will fall to the ground."

¹² Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a further word to my master the king." He said, "Speak on." ¹³ So the woman said, "Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of God? For in saying this thing, the king is like someone who is guilty, because the king has not brought back home again his banished son. ¹⁴ For we all must die, and we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life. Rather, he devises a way for those who were driven away not to remain outcast.

¹⁵ Now then, seeing that I have come to speak this thing to my master the king, it is because the people have made me afraid. So your servant said to herself, 'I will now speak to the king. It may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. ¹⁶ Perhaps the king will listen to me and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together, out of the inheritance God gave us.' ¹⁷ Then your servant prayed, 'Yahweh, please let the word of my master the king give me relief, for as an angel of God, so is my master the king in telling good from evil.' May Yahweh your God be with you."

¹⁸ Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide from me anything that I will ask you." The woman replied, "Let my master the king now speak." ¹⁹ The king said, "Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this?" The woman answered and said, "As you live, my master the king, no one can escape to the right hand or to the left from anything that my master the king has spoken. It was your servant Joab who commanded me and told me to say these things that your servant has spoken. ²⁰ Your servant Joab has done this to change the course of what is happening. My master is wise, like the wisdom of an angel of God, and he knows everything that is happening in the land."

²¹ So the king said to Joab, "See now, I will do this thing. Go then, and bring the young man Absalom back." ²² So Joab lay facedown on the ground in honor and gratitude to the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my master, king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant."

²³ So Joab arose, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴ The king said, "He may return to his own house, but he may not see my face." So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king's face.

²⁵ Now in all Israel there was no one praised for his handsomeness more than Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no blemish in him. ²⁶ When he cut the hair of his head at the end of every year, because it was heavy on him, he weighed his hair; it would weigh about two hundred shekels, which is measured by the weight of the king's standard. ²⁷ To Absalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without seeing the king's face. ²⁹ Then Absalom sent word for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. So Absalom sent word a second time, but Joab still did not come.

³⁰ So Absalom said to his servants, "See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire." So Absalom's servants set the field on fire. ³¹ Then Joab arose and came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?"

³² Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent word to you saying, 'Come here so I may send you to the king to say, "Why did I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there. Now therefore let me see the king's face, and if I am guilty, let him kill me."'" ³³ So Joab went to the king and told him. When the king called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed low to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

Chapter 15

¹ It came about after this that Absalom prepared a chariot and horses for himself, with fifty men to run before him. ² Absalom would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. When any man had a dispute to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city have you come?" Then the man would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."

³ So Absalom would say to him, "Look, your case is good and in the right, but there is no one empowered by the king to hear your case." ⁴ Absalom would add, "I wish that I were made judge in the land, so that every man who had any dispute or cause might come to me, and I would bring him justice!"

⁵ So it came about that when any man came to Absalom to honor him, Absalom would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ Absalom acted in this way to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ It came about at the end of four years that Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go and pay a vow that I have made to Yahweh in Hebron. ⁸ For your servant made a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying,' If Yahweh will indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will worship Yahweh.'"

⁹ So the king said to him, "Go in peace." So Absalom arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, "As soon as you hear the sound of the ram's horn, then you must say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.'"

¹¹ With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were invited. They went in their innocence, not knowing anything that Absalom had planned. ¹² While Absalom offered sacrfices, he sent for Ahithophel from his hometown of Giloh. He was David's counselor. Absalom's conspiracy was strong, for the people following Absalom were constantly increasing.

¹³ A messenger came to David saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel are following after Absalom." ¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, "Arise and let us flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Prepare to leave immediately, or he will quickly overtake us, and he will bring down disaster on us and attack the city with the edge of the sword." ¹⁵ The king's servants said to the king, "Look, your servants are ready to do whatever our master the king decides."

¹⁶ The king left and all his family after him, but the king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the palace. ¹⁷ After the king went out and all the people after him, they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸ All his servants marched with him, and before him went all the Kerethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites—six hundred men who had followed him from Gath marched with the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why will you come with us? Return and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and an exile. Return to your own place. ²⁰ Since you just left yesterday, why should I make you wander all over with us? I do not even know where I am going. So return and take your fellow countrymen with you, and may steadfast love and faithfulness go with you."

²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, "As Yahweh lives, and as my master the king lives, surely in whatever place where my master the king goes, there also will your servant go, whether that means living or dying." ²² So David said to Ittai, "Go ahead and continue with us." So Ittai the Gittite marched with the king, along with all his men and all the families who were with him. ²³ All the country wept with a loud voice as all the people passed by over the Kidron Valley, and as the king also himself crossed over. All the people traveled on the road toward the wilderness.

²⁴ Even Zadok with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God, were present. They set the ark of God down, and then Abiathar joined them. They waited until all the people had passed by out of the city. ²⁵ The king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yahweh, he will bring me back here and show me again the ark and the place where he lives. ²⁶ But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' look, here am I, let him do to me whatever seems good to him."

²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me." ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back into Jerusalem, and they stayed there.

³⁰ But David ascended barefoot and weeping up the Mount of Olives, and he had his head covered. Every man of the people who were with him covered his head, and they went up weeping as they walked. ³¹ Someone told David saying, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O Yahweh, please turn Ahithophel's advice into foolishness."

³² It came about that when David arrived at the top of the road, where God used to be worshiped, Hushai the Arkite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head. ³³ David said to him, "If you travel with me, then you will be a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, king, as I have been your father's servant in time past, so will I now be your servant,' then you will confuse Ahithophel's advice for me.

³⁵ Will you not have the priests Zadok and Abiathar with you? So whatever you hear in the king's palace, you must tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ See that they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son. You must send to me by their hand everything that you hear." ³⁷ So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city as Absalom arrived and entered into Jerusalem.

Chapter 16

¹ When David had gone a short distance over the summit of the hill, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys; on them were two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, and one hundred bunches of figs, and a skin of wine. ² The king said to Ziba, "Why did you bring these things?" Ziba replied, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and fig cakes are for your young men to eat, and the wine is for anyone who is faint in the wilderness to drink."

³ The king said, "Then where is your master's grandson?" Ziba replied to the king, "Look, he has stayed behind in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will restore my father's kingdom to me.'" ⁴ Then the king said to Ziba, "Look, all that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you." Ziba answered, "I bow in humility to you, my master, king. Let me find favor in your eyes."

⁵ When King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the clan of Saul came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at all of the king's servants, in spite of the people and mighty men who were on the king's right and left.

⁷ Shimei called out in cursing, "Go away, get out of here, you man of blood, you worthless man! ⁸ Yahweh has repaid all of you for the blood you shed within the family of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. Yahweh has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood."

⁹ Then Abishai son of Zeruiah, said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my master the king? Please let me go over and take off his head." ¹⁰ But the king said, "What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Perhaps he is cursing me because Yahweh has said to him, 'Curse David.' Who then could say to him, 'Why are you cursing the king?'"

¹¹ So David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son, who was born from my body, wants to take my life. How much more may this Benjamite now desire my ruin? Leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has commanded him to do it. ¹² Perhaps Yahweh will look at the misery unleashed on me, and repay me with good for his cursing me today."

¹³ So David and his men traveled on the road, while Shimei went beside him up on the hillside, cursing and throwing dust and stones at him as he went. ¹⁴ Then the king and all the people who were with him became weary, and he rested when they stopped for the night.

¹⁵ As for Absalom and all the people of the men of Israel who were with him, they came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶ It came about when Hushai the Arkite, David's friend, had come to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

¹⁷ Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with him?" ¹⁸ Hushai said to Absalom, "No! The one whom Yahweh and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, that is the man to whom I will belong, and I will stay with him.

¹⁹ Also, what man should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father's presence, I will serve in your presence."

²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give us your advice about what we should do." ²¹ Ahithophel answered Absalom, "Go to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace, and all Israel will hear that you have become a stench to your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong."

²² So they spread for Absalom a tent on the top of the palace, and Absalom went to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. ²³ Now the advice of Ahithophel that he gave in those days was as if a man heard from the mouth of God himself. That was how all of Ahithophel's advice was viewed by both David and Absalom.

Chapter 17

¹ Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. ² I will come on him while he is weary and weak and will surprise him with fear. The people who are with him will flee, and I will attack only the king. ³ I will bring back all the people to you, like a bride coming to her husband, and all the people will be at peace under you." ⁴ What Ahithophel said pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵ Then Absalom said, "Now call Hushai the Arkite, too, and let us hear what he says." ⁶ When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom explained to him what Ahithophel had said and then asked Hushai, "Should we do what Ahithophel has said? If not, tell us what you advise." ⁷ So Hushai said to Absalom, "The advice that Ahithophel has given this time is not good."

⁸ Hushai added, "You know your father and his men are strong warriors, and that they are bitter, and they are like a bear robbed of her cubs in a field. Your father is a man of war; he will not sleep with the army tonight. ⁹ Look, right now he is probably hidden in some pit or in some other place. It will happen that when some of your men have been killed at the beginning of an attack, that whoever hears it will say, 'A slaughter has taken place among the soldiers who follow Absalom.' ¹⁰ Then even the bravest soldiers, whose hearts are like the heart of a lion, will be afraid because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that the men who are with him are very strong.

¹¹ So I advise you that all Israel should be gathered together to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as numerous as the sands that are by the sea, and that you go to battle in person. ¹² Then we will come on him wherever he may be found, and we will cover him as the dew falls on the ground. We will not leave even one of his men, or him himself, alive.

¹³ If he retreats into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city and we will drag it into the river, until there is no longer even a small stone found there." ¹⁴ Then Absalom and the men of Israel said, "Hushai the Arkite's advice is better than Ahithophel's." Yahweh had ordained the rejection of Ahithophel's good advice in order to bring destruction on Absalom.

¹⁵ Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, "Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel in such and such a way, but I have advised something else. ¹⁶ Now then, go quickly and report to David; say to him, 'Do not camp tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or the king will be swallowed up along with all the people who are with him.'"

¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at the spring of Rogel. A female servant used to go and inform them what they needed to know, for they could not risk being seen going into the city. When the message came, then they were to go and tell King David. ¹⁸ But a young man saw them this time and told Absalom. So Jonathan and Ahimaaz went away quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, into which they descended.

¹⁹ The man's wife took the covering for the well and spread it over the well's opening, and tossed grain over it, so no one knew Jonathan and Ahimaaz were in the well. ²⁰ Absalom's servants came to the woman of the house and said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" The woman told them, "They have crossed over the river." So after they had looked around and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ It came about after they had left that Jonathan and Ahimaaz came up out of the well. They went to report to King David; they said to him, "Get up and cross quickly over the water because Ahithophel has given such and such advice about you." ²² Then David arose and all the people who were with him, and they crossed over the Jordan. By morning daylight not one of them had failed to cross over the Jordan.

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and went to his house in his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.

²⁴ Then David came to Mahanaim. As for Absalom, he crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. ²⁵ Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite ¹ , who went to Abigail, who was the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab. ²⁶ Then Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ It came about when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, ²⁸ brought sleeping mats and blankets, bowls and pots, and wheat, barley flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ²⁹ honey, butter, sheep, and milk curds from the herd, so that David and the people with him could eat. These men had said, "The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness."

¹Scholars disagree about whether the word describing Jether should be "Ishmaelite," as it is in the ancient Greek translation, or "Israelite," as it is in the ancient Hebrew text. Some scholars believe that "Israelite" is a scribal error in the Hebrew. "Ishmaelite" is the word used in a parallel passage, 1 Chronicles 2:17, in both the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts.

Chapter 18

¹ David counted the soldiers who were with him and appointed captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. ² Then David sent out the army, one-third under the command of Joab, another third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and still another third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the army, "I will certainly go out with you myself, too."

³ But the men said, "You must not go to battle, for if we flee away they will not care about us, or if half of us die they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us! Therefore it is better that you be ready to help us from the city." ⁴ So the king answered them, "I will do whatever seems best to you." The king stood by the city gate while all the army went out by hundreds and by thousands.

⁵ The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Absalom." All the people heard that the king had given the captains this command about Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the countryside against Israel; the battle spread into the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ The army of Israel was defeated there before the servants of David; there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread throughout the whole countryside, and more men were consumed by the forest than by the sword.

⁹ Absalom happened to meet some of David's servants. Absalom was riding his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak tree, and his head was caught up in the tree branches. He was left dangling between the ground and the sky while the mule he was riding kept going. ¹⁰ Someone saw this and told Joab, "Look, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!" ¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him about Absalom, "Look! You saw him! Why did you not strike him down to the ground? I would have given you ten silver shekels and a belt."

¹² The man replied to Joab, "Even if I received a thousand silver shekels, still I would not have reached out my hand against the king's son, because we all heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, 'No one must touch the young man Absalom.' ¹³ If I had risked my life by a falsehood (and there is nothing hidden from the king), you would have abandoned me."

¹⁴ Then Joab said, "I will not wait for you." So Joab took three javelins in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive and hanging from the oak. ¹⁵ Then ten young men who carried Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, attacked him, and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and the army returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab held back the army. ¹⁷ They took Absalom and threw him into a large pit in the forest; they buried his body under a very large pile of stones, while all Israel fled, every man to his own tent.

¹⁸ Now Absalom, while still alive, had built for himself a large stone pillar in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to carry along the memory of my name." He named the pillar after his own name, so it is called Absalom's Monument to this very day.

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me now run to the king with the good news, how Yahweh has rescued him from the hand of his enemies." ²⁰ Joab answered him, "You will not be the bearer of news today; you must do it another day. Today you will bear no news because the king's son is dead."

²¹ Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed down to Joab, and ran. ²² Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, "Regardless of what may happen, please let me also run and follow the Cushite." Joab replied, "Why do you want to run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?" ²³ "Whatever happens," said Ahimaaz, "I will run." So Joab answered him, "Run." Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates. The watchman had gone up to the roof of the gate to the wall and raised his eyes. As he looked, he saw a man approaching, running alone. ²⁵ The watchman shouted out and told the king. Then the king said, "If he is alone, there is news in his mouth." The runner came closer and neared the city.

²⁶ Then the watchman noticed another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper; he said, "Look, there is another man running alone." The king said, "He is also bringing news." ²⁷ So the watchman said, "I think the running of the man in front is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok." The king said, "He is a good man and is coming with good news."

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, "All is well." He bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Blessed be Yahweh your God! He has delivered the men who lifted up their hand against my master the king." ²⁹ So the king replied, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent me, the king's servant, to you, king, I saw a great disturbance, but I did not know what it was." ³⁰ Then the king said, "Turn aside and stand here." So Ahimaaz turned aside, and stood still.

³¹ Immediately then the Cushite arrived and said, "There is good news for my master the king, for Yahweh has avenged you today from all who rose up against you." ³² Then the king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite answered, "The enemies of my master the king, and all who rise up against you to do harm to you, should be as that young man is." ³³ Then the king was deeply unnerved, and he went up to the room over the gate and wept. As he went he grieved, "My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!"

Chapter 19

¹ Joab was told, "Look, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." ² So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the army, for the army heard it said that day, "The king is mourning for his son."

³ The soldiers had to sneak quietly into the city that day, like people who are ashamed sneak away when they run from battle. ⁴ The king covered his face and cried in a loud voice, "My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!"

⁵ Then Joab entered into the house to the king and said to him, "You have shamed the faces of all your servants today, who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, ⁶ because you love those who hate you, and you hate those who love you. For today you have shown that commanders and servants are nothing to you. Today I believe that if Absalom had lived, and we all had died, then that would have pleased you.

⁷ Now therefore get up and go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by Yahweh, if you do not go, not one man will remain with you tonight. That would be worse for you than all the disasters that have ever happened to you from your youth until now." ⁸ So the king got up and sat in the city gate, and all the people were told, "Look, the king is sitting in the gate," and all the people came before the king.

So Israel fled, every man to his tent.

⁹ All the people were arguing with each other throughout all the tribes of Israel saying, "The king rescued us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines, but now he has run out of the land because of Absalom. ¹⁰ Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?"

¹¹ King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah saying, 'Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace, since the talk of all Israel favors the king, to bring him back to his palace? ¹² You are my brothers, my flesh and bone. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?'

¹³ Then say to Amasa, 'Are you not my flesh and my bone? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not captain of my army from now on in the place of Joab.'" ¹⁴ So he won the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man. They sent to the king saying, "Return, you and all your servants." ¹⁵ So the king returned and came to the Jordan. Now the men of Judah came to Gilgal to go to meet the king and then to bring the king across the Jordan.

¹⁶ Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David. ¹⁷ There were one thousand men from Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of Saul, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him. They crossed through the Jordan in the presence of the king. ¹⁸ They crossed to bring over the king's family and to do whatever he thought good. Shimei son of Gera bowed down before the king just before he began to cross the Jordan.

¹⁹ Shimei said to the king, "Do not, my master, find me guilty or call to mind the wrong your servant did the day my master the king left Jerusalem. Please, may the king not take it to heart. ²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. See, that is why I have come today as the first from all the family of Joseph to come down to meet my master the king."

²¹ But Abishai son of Zeruiah answered and said, "Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed Yahweh's anointed?" ²² Then David said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should today be adversaries to me? Will any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?" ²³ So the king said to Shimei, "You will not die." So the king promised him with an oath.

²⁴ Then Mephibosheth son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had not dressed his feet, or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came home in peace. ²⁵ So when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"

²⁶ He answered, "My master the king, my servant deceived me, for I said, 'I will saddle a donkey so I may ride on it and go with the king, because your servant is lame.' ²⁷ My servant Ziba has slandered me, your servant, to my master the king. But my master the king is like an angel of God. Therefore, do what is good in your eyes. ²⁸ For all my father's house were dead men before my master the king, but you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I that I should still cry any more to the king?"

²⁹ Then the king said to him, "Why explain anything further? I have decided that you and Ziba will divide the fields." ³⁰ So Mephibosheth replied to the king, "Yes, let him take it all, since my master the king has come safely to his own home."

³¹ Then Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim to cross over the Jordan with the king, and he accompanied the king over the Jordan. ³² Now Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years old. He had furnished the king with provisions while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. ³³ The king said to Barzillai, "Come over with me, and I will provide for you to stay with me in Jerusalem."

³⁴ Barzillai replied to the king, "How many days are left in the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵ I am eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a burden to my master the king? ³⁶ Your servant would like to just go over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward?

³⁷ Please let your servant return back home, so I may die in my own city by the grave of my father and my mother. But see, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my master the king, and do for him what seems good to you."

³⁸ The king answered, "Kimham will go over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you, and whatever you desire from me, I do that for you." ³⁹ Then all the people crossed the Jordan, and the king crossed over, and the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him. Then Barzillai returned to his own home.

⁴⁰ So the king crossed over to Gilgal, and Kimham crossed over with him. All the army of Judah brought the king over, and also half the army of Israel. ⁴¹ Soon all the men of Israel began to come to the king and say to the king, "Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his family over the Jordan, and all David's men with him?"

⁴² So the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "It is because the king is more closely related to us. Why then are you angry about this? Have we eaten anything that the king had to pay for? Has he given us any gifts?" ⁴³ The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, "We have ten tribes related to the king, so we have even more right to David than you. Why then did you despise us? Was not our proposal to bring back our king the first to be heard?" But the words of the men of Judah were even more severe than the words of the men of Israel.

Chapter 20

¹ There also happened to be at the same place a worthless man whose name was Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite. He blew the ram's horn and said, "We have no part in David, neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Let every man go back to his tent, Israel!"

² So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah followed closely their king, from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem.

³ When David came to his palace at Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines whom he had left to keep the palace, and he put them in a house under guard. He provided for their needs, but he did not go to them any longer. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living as if they were widows.

⁴ Then the king said to Amasa, "Call the men of Judah together within three days; you must be here, too." ⁵ So Amasa went to call Judah, but he was delayed beyond the time that the king had appointed for him.

⁶ So David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master's servants and pursue after him, or he will find fortified cities and escape out of our sight." ⁷ Then Joab's men went out after him, along with the Kerethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty warriors. They left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.

⁸ When they were at the great stone which is at Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing the battle armor that he had put on, which included a belt around his waist with a sheathed sword fastened to it. As he walked forward, the sword fell out.

⁹ So Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my cousin?" Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰ Amasa did not notice the dagger that was in Joab's left hand. Joab stabbed Amasa in the stomach and his bowels spilled out to the ground. Joab did not strike him again, and Amasa died.

So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba son of Bikri.

¹¹ Then one of Joab's young men stood by Amasa, and the man said, "He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab." ¹² Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa off of the road and into a field. He threw a garment over him because he saw that everyone who came by him stood still. ¹³ After Amasa was taken off the road, all the men followed on after Joab in pursuit of Sheba son of Bikri.

¹⁴ Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth Maakah, and through all the land of the Bikrites, who gathered together and also pursued Sheba. ¹⁵ They caught up with him and besieged him in Abel Beth Maakah. They built up a siege ramp against the city against the wall. All the army who were with Joab were wreaking destruction to break down the wall. ¹⁶ Then a wise woman cried out of the city, "Listen, please listen, Joab! Come near me so I may speak with you."

¹⁷ So Joab came near to her, and the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He answered, "I am listening." ¹⁸ Then she spoke, "They used to say in old times, 'Surely seek advice at Abel,' and that advice would end the matter. ¹⁹ We are a city that is one of the most peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?"

²⁰ So Joab answered and said, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. ²¹ That is not true. But a man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba son of Bikri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city." The woman said to Joab, "His head will be thrown to you over the wall." ²² Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba son of Bikri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew the ram's horn and Joab's men left the city, every man to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

²³ Now Joab was over all the army of Israel, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and over the Pelethites. ²⁴ Adoniram was over the men who did forced labor, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder. ²⁵ Sheva was scribe and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. ²⁶ Ira the Jairite was David's priest.

Chapter 21

¹ There was a famine in David's time for three years in a row, and David sought the face of Yahweh. So Yahweh said, "This famine is on you because of Saul and his murderous family, because he put the Gibeonites to death."

² So the king called together the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the people of Israel; they were from what remained of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul tried to kill them all anyway in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. ³ David said to them, "What should I do for you? How can I make atonement, so that you may bless the people of Yahweh, who inherit his goodness and promises?"

⁴ The Gibeonites responded to him, "It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his family. In the same way it is not for us to put to death any man in Israel." David replied, "What are you saying that I should do for you?"

⁵ They answered the king, "The man who tried to kill us all, who schemed against us, so that we are now destroyed and have no place within the borders of Israel— ⁶ let seven men from his descendants be handed over to us, and we will hang them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the one chosen by Yahweh." So the king said, "I will give them to you."

⁷ But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul, because of Yahweh's oath between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul. ⁸ But the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, sons whom she bore to Saul—the two sons were named Armoni and Mephibosheth; and David also took the five sons of Merab ¹ daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. ⁹ He handed them over into the hands of the Gibeonites. They hanged them on the mountain before Yahweh, and they died all seven together. They were put to death during the time of harvest, during the first days at the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰ Then Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the mountain beside the dead bodies, from the beginning of harvest until the rain poured down on them from the sky. She did not allow the birds of the sky to disturb the bodies by day or the wild animals by night. ¹¹ It was told to David what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

¹² So David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, after the Philistines had killed Saul in Gilboa. ¹³ David took away from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of the seven men who had been hanged, as well.

¹⁴ They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They performed all that the king commanded. After that God answered their prayers for the land.

¹⁵ Then the Philistines went to war again with Israel. So David went down with his servants and fought against the Philistines. David was overcome with battle fatigue. ¹⁶ Ishbi-Benob, a descendant of the Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels, and who was armed with a new sword, intended to kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai son of Zeruiah rescued David, attacked the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You must not go to battle anymore with us, so that you do not put out the lamp of Israel."

¹⁸ It came about after this that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob, when Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the Rapha. ¹⁹ It came about again in a battle with the Philistines at Gob, that Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

²⁰ It came about in another battle at Gath that there was a man of great height who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. He also was descended from the Rapha. ²¹ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him. ²² These were descendants of the Rapha in Gath, and they were killed by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

¹Some Hebrew copies and other ancient translations of the Hebrew copies read: Michal, but see 1 Samuel 18:19, and compare 2 Samuel 6:23, which has Michal had no children . It may be that Michal was another name for Merab.

Chapter 22

¹ David sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul. ² He prayed,

"Yahweh is my rock, my fortress,

the one who rescues me.

³ God is my rock.

I take refuge in him.

He is my shield, the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold, and my refuge,

the one who saves me from violence.

⁴ I will call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,

and I will be saved from my enemies.

⁵ For the waves of death surrounded me,

the rushing waters of destruction overwhelmed me.

⁶ The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

the snares of death trapped me.

⁷ In my distress I called to Yahweh;

I called to my God;

he heard my voice from his temple,

and my cry for help went into his ears.

⁸ Then the earth shook and trembled.

The foundations of the heavens trembled

and were shaken, because God was angry.

⁹ Smoke went up from out of his nostrils,

and blazing fire came out of his mouth.

Coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰ He opened the heavens and came down,

and thick darkness was under his feet.

¹¹ He rode on a cherub and flew.

He was seen on the wings of the wind.

¹² He made darkness a tent around him,

gathering heavy rain clouds in the skies.

¹³ From the lightning before him

coals of fire fell.

¹⁴ Yahweh thundered from the heavens.

The Most High shouted.

¹⁵ He shot arrows and scattered his enemies—

lightning bolts and threw them into confusion.

¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were seen;

the foundations of the world were laid bare

at the rebuke of Yahweh,

at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷ He reached down from above; he took hold of me!

He pulled me out of the surging water.

¹⁸ He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁹ They came against me on the day of my distress,

but Yahweh was my support.

²⁰ He also brought me out to a wide open place.

He saved me because he was pleased with me.

²¹ Yahweh has rewarded me to the measure of my righteousness;

he has restored me to the measure of the cleanness of my hands.

²² For I have kept the ways of Yahweh

and have not acted wickedly by turning from my God.

²³ For all his righteous decrees have been before me;

as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.

²⁴ I have also been innocent before him,

and I have kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁵ Therefore Yahweh has restored me to the measure of my righteousness,

to the degree of my cleanness in his sight.

²⁶ To the faithful one, you show yourself to be faithful;

to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.

²⁷ With the pure you show yourself pure,

but you are perverse to the twisted.

²⁸ You save afflicted people,

but your eyes are against the proud, and you humiliate them.

²⁹ For you are my lamp, Yahweh.

Yahweh lights up my darkness.

³⁰ For by you I can run over a troop;

by my God I can leap over a wall.

³¹ As for God, his way is perfect.

The word of Yahweh is pure.

He is a shield

to everyone who takes refuge in him.

³² For who is God except Yahweh,

and who is a rock except our God?

³³ God is my refuge,

and he leads the blameless person on his path.

³⁴ He makes my feet swift like a deer

and places me on the high hills.

³⁵ He trains my hands for war,

and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your favor has made me great.

³⁷ You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me,

so my feet have not slipped.

³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them.

I did not turn back until they were destroyed.

³⁹ I devoured them and smashed them; they cannot rise.

They have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰ You girded me with strength for battle;

you put under me those who rise up against me.

⁴¹ You gave me the back of my enemies' necks;

I annihilated those who hated me.

⁴² They cried for help, but no one saved them;

they cried out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

⁴³ I beat them into fine pieces like dust on the ground,

I trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴ You also have rescued me from the disputes of my own people.

You have kept me as the head of nations.

A people that I have not known serves me.

⁴⁵ Foreigners were forced to bow to me.

As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

⁴⁶ The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁷ Yahweh lives! May my rock be praised.

May God be exalted, the rock of my salvation.

⁴⁸ This is the God who executes vengeance for me,

the one who brings down peoples under me.

⁴⁹ He sets me free from my enemies.

Indeed, you lifted me up above those who rose up against me.

You rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰ Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations;

I will sing praises to your name.

⁵¹ God gives great victory to his king,

and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one,

to David and to his descendants forever."

Chapter 23

¹ Now these are the last words of David—

the declaration of David son of Jesse,

the declaration of the man who was highly honored,

the one anointed by the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel.

² "The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me,

and his word was on my tongue.

³ The God of Israel spoke,

the Rock of Israel said to me,

'The one who rules righteously over men,

who rules in the fear of God.

⁴ He will be like the morning light when the sun rises,

a morning without clouds,

when the tender grass springs up from the earth

through bright sunshine after rain.

⁵ Indeed, is my family not like this before God?

Has he not made an everlasting covenant with me,

ordered and sure in every way?

Does he not increase my salvation and fulfill my every desire?

⁶ But the worthless will all be like thorns to be thrown away,

because they cannot be gathered by one's hands.

⁷ The man who touches them

must use an iron tool or the shaft of a spear.

They must be burned up where they lie.'"

⁸ These are the names of David's mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tahkemonite, was the leader of the officers. He killed eight hundred men on one occasion. ¹

⁹ After him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men. He was with David when they taunted the Philistines who had gathered together to do battle, and when the men of Israel had retreated. ¹⁰ Eleazar stood and fought the Philistines until his hand became weary and his hand stiffened to the grip of his sword. Yahweh brought about a great victory that day. The army returned after Eleazar, only to strip the bodies.

¹¹ After him was Shammah son of Agee, a Hararite. The Philistines gathered together where there was a field of lentils, and the army fled from them. ¹² But Shammah stood in the middle of the field and defended it. He killed the Philistines, and Yahweh brought about a great victory.

¹³ Three of the thirty soldiers went down to David at harvest time, to the cave of Adullam. The army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ At that time David was in his stronghold, a cave, while the Philistines had established at Bethlehem.

¹⁵ David was longing for water and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well at Bethlehem, the well that is by the gate!" ¹⁶ So these three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, the well at the gate. They took the water and brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to Yahweh. ¹⁷ Then he said, "Yahweh, far be it from me, that I should do this. Should I drink the blood of men who have risked their lives?" So he refused to drink it.

These things were done by the three mighty.

¹⁸ Abishai, brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah, was captain over the three. He once fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them. He was renowned along with the three soldiers. ¹⁹ Was he not even more famous than the three? He was made their captain. However, his fame did not equal the fame of the three most famous soldiers.

²⁰ Benaiah from Kabzeel was the son of Jehoiada; he was a strong man who did mighty feats. He killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion while it was snowing. ²¹ Then he killed a very large Egyptian man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah fought against him with only a staff. He seized the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and then killed him with his own spear.

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada did these feats, and he was named alongside the three mighty men. ²³ He was more highly regarded than the thirty soldiers in general, but he was not regarded quite as highly as the three mighty men. Yet David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁴ The thirty included the following men: Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

²⁵ Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

²⁷ Abiezer the Anathothite, Sibbekai ² the Hushathite,

²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite;

²⁹ Heled ³ son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjamites,

³⁰ Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the valleys of Gaash.

³¹ Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan son of Shammah the Hararite,

³³ Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

³⁴ Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

³⁵ Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

³⁶ Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani from the tribe of Gad, ⁴

³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearer to Joab son of Zeruiah,

³⁸ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

³⁹ Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.

¹Instead of Josheb-Basshebeth , some Hebrew copies and some ancient translations have Ishbaal , or Ish-Bosheth . These all are probably forms of the same name.

²Some copies of the ancient Greek translation taken from the ancient Hebrew copies, have the name Sibbekai, see also 2 Samuel 21:18 and 1 Chronicles 11:29. Come of the copies have Mebunnai .

³Some ancient copies have the spelling of this name to read, Heleb .

⁴Some modern translations have a different name at this place in the text: Zobah the son of Hagri .

Chapter 24

¹ Again the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them saying, "Go, count Israel and Judah." ² The king said to Joab the commander of the army, who was with him, "Go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count all the people, so that I may know the total number of men fit for battle."

³ Joab said to the king, "May Yahweh your God multiply the number of people a hundred times, and may the eyes of my master the king see it take place. But why does my master the king want this?" ⁴ Nevertheless, the king's word was final against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders went out from the king's presence to count the people of Israel.

⁵ They crossed over the Jordan and encamped near Aroer, south of the city in the valley. Then they traveled on through Gad to Jazer. ⁶ They came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi, then on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. ⁷ They reached the stronghold of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to the Negev in Judah at Beersheba.

⁸ When they had gone throughout all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Then Joab reported the total of the census of the fighting men to the king. There were in Israel 800,000 brave men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000 men.

¹⁰ Then David's heart afflicted him after he had counted the men. So he said to Yahweh, "I have greatly sinned by doing this. Now, Yahweh, take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly."

¹¹ When David rose up in the morning, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, ¹² "Go say to David: 'This is what Yahweh says: "I am giving you three choices. Choose one of them."'"

¹³ So Gad went to David and said to him, "Will three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months from your enemies while they pursue you? Or will there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide what answer I should return to him who sent me." ¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, "I am in deep trouble. Let us fall into Yahweh's hands rather than into the hand of man, for his merciful actions are very great."

¹⁵ So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel from the morning to a fixed time, and seventy thousand people died from Dan to Beersheba. ¹⁶ When the angel reached out with his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Yahweh changed his mind because of the harm it would cause, and he said to the angel who was destroying people, "Enough! Now draw back your hand." At that time the angel of Yahweh was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ Then David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel who had attacked the people, and said, "I have sinned, and I have acted perversely. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand punish me and my father's family!"

¹⁸ Then Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar for Yahweh at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." ¹⁹ So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, as Yahweh had commanded. ²⁰ Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching. So Araunah went out and bowed to the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Then Araunah said, "Why has my master the king come to me, his servant?" David replied, "To buy your threshing floor, so I can build an altar for Yahweh, so that the plague may be removed from the people." ²² Araunah said to David, "Take it as your own, my master the king. Do with it what is good in your sight. Look, here are oxen for the burnt offering and threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³ All this, my king, I, Araunah, will give to you." Then he said to the king, "May Yahweh your God accept you."

²⁴ The king said to Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it at a price. I will not offer as a burnt offering to Yahweh anything that costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵ David built an altar for Yahweh there and offered on it burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So Yahweh answered the prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was confined.

1 Kings

Chapter 1

¹ When King David was old and advanced in years, they covered him with blankets, but he could not keep warm. ² So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin for our master the king. Let her serve the king and take care of him. Let her lie in his arms so that our master the king may keep warm."

³ So they searched for a beautiful girl within all the borders of Israel. They found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful. She served the king and took care of him, but the king did not know her.

⁵ At that time, Adonijah son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ His father had never troubled him, saying, "Why have you done this or that?" Adonijah was also a very handsome man, born next after Absalom.

⁷ He conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest. They followed Adonijah and helped him. ⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David did not follow Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, 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 his brother Solomon.

¹¹ Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king, and David our master does not know it? ¹² Now therefore let me give you advice, so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.

¹³ Go to King David; say to him, 'My master the king, did you not swear to your servant, saying, "Surely Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne?" Why then is Adonijah reigning?' ¹⁴ While you are there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words."

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went into the king's room. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed down and showed respect before the king. Then the king said, "What do you desire?" ¹⁷ She said to him, "My master, you swore to your servant by Yahweh your God, saying, 'Surely Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne.'

¹⁸ Now, see, Adonijah is king, and you, my master the king, do not know it. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed many cattle, fatted calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

²⁰ As for you, my master the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, waiting for you to tell them who will sit on the throne after you, my master. ²¹ Otherwise it will happen, when my master the king lies down with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be regarded as criminals."

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ The servants told the king, "Nathan the prophet is here." When he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²⁴ Nathan said, "My master the king, have you said, 'Adonijah will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne?' ²⁵ For he has gone down today and sacrificed a great number of cattle, fatted calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. They are eating and drinking before him, and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

²⁶ But as for me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited us. ²⁷ Has my master the king done this without telling us, your servants, who should sit on the throne after him?"

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, "Call Bathsheba back to me." She came into the king's presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ The king made an oath and said, "As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all trouble, ³⁰ as I vowed to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, 'Solomon your son will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place,' I will do this today." ³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed down and put her face to the ground and she showed honor to the king and said, "May my master King David live forever!"

³² King David said, "Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." So they came before the king. ³³ The king said to them, "Take with you the servants of your master, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel and blow the ram's horn and say, 'Long live King Solomon!'

³⁵ Then you will come up after him, and he will come and sit on my throne; for he will be king in my place. I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." ³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, "Let it be so! May Yahweh, the God of my master the king, confirm it. ³⁷ As Yahweh has been with my master the king, so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my master King David."

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride upon King David's mule; they brought him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram's horn, and all the people said, "Long live King Solomon!" ⁴⁰ Then all the people went up after him, and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with their sound.

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the ram's horn, he said, "Why is there an uproar in the city?" ⁴² While he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest came. Adonijah said, "Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news."

⁴³ Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, "Our master King David has made Solomon the king, ⁴⁴ and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Kerethites and the Pelethites. They have had Solomon ride on the king's mule. ⁴⁵ Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard.

⁴⁶ Also, Solomon is sitting on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ Moreover, the king's servants came to bless our master King David, saying, 'May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.' Then the king bowed down on the bed. ⁴⁸ The king also said, 'Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has given a person to sit on my throne this day, and that my own eyes should see it.'"

⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified. They stood up and each man went his way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah was afraid of Solomon and rose up, went, and took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Then it was told Solomon, saying, "See, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, 'Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.'"

⁵² Solomon said, "If he will show himself a worthy man, not a hair of his will fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he will die." ⁵³ So King Solomon sent men, who brought Adonijah down from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, "Go to your house."

Chapter 2

¹ As the day of David's death approached, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, ² "I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. ³ Keep the commands of Yahweh your God to walk in his ways, to obey his statutes, his commandments, his decisions, and his covenant decrees, being careful to do what is written in the law of Moses, so you may prosper in all you do, wherever you go, ⁴ so that Yahweh may fulfill his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your descendants carefully watch their conduct, to walk before me faithfully with all their heart and with all their soul, you will never cease to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

⁵ You know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner son of Ner, and to Amasa son of Jether, whom he killed. He shed the blood of war in peace and put the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. ⁶ Deal with Joab by the wisdom you have learned, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

⁷ However, show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸ Look, there is with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. Shimei came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.' ⁹ Now therefore do not let him go free from punishment. You are a wise man, and you will know what you ought to do to him. You will bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood."

¹⁰ Then David lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. ¹¹ The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. He had reigned for seven years in Hebron and for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ¹² Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

¹³ Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, "Do you come peacefully?" He replied, "Peacefully." ¹⁴ Then he said, "I have something to say to you." So she replied, "Speak." ¹⁵ Adonijah said, "You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to be king. But things changed, and the kingdom was given to my brother, for it was his from Yahweh.

¹⁶ Now I have one request of you, and do not turn away from my face." Bathsheba said to him, "Speak." ¹⁷ He said, "Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not turn away from your face, so that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife." ¹⁸ Bathsheba said, "Very well, I will speak to the king."

¹⁹ Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne brought for the king's mother. She sat at his right hand. ²⁰ Then she said, "I wish to ask one small request of you, for you will not turn away from my face." The king answered her, "Ask, my mother, for I will not turn away from your face." ²¹ She said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife."

²² King Solomon answered and said to his mother, "Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Why do you not ask the kingdom for him also, for he is my elder brother—for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah?" ²³ Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, "May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.

²⁴ Now therefore as Yahweh lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house as he promised, surely Adonijah will be put to death today." ²⁵ So King Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and Benaiah found Adonijah and put him to death.

²⁶ Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go to Anathoth, to your own fields. You are worthy of death, but I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord Yahweh before David my father and suffered in every way my father suffered." ¹ ²⁷ So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to Yahweh, that he might fulfill the word of Yahweh, which he had spoken concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

²⁸ The news came to Joab, for Joab had supported Adonijah, though he had not supported Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of Yahweh and took hold of the horns of the altar. ²⁹ It was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh and was now beside the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, "Go, execute him."

³⁰ So Benaiah came to the tent of Yahweh and said to him, "The king says, 'Come out.'" Joab replied, "No, I will die here." So Benaiah returned to the king, saying, "Joab said he wanted to die at the altar." ³¹ The king said to him, "Do as he has said. Kill him and bury him so that you may take away from me and from my father's house the blood that Joab shed without cause.

³² May Yahweh return his blood on his own head, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men more righteous and better than himself and killed them with the sword, Abner son of Ner, the captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, the captain of the army of Judah. ³³ So may their blood return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever. But to David and his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne, may there be peace forever from Yahweh."

³⁴ Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and attacked Joab and killed him. He was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ³⁵ The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and he put Zadok the priest in Abiathar's place.

³⁶ Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any other place. ³⁷ For on the day you go out, and pass over the Kidron Valley, know you for certain that you will surely die. Your blood will be on your own head." ³⁸ So Shimei said to the king, "What you say is good. As my master the king has said, so your servant will do." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.

³⁹ But at the end of three years, two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maakah, the king of Gath. So they told Shimei, saying, "See, your servants are in Gath." ⁴⁰ Then Shimei arose, saddled his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to seek his servants. He went and brought his servants back from Gath.

⁴¹ When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, ⁴² the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, "Did I not make you swear by Yahweh and testify to you, saying, 'Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any other place, you will surely die'? Then you said to me, 'What I have heard is good.'

⁴³ Why then have you not kept your oath to Yahweh and the command that I gave you?" ⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, "You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to my father David. Therefore Yahweh will return your wickedness on your own head.

⁴⁵ But King Solomon will be blessed and the throne of David will be established before Yahweh forever." ⁴⁶ Then the king gave a command to Benaiah son of Jehoiada. He went out and put Shimei to death.

So the kingdom was well established in Solomon's hand.

¹The ancient Greek translation simply has, the ark of Yahweh .

Chapter 3

¹ Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, the house of Yahweh, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² The people were sacrificing at the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of Yahweh. ³ Solomon showed his love for Yahweh by walking in the statutes of David his father, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place there. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ Yahweh appeared at Gibeon to Solomon in a dream by night; he said, "Ask! What should I give you?"

⁶ So Solomon said, "You have shown great covenant faithfulness to your servant, David my father, because he walked before you in trustworthiness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart. You have kept for him this great covenant faithfulness and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.

⁷ Now Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father, though I am only a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ Your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?"

¹⁰ This request of Solomon pleased the Lord. ¹¹ So God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, ¹² see, now I will do all you asked of me when you gave me your request. I give you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, and no one like you will rise up after you.

¹³ I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. ¹⁴ If you will walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."

¹⁵ Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶ Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One woman said, "Oh, my master, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child with her in the house.

¹⁸ It happened on the third day after I gave birth that this woman also gave birth. We were together. There was no one else with us in the house, but only the two of us in the house. ¹⁹ Then 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 beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son at my breast.

²¹ When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, he was dead. But when I had looked at him carefully in the morning, he was not my son, whom I had borne." ²² Then the other woman said, "No, the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son." The first woman said, "No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son." This is how they spoke before the king.

²³ Then the king said, "One of you says, 'This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,' and the other says, 'No, your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.'" ²⁴ The king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵ Then the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to this woman and half to the other."

²⁶ Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king, for her heart was full of compassion for her son, and she said, "Oh, my master, give her the living child, and by no means kill him." But the other woman said, "He will be neither mine nor yours. Divide him." ²⁷ Then the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother." ²⁸ When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered, they feared the king, because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him for giving judgments.

Chapter 4

¹ King Solomon was king over all Israel. ² These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha, were secretaries. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder.

⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. ¹

⁵ Azariah son of Nathan was over the officers. Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's friend.

⁶ Ahishar was over the household. Adoniram son of Abda was over the men who were subjected to forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. ⁸ These were their names: Ben-Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹ Ben-Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan;

¹⁰ Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Sokoh and all the land of Hepher);

¹¹ Ben-Abinadab, in all Naphoth Dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);

¹² Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shan that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

¹³ Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair son of Manasseh, that are in Gilead, and the region of Argob belonged to him, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze gate bars);

¹⁴ Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

¹⁵ Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);

¹⁶ Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

¹⁷ Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;

¹⁸ Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;

¹⁹ and Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan, and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

²⁰ Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea. They were eating and drinking and were rejoicing. ²¹ Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. ²² Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, ²³ ten head of cattle fattened in the stall, twenty head of cattle taken from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

²⁴ For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River, from Tiphsah as far as to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River, and he had peace on all sides around him. ²⁵ Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

²⁶ Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ Those officers provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking. ²⁸ They also brought to the proper place barley and straw for the chariot horses and riding horses, each one bringing in what he was able.

²⁹ God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and wideness of understanding like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon's wisdom exceeded the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ He was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol—and his fame reached all the surrounding nations.

³² He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs were 1,005 in number. ³³ He described the plants, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He explained also about animals, birds, creeping things, and fish. ³⁴ People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon. They came from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

¹The ancient Greek translation supports the opinion of some modern scholars that Zadok and Abiathar were priests was a later addition to the text.

Chapter 5

¹ Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David. ² Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ "You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars that surrounded him, for during his lifetime Yahweh was putting his enemies under the soles of his feet.

⁴ But now, Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor disaster. ⁵ So I intend to build a temple for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, will build the temple for my name.'

⁶ Now therefore command that they cut cedars from Lebanon for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants so that you are paid fairly for everything you agreed to do. For you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians."

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, "May Yahweh be blessed today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people." ⁸ Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, "I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I will provide all the wood of cedar and cypress that you desire.

⁹ My servants will bring the trees down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you direct me. I will have them broken up there, and you will take them away. You will do what I desire by giving food for my household."

¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon all the timber of cedar and fir that he desired. ¹¹ Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat for food to his household and twenty thousand baths of pure oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. ¹ ¹² Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

¹³ King Solomon conscripted labor out of all Israel. The forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts. One month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was over the men who were subjected to forced labor.

¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens and eighty thousand who were stonecutters in the mountains, ¹⁶ besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work and who supervised the workers.

¹⁷ At the king's command they quarried large precious stones with which to lay the foundation of the temple. ¹⁸ So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men from Byblos ² did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stones to build the temple.

¹Some ancient Hebrew copies have: twenty thousand cors ... twenty thousand cors . Other ancient copies read: twenty thousand cors ... twenty thousand baths , which we are following here.

²Some modern English translations read, Gebalites .

Chapter 6

¹ So Solomon began to build the temple of Yahweh. This happened in the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month. ² The temple that King Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

³ The portico in front of the temple's main hall was twenty cubits in length, equal to the width of the temple, and ten cubits deep in front of the temple. ⁴ For the house he made windows with frames that made them more narrow at the outside than on the inside.

⁵ Against the walls of the main chamber he built rooms around it, around both the outer room and the inner room. He built rooms all around the sides. ⁶ The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide. For on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.

⁷ The house was built of stones prepared at the quarry. No hammer, ax, or any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built. ⁸ On the south side of the temple there was an entrance at the ground level, then one went up by stairs to the middle level, and from the middle to the third level.

⁹ So Solomon built the temple and finished it; he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the side rooms against the inner chambers of the temple, each side five cubits high; they were joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ The word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying, ¹² "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in my statutes and do justice, keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will confirm my promise with you that I had made to David your father. ¹³ I will live among the people of Israel and will not abandon them."

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵ Then he built the interior walls of the house with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with cypress boards.

¹⁶ He built twenty cubits onto the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built this room to be the inner room, the most holy place. ¹⁷ The main hall, that is, the holy place that was in front of the most holy place, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar inside. No stonework was visible on the inside.

¹⁹ Solomon prepared the inner room inside the house in order to place the ark of the covenant of Yahweh there. ²⁰ The inner room was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height. Solomon overlaid the walls with pure gold and covered the altar with cedar wood.

²¹ Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he placed chains of gold across the front of the inner room, and overlaid the front with gold. ²² He overlaid the entire interior with gold until all the temple was finished. He also overlaid with gold the whole altar that belonged to the inner room.

²³ Solomon made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high, for the inner room. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and its other wing was also five cubits long. So from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other there was a distance of ten cubits. ²⁵ The other cherub also had a wingspan of ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of the same dimensions and shape. ²⁶ The height of one cherub was ten cubits and the other cherub was the same.

²⁷ Solomon placed the cherubim in the innermost room. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out so that the wing of one touched one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. Their wings touched one another in the middle of the most holy place. ²⁸ Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the walls of the house around about with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, in the outer and inner rooms. ³⁰ Solomon overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in both the outer and inner rooms.

³¹ Solomon made doors of olivewood for the entrance to the inner room. The lintel and doorposts had five indented sections. ³² So he made two doors of olivewood, and he made on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and he spread the gold on the cherubim and palm trees.

³³ In this way, Solomon also made for the temple entrance doorposts of olive wood having four indented sections ³⁴ and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵ He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he evenly overlaid gold on the carved work.

³⁶ He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and conforming to all its specifications. Solomon took seven years to build the temple.

Chapter 7

¹ Solomon took thirteen years to build his own palace. ² He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was one hundred cubits, its width was fifty cubits, and its height was thirty cubits. The palace was built with four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars.

³ The house was roofed with cedar that rested on beams. Those beams were supported by pillars. There were forty-five beams, fifteen in a row. ⁴ There were beams in three rows, and each window was opposite another window in three sets. ⁵ All the doors and posts were made square with beams, and window was opposite window in three sets.

⁶ There was a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front and pillars and a roof.

⁷ Solomon built the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of justice. It was covered with cedar from the floor to the ceiling. ¹

⁸ Solomon's house in which he was to live, in another courtyard within the palace grounds, was designed in a similar way. He also built a house like this for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken as a wife.

⁹ These buildings were adorned with costly hewn stones, precisely measured and cut with a saw and smoothed on all sides. These stones were used from the foundation to the stones on top, and also on the outside to the great court. ¹⁰ The foundation was constructed with very large, costly stones of eight and ten cubits in length.

¹¹ Above were costly hewn stones precisely cut to size, and cedar beams. ¹² The great courtyard surrounding the palace had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams like the courtyard of the temple of Yahweh and the temple portico.

¹³ King Solomon sent for Huram and brought him from Tyre. ¹⁴ Huram was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali; his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to do great work with bronze. He came to King Solomon to work with bronze for the king.

¹⁵ Huram fashioned the two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. ¹⁶ He made two capitals of polished bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of each capital was five cubits. ¹⁷ Checker latticework and wreaths of chain work for the capitals decorated the top of the pillars, seven for each capital.

¹⁸ So Huram made two rows of pomegranates around the top of each pillar to decorate their capitals. ¹⁹ The capitals on the tops of the portico pillars were decorated with lilies, four cubits high.

²⁰ The capitals on these two pillars also included, close to their very top, two hundred pomegranates in rows all around. ²¹ He raised up the pillars at the temple portico. The pillar on the right was named Jakin, and the pillar on the left was named Boaz. ²² On the top of the pillars were decorations like lilies. The fashioning of the pillars was done in this way.

²³ Huram made the round sea of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim. Its height was five cubits, and it was thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under the brim encircling the sea were gourds, ten in each cubit, cast in one piece with it when that basin was cast.

²⁵ The sea stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east. It was set on top of them, and all their hindquarters were toward the inside. ²⁶ The sea was as thick as the width of a hand, and its brim was forged like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. The sea held two thousand baths of water.

²⁷ Huram made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long and four cubits wide, and the height was three cubits. ²⁸ The work of the stands was like this. They had panels that stood between frames, ²⁹ and on the panels and on the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hammered work.

³⁰ Every stand had four bronze wheels and axles, and its four corners had supports beneath for the basin. The supports were cast with wreaths on the side of each one. ³¹ The opening was round like a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide, and was within a crown that rose up a cubit. On the opening were engravings, and their panels were square, not round.

³² The four wheels were underneath the panels, and the axles of the wheels and their housings were in the stand. The height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³ The wheels were forged like chariot wheels. Their housings, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast metal.

³⁴ There were four handles at the four corners of each stand, forged into the stand itself. ³⁵ In the top of the stands there was a round band half a cubit deep, and on the top of the stand its supports and panels were attached.

³⁶ On the surfaces of the supports and on the panels Huram engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees that covered the space available, and they were surrounded by wreaths. ³⁷ He made the ten stands in this manner. All of them were cast in the same molds, and they had one size, and the same shape.

³⁸ Huram made ten basins of bronze. One basin could hold forty baths of water. Each basin was four cubits across and there was one basin on each of ten stands. ³⁹ He made five stands on the south-facing side of the temple and five on the north-facing side of the temple. He set the sea on the east corner, facing toward the south of the temple.

⁴⁰ Huram made the basins and the shovels and the sprinkling bowls. Then he finished all the work that he did for King Solomon in the temple of Yahweh:

⁴¹ the two pillars, and the bowl-like capitals that were on top of the two pillars, and the two sets of decorative latticework to cover the two bowl like capitals that were on top of the pillars.

⁴² He made the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of decorative latticework (two rows of pomegranates for each set of latticework to cover the two bowl-like capitals that were on the pillars);

⁴³ the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands.

⁴⁴ He made the large basin called the sea with its twelve oxen under it;

⁴⁵ also the pots, shovels, basins, and all the other implements. Huram made them out of polished bronze, for King Solomon, for the temple of Yahweh.

⁴⁶ The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Sukkoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon did not weigh all the utensils because there were too many to weigh, because the weight of the bronze could not be measured.

⁴⁸ Solomon had made all the furnishings that were in the temple of Yahweh out of gold: the golden altar and the table on which the bread of the presence was to be placed;

⁴⁹ the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner room, were of pure gold, and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs were of gold.

⁵⁰ Solomon also had made the cups, lamp trimmers, basins, spoons, and incense burners, all of which were made of pure gold; he had sockets of gold made for the doors of the inner room (which was the most holy place), and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹ In this way, all the work that King Solomon directed for the house of Yahweh was finished. So Solomon brought in the things that were set apart by David, his father, and the silver, the gold, and the furnishings, and put them into the storerooms of the house of Yahweh.

¹There was a repetition of the word for floor in the Hebrew copies, but see 1 Kings 6:16 for a similiar expression, that reads from the floor to the rafters and which appears to have been intended here.

Chapter 8

¹ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of the people of Israel, before himself in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion. ² All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the feast, in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³ All the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. ⁴ They brought up the ark of Yahweh, the tent of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought these things up. ⁵ King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel came together before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted.

⁶ The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner room of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread out their wings to the place of the ark, and they covered the ark and the poles by which it was carried. ⁸ The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ It came about that when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of Yahweh. ¹¹ The priests could not stand to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled his house.

¹² Then Solomon said, "Yahweh has said

that he would live in thick darkness,

¹³ But I have built you a lofty residence,

a place for you to live in forever."

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ He said, "May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised, who spoke to David my father, and has fulfilled it with his own hands, saying, ¹⁶ 'Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, in order for my name to be there. However, I chose David to rule over my people Israel.'

¹⁷ Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But Yahweh said to David my father, 'In that it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well for it to be in your heart. ¹⁹ Nevertheless you will not build the house; instead, your son, one who will be born from your loins, will build the house for my name.'

²⁰ Yahweh has carried out the word that he had said, for I have arisen in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ²¹ I have made a place for the ark there, in which is Yahweh's covenant, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."

²² Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh, before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward the heavens. ²³ He said, "Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the heavens above or on the earth below, who keeps his covenant faithfulness with your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ²⁴ you who have kept with your servant David my father, what you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is today.

²⁵ Now then, Yahweh, God of Israel, carry out what you have promised to your servant David my father, when you said, 'You will not fail to have a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful to walk before me, as you have walked before me.' ²⁶ Now then, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

²⁷ But will God actually live on the earth? Look, the entire universe and heaven itself cannot contain you—how much less can this temple that I have built! ²⁸ Yet please respect this prayer of your servant and his humble request, Yahweh my God; listen to the cry and prayer that your servant prays before you today.

²⁹ May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, to the place about which you have said, 'My name and my presence will be there'—in order to listen to the prayers that your servant will pray toward this place. ³⁰ So listen to the humble request of your servant and of your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, listen from the place where you live, from the heavens; and when you listen, forgive.

³¹ If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to swear an oath, and if he comes and swears an oath before your altar in this house, ³² listen from the heavens and act. Judge your servants, condemning the wicked and bringing what he has done upon his own head. Declare the innocent not guilty and give to him according to his righteousness.

³³ When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, if they turn back to you, confess your name, pray, and seek your favor in this temple— ³⁴ then please listen in the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel; bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.

³⁵ When the skies are shut up and there is no rain because the people have sinned against you—if they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin when you have afflicted them— ³⁶ then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk. Send rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

³⁷ Suppose there is famine in the land, or suppose that there is disease, blight or mildew, locusts or caterpillars; or suppose that an enemy attacks the city gates in their land, or that there is any plague or sickness— ³⁸ and suppose then that prayers and humble requests are made by a person or by all your people Israel—each knowing the plague in his own heart as he spreads out his hands toward this temple.

³⁹ Then listen from heaven, the place where you live, forgive and act, and reward every person for all he does; you know his heart, because you and you only know the hearts of all human beings. ⁴⁰ Do this so that they may fear you all the days that they live on the land that you gave to our ancestors.

⁴¹ In addition, concerning the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel: When he comes from a distant country because of your name— ⁴² for they will hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your raised arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³ then please listen from heaven, the place where you live, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you. Do this so that all the peoples on earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel. Do this so they might know that this house I have built is called by your name.

⁴⁴ Suppose that your people go out to battle against an enemy, by whatever way you may send them, and suppose that they pray to you, Yahweh, toward the city that you have chosen, and toward the house that I have built for your name. ⁴⁵ Then listen in the heavens to their prayer and their request, and help their cause.

⁴⁶ Suppose that they sin against you, since there is no one who does not sin, and suppose that you are angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, so that the enemy takes them away captive to their land, whether distant or near. ⁴⁷ Then suppose that they realize they are in the land where they have been exiled, and suppose that they repent and seek favor from you from the land of their captors. Suppose that they say, 'We have acted perversely and sinned. We have behaved wickedly.'

⁴⁸ Suppose that they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who captured them, and suppose that they pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their ancestors, and toward the city that you chose, and toward the house that I have built for your name.

⁴⁹ Then from heaven, the place where you live, listen to their prayer and their request for help, and you will make matters right for them. ⁵⁰ Forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, and cause their captors to have compassion on them.

⁵¹ They are your people and your inheritance, whom you rescued out of Egypt as if from the middle of a furnace where iron is forged. ⁵² May your eyes be open to the humble request of your servant and to the requests of your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they cry to you. ⁵³ For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to belong to you and receive your promises, just as you explained by Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord Yahweh."

⁵⁴ So it was that when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and request for favor to Yahweh, he arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward the heavens. ⁵⁵ He stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶ "May Yahweh be praised, who has given rest to his people Israel, keeping all his promises. Not one word has failed out of all Yahweh's good promises that he made with Moses his servant.

⁵⁷ May Yahweh our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us, ⁵⁸ that he may incline our hearts to him, to live in all his ways and keep his commandments and his regulations and his statutes, which he commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹ Let these words I have spoken, by which I have sought the favor of Yahweh, be near Yahweh our God day and night, so that he may help the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as every day will require; ⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh, he is God, and there is no other God! ⁶¹ Therefore let your heart be true to Yahweh our God, to walk in his statutes and keep his commandments, as on this day."

⁶² So the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to Yahweh. ⁶³ Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to Yahweh: twenty-two thousand cattle and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh.

⁶⁴ The same day the king set apart the middle of the courtyard in front of the temple of Yahweh, for there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to receive the burnt offering, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God for seven days and also for another seven days, a total of fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their tents with joyful and glad hearts for all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David, his servant, and to Israel, his people.

Chapter 9

¹ After Solomon had finished building the house of Yahweh and the king's palace, and after he had accomplished all that he desired to do, ² Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

³ Then Yahweh said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your request for favor that you have made before me. I have set apart this house, which you have built, to myself, to put my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

⁴ As for you, if you walk before me as David your father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness, obeying all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my decrees, ⁵ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'A descendant of yours will never fail to be on the throne of Israel.'

⁶ But if you turn away, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have placed before you, and if you go and worship other gods and bow down to them, ⁷ then will I cut off Israel from off the ground that I have given them; and this house that I have set apart to my name, I will cast it out of my sight, and Israel will become an example to be mocked and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

⁸ This temple will become a heap of ruins, and everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss. They will ask, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?' ⁹ Others will answer, 'Because they abandoned Yahweh, their God, who had brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and bowed down to them and worshiped them. That is why Yahweh has brought all this disaster on them.'"

¹⁰ It came about at the end of twenty years that Solomon had finished building the two buildings, the temple of Yahweh and the king's palace. ¹¹ Now Hiram, the king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar and cypress trees, and with gold—all that Solomon desired—so King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

¹² Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. ¹³ So Hiram said, "What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?" Hiram called them the Land of Kabul, which they are still called today. ¹⁴ Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

¹⁵ This is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon imposed to build the temple of Yahweh and his own palace, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶ Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites in the city. Then Pharaoh gave the city to his daughter, Solomon's wife, as a wedding gift.

¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and Beth Horon the Lower, ¹⁸ Baalath and Tamar ¹ in the wilderness in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the store cities that he possessed, and the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever he wished to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the lands under his rule.

²⁰ As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel, ²¹ their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were not able to totally destroy—Solomon made them into forced laborers, which they are to this day.

²² However, Solomon made no forced laborers of the people of Israel. They were his soldiers, his servants, his officials, his officers, and commanders of his chariot forces and his horsemen.

²³ These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who were over Solomon's works, 550 of them, who supervised the people who did the work.

²⁴ Pharaoh's daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her. Later, Solomon built the Millo.

²⁵ Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built for Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he completed the temple and was now using it.

²⁶ King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ²⁷ Hiram sent servants to Solomon's fleet, sailors who were familiar with the sea, with Solomon's own servants. ²⁸ They went to Ophir with servants of Solomon. From there they brought back 420 talents of gold for King Solomon.

¹Tamar is also pronounced Tadmor .

Chapter 10

¹ When the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she arrived, she told Solomon all that was in her heart.

³ Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing she asked that the king did not answer. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom, the palace that he had built, ⁵ the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers, and the manner in which he offered burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her.

⁶ She said to the king, "It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom. ⁷ I did not believe the message until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me! In wisdom and wealth you have exceeded the report that I heard.

⁸ How blessed are your wives, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear your wisdom. ¹ ⁹ May Yahweh your God be praised, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, he has made you king, for you to do justice and righteousness!"

¹⁰ She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. No greater amount of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon was ever given to him again.

¹¹ The fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a large amount of almug wood and precious stones. ¹² The king made almug wood pillars for the temple of Yahweh and for the king's palace, and harps and lutes for the singers. No such quantity of almug wood has ever come or been seen again to this day.

¹³ King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything she wished for, whatever she asked, in addition to what Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one. ¹⁷ He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸ Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne, and the back of it had a rounded top. There were armrests on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.

²¹ All King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver, because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days. ²² The king had at sea a fleet of ships of Tarshish, along with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.

²³ So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom. ²⁴ All the earth sought the presence of Solomon in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, and clothes, armor, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year.

²⁶ Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands.

²⁸ The horses that belonged to Solomon were imported from Egypt, and Kue and the king's merchants purchased them from Kue. ²⁹ Chariots were brought up from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver each, and horses for 150 shekels each. Many of these were then sold to all the kings of the Hittites and Aram.

¹Some Hebrew copies have: How blessed are your men . The ancient Greek translation has How blessed are your wives . Many think it is probable that women was misread as men , because two Hebrew words are very similar.

Chapter 11

¹ Now King Solomon loved many foreign women including the daughter of Pharaoh—women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. ² They were from the nations about which Yahweh said to the people of Israel, "You will not go among them to marry, neither will they come among you, for they will certainly turn your heart to their gods." In spite of this command, Solomon was affectionate toward these women in love.

³ Solomon had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. His wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; his heart was not fully surrendered to Yahweh his God, as was the heart of David his father.

⁵ For Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and he followed Molech, the disgusting idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did not fully follow Yahweh as David his father had done.

⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the disgusting idol of Moab, on a hill east of Jerusalem, and also for Molech, the disgusting idol of the people of Ammon. ⁸ He also built high places for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods at them.

⁹ Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from him, the God of Israel, even though he had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ and commanded him about this very thing, that he should not go after other gods. But Solomon did not obey what Yahweh commanded.

¹¹ Therefore Yahweh said to Solomon, "Because you have done this and have not kept the covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. ¹² However, for David your father's sake, I will not do it in your lifetime, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for David my servant's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."

¹⁴ Then Yahweh raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was from the royal family of Edom. ¹⁵ When David was in Edom, Joab the captain of the army had gone up to bury the dead, every man who had been killed in Edom. ¹⁶ Joab and all Israel remained there six months until he had killed every male in Edom. ¹⁷ But Hadad fled to Egypt with other Edomites, his father's servants, when Hadad was still a little child.

¹⁸ They left Midian and came to Paran, from where they took men with them to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and land and food. ¹⁹ Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that Pharaoh gave him a wife, his own wife's sister, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to Hadad's son. They named him Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace. So Genubath lived in Pharaoh's palace among the children of Pharaoh. ²¹ While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David had lain down with his ancestors and that Joab the captain of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me depart, so I may go to my own country." ²² Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me, that you now seek to go to your own country?" Hadad answered, "Nothing. Please let me go."

²³ God also raised up another adversary to Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah. ²⁴ Rezon gathered men to himself and became captain over a marauding band when David killed the men of Zobah. Rezon's men went to Damascus and lived there, and Rezon reigned in Damascus. ²⁵ He was an enemy of Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the trouble that Hadad caused. Rezon abhorred Israel and reigned over Aram.

²⁶ Then Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. ²⁷ He lifted up his hand against the king because Solomon had built up the place located at Millo and repaired the opening in the city wall of David his father.

²⁸ Jeroboam was a man of great ability. Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, so he appointed him over all the labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ At that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed in a new garment and the two men were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then Ahijah grabbed hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.

³¹ He said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'Look, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and I will give ten tribes to you ³² (but Solomon will have one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for Jerusalem's sake—the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), ³³ because they have abandoned me and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Molech the god of the people of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways, to do what is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my decrees, as did David his father.

³⁴ I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand. I have made him ruler all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake whom I chose, the one who kept my commandments and my statutes. ³⁵ But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and I will give it to you, ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give one tribe to Solomon's son, so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city in which I have chosen to put my name.

³⁷ I will take you, and you will rule to fulfill all that you desire, and you will be king over Israel. ³⁸ If you listen to all that I command you, and if you walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, then I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will punish the descendants of David, but not forever.'"

⁴⁰ So Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam got up and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

⁴¹ As for the other matters concerning Solomon, all that he did and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the events of Solomon? ⁴² Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ⁴³ He lay down with his ancestors and he was buried in the city of David his father. Rehoboam his son became king in his place.

Chapter 12

¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel was coming to Shechem to make him king. ² It happened that Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), for Jeroboam had settled down in Egypt. ¹

³ So they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ⁴ "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now make lighter the hard work of your father and make lighter the heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you." ⁵ Rehoboam said to them, "Go away for three days, then come back to me." So the people went away.

⁶ King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was alive, and he said, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" ⁷ They spoke to him and said, "If you will be a servant today to these people and serve them, and answer them by saying good words to them, then they will always be your servants."

⁸ But Rehoboam ignored the advice that the old men had given him and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. ⁹ He said to them, "What advice do you give me that we may answer the people who spoke to me and said, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?"

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with Rehoboam spoke to him, saying, "Speak to these people who told you that your father Solomon made their yoke heavy but that you must make it lighter. You should say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. ¹¹ So now, although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.'"

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had instructed when he said, "Come back to me on the third day." ¹³ The king answered the people roughly and ignored the advice of the old men that they had given him. ¹⁴ He spoke to them following the advice of the young men; he said, "My father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions."

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of events brought about by Yahweh, that he might carry out his word that he had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered him and said,

"What share do we have in David?

We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse!

Go to your tents, Israel.

Now see to your own house, David."

So Israel went back to their tents.

¹⁷ But as for the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam became king over them.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the forced laborers, but all Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam fled quickly in his chariot to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

²⁰ It happened that when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to their assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the family of David, except only the tribe of Judah.

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin; there were 180,000 chosen men who were soldiers, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God; it said, ²³ "Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people; say, ²⁴ 'Yahweh says this: You must not attack or fight against your brothers the people of Israel. Each man must return to his home, for this thing has been made to happen by me.'" So they listened to the word of Yahweh and turned back and went their way, and they obeyed his word.

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. He went out from there and built Peniel. ²⁶ Jeroboam thought in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of Yahweh at Jerusalem, then the heart of these people will turn again to their master, to Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."

²⁸ So King Jeroboam sought advice and made two calves of gold; he said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." ²⁹ He set up one in Bethel and the other in Dan. ³⁰ So this act became a sin. The people went to one or the other, all the way to Dan.

³¹ Jeroboam made houses on high places and he also made priests from among all the people, who were not among the sons of Levi. ³² Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar. He did so at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.

³³ Jeroboam went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month he had planned in his own mind; he ordained a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

¹2 Chronicles 10:2 is very close to 1 Kings 12:2, that is, the Hebrew consonants are identical, and could support either reading, "settled down" or "returned." The alternate reading would be: then Jeroboam returned from Egypt .

Chapter 13

¹ A man of God came out of Judah by the word of Yahweh to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. ² He cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh: "Altar, altar! This is what Yahweh says, 'See, a son named Josiah will be born to the family of David, and on you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now burn incense on you. On you they will burn human bones.'" ³ Then the man of God gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign that Yahweh has spoken: 'Look, the altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.'"

⁴ When the king heard what the man of God said, that he had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam reached out with his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." Then the hand with which he had reached out against the man dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. ⁵ (The altar was also split apart and the ashes poured out from the altar, as described by the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Yahweh.)

⁶ King Jeroboam answered and said to the man of God, "Plead for the favor of Yahweh your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me again." So the man of God prayed to Yahweh, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and it became as it was before. ⁷ The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."

⁸ The man of God said to the king, "Even if you give me half your possessions, I will not go with you, nor will I eat food or drink water in this place, ⁹ because Yahweh commanded me by his word, 'You will eat no bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'" ¹⁰ So the man of God left another way and did not return to his home by the way that he had come to Bethel.

¹¹ Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the things that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told him the words that the man of God had spoken to the king. ¹² Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons had seen the way the man of God from Judah had gone. ¹³ So he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey and he rode off on it.

¹⁴ The old prophet went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" He answered, "I am." ¹⁵ Then the old prophet said to him, "Come home with me and eat food." ¹⁶ The man of God answered, "I may not return with you nor go in with you, neither will I eat food nor drink water with you in this place, ¹⁷ because it was commanded to me by the word of Yahweh, 'You will eat no food nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'"

¹⁸ So the old prophet said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat food and drink water.'" But he was lying to the man of God. ¹⁹ So the man of God went back with the old prophet and ate food in his house and drank water.

²⁰ As they sat at the table, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back, ²¹ and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Yahweh says, 'Because you have been disobedient to the word of Yahweh and have not kept the command that Yahweh your God gave you, ²² but came back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place about which Yahweh told you to eat no food and drink no water, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.'"

²³ After he had eaten food and after he had drunk, the prophet saddled the donkey of the man of God, the man who had come back with him. ²⁴ When the man of God was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left on the road. Then the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. ²⁵ When men passed by and saw the body left on the road, and the lion standing by the body, they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh gave him to the lion, which tore him to pieces and killed him, just as the word of Yahweh warned him." ²⁷ So the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle my donkey," and they saddled it. ²⁸ He went and found the body left in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body, nor attacked the donkey.

²⁹ The prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. He came to his own city to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰ He laid the body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, "Woe, my brother!"

³¹ Then after he had buried him, the old prophet spoke to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. ³² For the message he declared by the word of Yahweh, against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses on the high places in the cities of Samaria, will certainly happen."

³³ After this Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but continued to appoint common priests for the high places from among all sorts of people. Any who would serve he consecrated as a priest. ³⁴ This matter became sin to the family of Jeroboam and caused his family to be destroyed and to be exterminated from the face of the earth.

Chapter 14

¹ At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became very sick. ² Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please arise and disguise yourself, so you will not be recognized as my wife, and go to Shiloh, because Ahijah the prophet is there; he is the one who spoke about me, saying that I would become king over these people. ³ Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to Ahijah. He will tell you what will happen to the child."

⁴ Jeroboam's wife did so; she left and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; he lost his sight because of old age. ⁵ Yahweh said to Ahijah, "Look, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to seek advice from you regarding her son, for he is sick. Say such and such to her, because when she comes, she will act as if she were some other woman."

⁶ When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be someone you are not? I have been sent to you with severe news. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam that Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'I raised you from among the people to make you the leader over my people Israel. ⁸ I tore the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you, yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, to do only what was right in my eyes.

⁹ Instead, you have done evil, more than all who were before you. You have made other gods, and you have cast metal images to provoke me to anger, and you have thrust me behind your back. ¹⁰ Therefore, look, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam; I will cut off from you every male child in Israel, whether slave or free, and will completely remove the house of Jeroboam like someone who burns up dung until it is gone.

¹¹ Anyone who belongs to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the heavens, for I, Yahweh, have said it.' ¹² So arise, wife of Jeroboam, and go back to your home; when your feet enter the city, the child Abijah will die. ¹³ All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one from Jeroboam's family who will go into a grave, because only in him, out of Jeroboam's house, was anything good found in the sight of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹⁴ Also, Yahweh will raise up a king of Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam on that day. Today is that day, right now. ¹⁵ For Yahweh will attack Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their ancestors. He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherah poles and provoked Yahweh to anger. ¹⁶ He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, the sins that he has committed, and through which he has led Israel to sin."

¹⁷ So Jeroboam's wife arose and left, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of her house, the child died. ¹⁸ All Israel buried him and mourned for him, just as it was told to them by the word of Yahweh which he had spoken by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ As for the other matters concerning Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, see, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel. ²⁰ Jeroboam reigned twenty-two years and then lay down with his ancestors, and Nadab his son became king in his place.

²¹ Now Rehoboam son of Solomon was reigning in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his name. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman. ²² Judah did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; they provoked him to jealousy with the sins that they committed, more than everything that their fathers had done.

²³ For they also built for themselves high places, stone pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were also cultic prostitutes in the land. They did the same disgusting practices as the nations that Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel.

²⁵ It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures in the house of Yahweh, and the treasures in the king's house. He took everything away; he also took all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

²⁷ King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and entrusted them into the hands of the commanders of the guard, who guarded the doors to the king's house. ²⁸ It happened that whenever the king entered the house of Yahweh, the guards would carry them; then they would bring them back into the guardhouse.

²⁹ As for the other matters concerning Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ³⁰ There was constant warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ³¹ So Rehoboam lay down with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman. Abijah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 15

¹ In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maakah. She was the daughter of Abishalom. ³ He walked in all the sins that his father had committed before his time; his heart was not devoted to Yahweh his God as the heart of David, his ancestor, had been.

⁴ Nevertheless, for David's sake, Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up his son after him in order to strengthen Jerusalem. ⁵ God did this because David had done what was right in his eyes; for all the days of his life, he had not turned away from anything that he commanded him, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶ Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijah's life.

⁷ As for the other matters of Abijah, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ⁸ Abijah lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Asa his son became king in his place.

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maakah, the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as David, his ancestor, had done.

¹² He expelled the cultic prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his ancestors had made. ¹³ He also removed Maakah, his grandmother, from being queen, because she had made a disgusting figure out of an Asherah pole. Asa cut down the disgusting figure and burned it at the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴ But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was completely devoted to Yahweh all his days. ¹⁵ He brought into the house of Yahweh the things that were set apart by his father, and his own things that had been set apart that were made of silver and gold, and vessels.

¹⁶ There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, all their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel, acted aggressively against Judah and built up Ramah, so that he might not allow anyone to leave or enter into the land of Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the storerooms in the house of Yahweh, and the storerooms of the king's palace. He put it into the hands of his servants and sent it to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. He said, ¹⁹ "Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent to you a gift of silver and gold. Break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, so that he may leave me alone."

²⁰ Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies, and they attacked the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah, and all Kinnereth, together with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ It came about that when Baasha heard this, he stopped building up Ramah and went back to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones and timbers of Ramah with which Baasha had been building up the city. Then King Asa used that building material to build up Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³ As for the other matters of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? But during his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ Then Asa lay down with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David his father. Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place.

²⁵ Nadab son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of his father, and in his own sin, by which he led Israel to sin.

²⁷ Baasha son of Ahijah, of the family of Issachar, conspired against Nadab; Baasha killed him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and became king in his place.

²⁹ As soon as he was king, Baasha killed all the family of Jeroboam. He left none of Jeroboam's descendants breathing; in this way he destroyed his royal line, just as Yahweh had spoken by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ for the sins of Jeroboam which he committed and by which he led Israel to sin, in his anger to which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel.

³¹ As for the other matters concerning Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ³² There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah and he reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he led Israel to sin.

Chapter 16

¹ The word of Yahweh came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² "Although I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, so as to provoke me to anger with their sins.

³ See, I will consume Baasha and his family and I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. ⁴ The dogs will eat anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the fields."

⁵ As for the other matters concerning Baasha, what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ⁶ Baasha lay down with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place.

⁷ So by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of Yahweh came against Baasha and his family, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of Yahweh, so as to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, like the family of Jeroboam, and also because he had killed all of Jeroboam's family.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned two years. ⁹ His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now Elah was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah. ¹⁰ Zimri went in, attacked him, and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place.

¹¹ When Zimri began to reign and was seated on his throne, he killed all the family of Baasha. He did not leave alive a single male belonging to Baasha's relatives or friends. ¹² So Zimri destroyed all the family of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, ¹³ for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son that they committed, and by which they had led Israel to sin, so that they provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.

¹⁴ As for the other matters concerning Elah, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned only for seven days in Tirzah. Now the army was camped by Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ The army camped there heard it said, "Zimri has plotted and has killed the king." So that day in the camp, all Israel declared Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel. ¹⁷ Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

¹⁸ So when Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the fortress attached to the king's palace and set fire to the building over him; in this way he died in the flames. ¹⁹ This was for the sins that he had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, by walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin that he had committed, so as to lead Israel to sin. ²⁰ As for the other matters concerning Zimri, and the treason that he carried out, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri were stronger than the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king.

²³ Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He reigned from Tirzah for six years. ²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. He built a city on the hill and called the name of the city Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the past owner of the hill.

²⁵ Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and acted more wickedly than all who had been before him. ²⁶ For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins by which he led Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to be angry with their worthless idols.

²⁷ As for the other matters concerning Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ²⁸ So Omri lay down with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria and Ahab his son became king in his place.

²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel. Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, more than all those who were before him.

³¹ It was to Ahab a trivial thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, so he took as his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; he went and worshiped Baal and bowed down to him. ³² He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab made an Asherah pole. Ahab did even more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who had been before him.

³⁴ During Ahab's rule, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. Hiel laid the foundation of the city at the cost of the life of Abiram, his firstborn son; and Segub, his youngest son, lost his life while he was building the gates of the city, in keeping with the word of Yahweh which he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.

Chapter 17

¹ Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As Yahweh, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there will not be dew or rain these years unless I say so."

² The word of Yahweh came to Elijah, saying, ³ "Leave from here and go eastward; hide yourself by the brook Kerith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ It will happen that you will drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

⁵ So Elijah went and did as the word of Yahweh commanded. He went to live by the brook Kerith, east of 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 But after a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ The word of Yahweh came to him, saying, ⁹ "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. Look, 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 a widow was there gathering sticks. So he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a jar so that I may drink."

¹¹ As she was going to get water he called to her, and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." ¹² She replied, "As Yahweh your God lives, I do not have any bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug. See, I am gathering two sticks so I may go in and cook it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die." ¹³ Elijah said to her, "Do not fear. Go and do as you have said, but make me a little bread first and bring it out to me. Then afterward make some for you and for your son.

¹⁴ For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of meal will not empty, neither will the jug of oil stop flowing, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth." ¹⁵ So she did as Elijah had told her. She and Elijah, along with her household, ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of meal did not empty, neither did the jug of oil stop flowing, just as the word of Yahweh had said, as he had spoken by Elijah.

¹⁷ After these things the woman's son, the woman who owned the house, fell sick. His sickness was so severe that there was no more breath left in him. ¹⁸ So his mother said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Have you come to me to remind me of my iniquity and to kill my son?"

¹⁹ Then Elijah replied to her, "Give me your son." He took the boy from her arms and carried him up into the room where he was staying, and he laid the boy on his own bed. ²⁰ He cried to Yahweh and said, "Yahweh my God, have you also brought disaster on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?" ²¹ Then Elijah stretched himself on the child three times; he cried out to Yahweh and said, "Yahweh my God, I beg you, please let this child's life return to him."

²² Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child returned to him, and he revived. ²³ Elijah took the child and brought him out of his room down into the house; he handed the boy to his mother and said, "See, your son is alive." ²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is true."

Chapter 18

¹ So after many days the word of Yahweh came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the land." ² Elijah went to show himself to Ahab; now the famine was severe in Samaria.

³ Ahab called Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Now Obadiah honored Yahweh very much, ⁴ for when Jezebel was killing the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.

⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the water springs and brooks. Perhaps we will find grass and save the horses and mules alive, so that we will not lose all the animals." ⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass through it and look for water. Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way.

⁷ As Obadiah was on the road, Elijah unexpectedly met him. Obadiah recognized him and lay facedown on the ground. He said, "Is it you, my master Elijah?" ⁸ Elijah answered him, "It is I. Go tell your master, 'Look, Elijah is here.'"

⁹ Obadiah replied, "How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, for him to kill me? ¹⁰ As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent men to find you. Whenever a nation or kingdom says, 'Elijah is not here,' Ahab makes them take an oath swearing that they could not find you. ¹¹ Yet now you say, 'Go, tell your master that Elijah is here.'

¹² As soon as I am gone from you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you some place I do not know. Then when I go and tell Ahab, and when he cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I, your servant, have worshiped Yahweh from my youth. ¹³ Has it not been told to you, my master, what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, how I hid one hundred of Yahweh's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water?

¹⁴ Now you say to me, 'Go and tell your master that Elijah is here,' so that he will kill me." ¹⁵ Then Elijah responded, "As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to Ahab today."

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him what Elijah said. Then the king went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is it you? You are the one who brings trouble to Israel!"

¹⁸ Elijah answered, "I have not brought trouble to Israel, but you and your father's family are the ones who have caused trouble by abandoning the commandments of Yahweh and by following the Baals. ¹⁹ Now then, send word and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table."

²⁰ So Ahab sent word to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you keep changing your mind? If Yahweh is God, follow him. But if Baal is God, then follow him." Yet the people did not answer him a word.

²² Then Elijah said to the people, "I, I alone, am left as a prophet of Yahweh, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. ²³ So let them give us two bulls. Let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. ²⁴ Then you will call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and the God who answers by fire, then let him be God." So all the people answered and said, "This is good."

²⁵ So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many people. Then call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the bull." ²⁶ They took the bull that was given to them and prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "Baal, hear us." But there was no voice, nor anyone who answered. They danced around the altar they had made.

²⁷ At noon Elijah mocked them and said, "Shout out loudly! He is a god! Perhaps he is thinking, or is relieving himself, or he is traveling on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." ²⁸ So they shouted more loudly, and they cut themselves, as they usually did, with swords and spears, until their blood flowed out over themselves. ²⁹ Midday passed, and they were still raving until the time of offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice or anyone to answer; there was no one who paid any attention to their pleadings.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me," and all the people came near to him. Then he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was lying in ruin. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, each stone representing one of the tribes of the sons of Jacob—it was Jacob to whom the word of Yahweh came, saying, "Israel will be your name." ³² With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh and he dug a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs of seeds.

³³ He arranged the wood for a fire, cut the bull in pieces, and laid the pieces of the bull on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." ³⁴ Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. Once more he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water ran around the altar and filled the trench.

³⁶ It happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. ³⁷ Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that these people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again to yourself."

³⁸ Then the fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering, as well as the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they lay facedown on the ground and said, "Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!" ⁴⁰ So Elijah said to them, "Take the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape." So they took them, and Elijah brought the prophets of Baal down to the Kishon River and killed them there.

⁴¹ Elijah said to Ahab, "Get up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of much rain." ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Then Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.

⁴³ He said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." His servant went up and looked and said, "There is nothing." So seven times Elijah said, "Go again." ⁴⁴ At the seventh time the servant said, "Look, there is a cloud going up from the sea, as small as a man's hand." Elijah replied, "Go up and say to Ahab, 'Make ready your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"

⁴⁵ It happened that in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode and went to Jezreel, ⁴⁶ but the hand of Yahweh was on Elijah. He girded his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Chapter 19

¹ Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of those dead prophets by tomorrow about this time." ³ When Elijah heard that, he arose and fled for his life and came 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 broom tree. He requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough, now, Yahweh; take away my life, for I am no better than my dead ancestors." ⁵ So he lay down and slept under a broom tree. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." ⁶ Elijah looked, and near his head was bread that had been baked on coals and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and then lay down again.

⁷ The angel of Yahweh came again a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, because the journey will be too much for you." ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and he traveled in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹ He went to a cave there and prepared to stay overnight in it. Then the word of Yahweh came to him and said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ¹⁰ Elijah replied, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh, God of hosts, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. Now I, only I, am left and they are also trying to take my life."

¹¹ Yahweh replied, "Go out and stand on the mountain before me." Then Yahweh passed by, and a very strong wind struck the mountains and broke rocks into pieces before Yahweh, but Yahweh was not in the wind. Then after the wind, an earthquake came, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. ¹² Then after the earthquake a fire came, but Yahweh was not in the fire. Then after the fire, a still small voice came.

¹³ When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his cloak, went out, and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ¹⁴ Elijah replied, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh, God of hosts, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. Now I, only I, am left and they are also trying to take my life."

¹⁵ Then Yahweh said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive you will anoint Hazael to be king over Aram, ¹⁶ and you will anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and you will anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place.

¹⁷ It will happen that Jehu will kill whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, and that Elisha will kill whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ But I will leave for myself seven thousand people in Israel, whose knees have not bent down to Baal, and whose mouths have not kissed him."

¹⁹ So Elijah left from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he himself was plowing with the twelfth yoke. Elijah walked over to Elisha and draped his cloak on him. ²⁰ Then Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah; he said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back, but think about what I have done to you."

²¹ So Elisha returned from Elijah and took the yoke of oxen, killed the animals, and cooked the meat with the wood from the ox yoke. Then he gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose, went after Elijah and served him.

Chapter 20

¹ Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army together. There were thirty-two lesser kings with him, and horses and chariots. He went up, besieged Samaria and fought against it. ² He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, "Ben-Hadad says this: ³ 'Your silver and your gold are mine. Also your wives and children, the best ones, are now mine.'"

⁴ The king of Israel answered and said, "It is as you say, my master, king. I and all that I have are yours." ⁵ The messengers came again and said, "Ben-Hadad says this, 'I sent word to you saying that you must give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. ⁶ But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and your servants' houses. They will seize with their own hands and take away everything that delights your eyes.'"

⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land together and said, "Please take note and see how this man seeks trouble. He has sent word to me in order to take my wives, children, and silver and gold, and I have not refused him." ⁸ All the elders and all the people said to Ahab, "Do not listen to him or consent to his demands."

⁹ So Ahab said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, "Tell my master the king, 'I agree to everything that you sent your servant to do the first time, but I cannot accept this second demand.'" So the messengers left and took this response to Ben-Hadad. ¹⁰ Then Ben-Hadad sent his reply to Ahab, and said, "May the gods do so to me and more also, if even the ashes of Samaria will be enough for all the people who follow me to have a handful each."

¹¹ The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell Ben-Hadad, 'No one who is girding on his armor should boast as if he were taking it off.'" ¹² Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings under him who were in their tents. Ben-Hadad commanded his servants, "Line yourselves up in position for battle." So they prepared themselves in position of battle to attack the city.

¹³ Then behold, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, "Yahweh says, 'Have you seen this great army? Look, I will place it into your hand today, and you will know that I am Yahweh.'" ¹⁴ Ahab replied, "By whom?" Yahweh replied and said, "By the young officers who serve the governors of the provinces." Then Ahab said, "Who will begin the battle?" Yahweh answered, "You." ¹⁵ Then Ahab mustered the young officers who served the governors of the provinces. They numbered 232. After them he mustered all the soldiers, all the army of Israel; seven thousand in number.

¹⁶ They went out at noon. Ben-Hadad had been drinking himself drunk in his tent, he and the thirty-two lesser kings who were supporting him. ¹⁷ The young officers who served the governors of the provinces went forward first. Then Ben-Hadad was informed by scouts that he had sent out, "Men are coming out from Samaria."

¹⁸ Ben-Hadad said, "Whether they have come out for peace or war, take them alive." ¹⁹ So the young officers who served the governors of the provinces went out of the city and the army followed them.

²⁰ Each man killed his opponent. The Arameans fled and Israel pursued them. Ben-Hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse along with some horsemen. ²¹ Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.

²² So the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself, and understand and plan what you are doing, because at the return of the year the king of Aram will come up against you again." ²³ The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than we were. But now let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they are.

²⁴ So you must do this: Remove all the kings from their positions of authority and replace them with military commanders. ²⁵ Raise up an army like the army you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight them in the plain. Then surely we will be stronger than they are." So Ben-Hadad listened to their advice and did what they advised.

²⁶ After the beginning of the new year, Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ The people of Israel were mustered and supplied to fight against them. The people of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the countryside.

²⁸ Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Yahweh says: 'Because the Arameans have said that Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys, I will place this great army into your hand, and you will know that I am Yahweh.'"

²⁹ So the armies camped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle started. The people of Israel killed 100,000 Aramean footmen in one day. ³⁰ The rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner room.

³¹ Ben-Hadad's servants said to him, "See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth 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 girded sackcloth on their waists and ropes around their heads and then went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad said, 'Please let me live.'" Ahab said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."

³³ Now the men were listening for any sign from Ahab, so they quickly answered him, "Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad is alive." Then Ahab said, "Go and bring him." Then Ben-Hadad came to him, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot. ³⁴ Ben-Hadad said to Ahab, "I will restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may make markets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Ahab replied, "I will let you go with this covenant." So Ahab made a covenant with him and then let him go.

³⁵ A certain man, one of the sons of the prophets, said to one of his companions by the word of Yahweh, "Please hit me." But the man refused to hit him. ³⁶ Then the prophet said to his fellow prophet, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you." As soon as that man had left him, a lion came upon him and killed him.

³⁷ Then the prophet found another man and said, "Please hit me." So the man hit him and wounded him. ³⁸ Then the prophet left and waited for the king by the road; he had disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

³⁹ As the king passed by, the prophet cried out to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the heat of the battle, and a soldier stopped and brought a man to me and said, 'Watch this man. If by any means he goes missing, your life will be given for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.' ⁴⁰ But because your servant was busy going here and there, the man escaped." Then the king of Israel said to him, "This is what your punishment will be—you yourself have decided it."

⁴¹ Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. ⁴² The prophet said to the king, "Yahweh says, 'Because you have let go from your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, your life will take the place of his life, and your people for his people.'" ⁴³ So the king of Israel went to his house resentful and angry, and arrived in Samaria.

Chapter 21

¹ Now some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. ² Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, so I can have it as a vegetable garden, because it is near my house. In exchange, I will give you a better vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will pay you its value in money."

³ Naboth replied to Ahab, "May Yahweh forbid that I should give the inheritance of my ancestors to you." ⁴ So Ahab went into his palace resentful and angry because of the answer Naboth the Jezreelite gave him when he said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors." He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and refused to eat any food.

⁵ Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, "Why is your heart so sad, so that you eat no food?" ⁶ He replied to her, "I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money, or if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard to be yours.' Then he answered me, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'" ⁷ So Jezebel his wife replied to him, "Do you not still rule the kingdom of Israel? Get up and eat; let your heart be happy. I will obtain for you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

⁸ So Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and to the nobles who sat with him in meetings, and who lived near Naboth. ⁹ She wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth above the people. ¹⁰ Also place two worthless men with him and let them testify against him, saying, 'You cursed God and the king.'" Then take him out and stone him to death.

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and the noblemen who lived in Naboth's city, did as Jezebel had described to them, as was written in the letters that she had sent to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth above the people. ¹³ The two dishonest men came in and sat before Naboth; they testified against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth cursed both God and the king." Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then the elders sent word to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."

¹⁵ So when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, "Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, because Naboth is not alive, but dead." ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite and take possession of it.

¹⁷ Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ "Get up and go meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. He is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it.

¹⁹ You must speak to him and say that Yahweh says, 'Have you killed and also taken possession?' Then you will tell him that Yahweh says, 'In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood, yes, your blood.'" ²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" Elijah answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh.

²¹ Yahweh says this to you: 'See, I will bring disaster on you and will completely consume and cut off from Ahab every male child and slave and free man in Israel. ²² I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have led Israel to sin.'

²³ Yahweh has also spoken concerning Jezebel, saying, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel beside the wall of Jezreel.' ²⁴ Anyone who belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the field."

²⁵ There was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, whom Jezebel his wife incited to sin. ²⁶ Ahab behaved abhorrently by following idols, just as all that the Amorites had done, those whom Yahweh had removed before the people of Israel.

²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body and fasted, and lay in sackcloth and became very sad. ²⁸ Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ "Do you see how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the coming disaster in his days; it is in his son's day that I will bring disaster on his family."

Chapter 22

¹ Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ² Then it came about that in the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to the king of Israel.

³ Now the king of Israel had said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth Gilead is ours, but that we are doing nothing to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?" ⁴ So he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to war at Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am like you, my people are like your people, and my horses are like your horses."

⁵ Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please seek direction from the word of Yahweh for what you should do first." ⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Should I go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I not?" They said, "Attack, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."

⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here yet another prophet of Yahweh from whom we might seek advice?" ⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may seek advice from Yahweh to help, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him because he does not prophesy anything good about me, but only hardships." But Jehoshaphat said, "May the king not say that." ⁹ Then the king of Israel called an officer and commanded, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah, right away."

¹⁰ Now Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on a throne, clothed in their robes, in a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, "Yahweh says this: 'With these you will push the Arameans until they are consumed.'" ¹² Then all the prophets prophesied the same, saying, "Attack Ramoth Gilead and win, for Yahweh has given it into the hand of the king."

¹³ The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "See now, the words of the prophets declare good things to the king with one mouth. Please let your word be like one of them and say good things." ¹⁴ Micaiah replied, "As Yahweh lives, it is what Yahweh says to me that I will say." ¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or not?" Micaiah answered him, "Attack and win. Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king."

¹⁶ Then the king said to him, "How many times must I require you to swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?" ¹⁷ So Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered to the mountains, like sheep who have no shepherd, and Yahweh said, 'These have no master. Let every man return to his house in peace.'"

¹⁸ So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?" ¹⁹ Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by him on his right hand and on his left. ²⁰ Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One of them said this and another one said that.

²¹ Then a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?' ²² The spirit replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Yahweh replied, 'You will entice him, and you will also be successful. Go now and do so.' ²³ Now see, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has decreed disaster for you."

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, came up, slapped Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh take to go from me to speak to you?" ²⁵ Micaiah said, "Look, you will see on that day when you will go to hide in an inner room."

²⁶ The king of Israel said to his servant, "Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, my son. ²⁷ Say to him, 'The king says, Put this man in prison, and feed him the bread of affliction and the water of affliction until I come safely.'" ²⁸ Then Micaiah said, "If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me." Then he added, "Listen to this, all you people."

²⁹ So Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. ³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

³¹ Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, "Do not attack unimportant or important soldiers. Attack only the king of Israel." ³² It came about that when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat they said, "Surely that is the king of Israel." They turned to attack him, so Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ It came about that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ But a certain man drew his bow at random and shot the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Then Ahab said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded."

³⁵ The battle grew worse that day and the king was held up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died in the evening. The blood ran out from his wound into the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ Then about the time the sun was going down, a cry went up throughout the army, saying, "Every man should go back to his city; and every man should go back to his region!"

³⁷ So King Ahab died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (this was where the prostitutes bathed), just as the word of Yahweh had declared.

³⁹ As for the other matters concerning Ahab, all that he did, the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab lay down with his ancestors, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

⁴¹ Then Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ He walked in the ways of Asa, his father; he did not turn away from them; he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. Yet the high places were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁴⁴ Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ As for the other matters concerning Jehoshaphat, and the might that he showed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ He completely removed from the land the rest of the cultic prostitutes who had remained in the days of his father Asa. ⁴⁷ There was no king in Edom, but a deputy ruled there.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish; they were to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go because the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants sail with your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat would not allow it. ⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat lay down with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David, his ancestor; Jehoram his son became king in his place.

⁵¹ Ahaziah son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. ⁵² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of his father, in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he led Israel to sin. ⁵³ He served Baal and worshiped him and so he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.

2 Kings

Chapter 1

¹ Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² Then Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and was injured. So he sent for messengers and said to them, "Go, ask Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury."

³ But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴ Therefore Yahweh says, "You will not come down from the bed to where you have gone up; instead, you will certainly die."'" Then Elijah left.

⁵ When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, "Why have you returned?" ⁶ They said to him, "A man came to meet us who said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Yahweh says this: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you sent men to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed to which you have gone up; instead, you will certainly die.'"'"

⁷ Ahaziah said to his messengers, "What sort of man was he, the one who came up to meet you and said these words to you?" ⁸ They answered him, "He wore a garment made of hair and had a leather belt wrapped around his waist." So the king replied, "That is Elijah the Tishbite."

⁹ Then the king sent a captain with fifty soldiers to Elijah. The captain went up to Elijah where he was sitting on the top of a hill. The captain spoke to him, "You, man of God, the king has said, 'Come down.'" ¹⁰ Elijah answered and said to the captain, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ Again King Ahaziah sent to Elijah another captain with fifty soldiers. This captain also said to Elijah, "You, man of God, the king says, 'Come down quickly.'" ¹² Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." Again the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³ Yet again the king sent a third group of fifty warriors. This captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and sought his favor and said to him, "You, man of God, I ask you, let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Indeed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their men, but now let my life be precious in your sight."

¹⁵ The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, "Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him." So Elijah arose and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Later Elijah said to Ahaziah, "This is what Yahweh says, 'You have sent messengers to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel from whom you can ask for information? So now, you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up; you will certainly die.'"

¹⁷ So King Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh that Elijah had spoken. Joram began to reign in his place, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. ¹⁸ As for the other matters concerning Ahaziah, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

¹ So it came about, when Yahweh was going to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah left with Elisha from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, because Yahweh has sent me to Bethel." Elisha replied, "As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

³ The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from you today?" Elisha replied, "Yes, I know it, but do not talk about it." ⁴ Elijah said to him, "Elisha, wait here, please, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho." Then Elisha replied, "As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

⁵ Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from you today?" Elisha answered, "Yes, I know it, but do not talk about it." ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan." Elisha replied, "As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two went on.

⁷ Later, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood opposite them at a distance while the two stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The river divided on both sides so that the two of them walked over on dry ground.

⁹ It came about, after they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you." Elisha replied, "Please let a double portion of your spirit come on me." ¹⁰ Elijah answered, "You have asked for a difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, this will happen for you, but if not, it will not happen."

¹¹ As they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, which separated the two men from each other, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ¹² Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!"

He saw Elijah no more, and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

¹³ He picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen off him, and went back to stand by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He struck the water with Elijah's cloak that had fallen and said, "Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the waters, they divided on both sides and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ When the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him across from them, they said, "The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha!" So they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, "See now, among your servants there are fifty strong men. Let them go, we ask, and look for your master, in case the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and thrown him onto some mountain or into some valley." Elisha answered, "No, do not send them."

¹⁷ But when they urged Elisha until he was ashamed, he said, "Send them." Then they sent fifty men, and they looked for three days, but did not find him. ¹⁸ They came back to Elisha, while he stayed at Jericho, and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"

¹⁹ The men of the city said to Elisha, "See now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my master can see, but the water is bad and the land is not fruitful." ²⁰ Elisha replied, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it," so they brought it to him.

²¹ Elisha went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it; then he said, "Yahweh says this, 'I have healed these waters. From this time on, there will be no more death or unfruitful land.'" ²² So the waters were healed to this day, by the word which Elisha spoke.

²³ Then Elisha went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up the road, young boys came out of the city and mocked him; they said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" ²⁴ Elisha looked behind him and saw them; he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys apart. ²⁵ Then Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Chapter 3

¹ Now in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Joram son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned twelve years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, but not like his father and his mother; for he removed the sacred stone pillar of Baal that his father had made. ³ Nevertheless he held on to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin; he did not turn away from them.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab bred sheep. He had to give to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. ⁵ But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ So King Joram left Samaria at that time to mobilize all Israel for war.

⁷ He sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle?" Jehoshaphat replied, "I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." ⁸ Then he said, "By which way should we attack?" Jehoshaphat 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. They wandered around for seven days, and then there was no water for the army or for the animals that went with them. ¹⁰ So the king of Israel said, "What is this? Has Yahweh called three kings to give them into the hand of Moab?"

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may consult Yahweh by him?" One of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." ¹² Jehoshaphat said, "The word of Yahweh is with him." So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and mother." So the king of Israel said to him, "No, because Yahweh has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab." ¹⁴ Elisha replied, "As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, if I did not honor the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you, or even look at you.

¹⁵ But now bring me a musician." Then it came to pass when the harpist played, the hand of Yahweh came upon Elisha. ¹⁶ He said, "Yahweh says this, 'Make this dry river valley full of trenches.' ¹⁷ For Yahweh says this, 'You will not see wind, neither will you see rain, but this river valley will be filled with water, and you will drink, you and your livestock and all your animals.'

¹⁸ This is an easy thing in the sight of Yahweh. He will also give you victory over the Moabites. ¹⁹ You will attack every fortified city and every good city, cut down every good tree, stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good piece of land with rocks."

²⁰ So in the morning about the time of offering the sacrifice, waters came from the direction of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹ Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come to fight against them, they summoned everyone who was old enough to gird on armor and older, and they stood at the border. ²² They awakened early in the morning and the sun reflected on the water. When the Moabites saw the water opposite them, it looked as red as blood. ²³ They exclaimed, "This is blood! The kings have certainly been destroyed, and they have killed each other! So now, Moab, let us go plunder them!"

²⁴ When they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, who fled before them. The army of Israel drove the Moabites across the land, killing them. ²⁵ They destroyed the cities, and on every good piece of land every man threw a rock until it was covered up. They stopped up every spring of water and chopped down all the good trees. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its rocks in place. But the soldiers armed with slings surrounded and attacked it.

²⁶ When King Mesha of Moab saw that the battle was lost, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. ²⁷ Then he took his oldest son, who should have reigned after him, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelite army left King Mesha and returned to their own land.

Chapter 4

¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets came crying to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared Yahweh. Now the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves." ² So Elisha said to her, "What can I do for you? Tell me what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your servant has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil."

³ Then Elisha said, "Go out to borrow jars from your neighbors, empty jars. Borrow as many as possible. ⁴ Then you must go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all those jars; set aside the jars that are full."

⁵ So she left Elisha and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her, and she filled them with oil. ⁶ When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another jar." But he said to her, "There are no more jars." Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil; pay your debt, and live with your sons on the rest."

⁸ One day Elisha walked to Shunem where an important woman lived; she urged him to eat food with her. So as often as Elisha passed by, he would stop there to eat. ⁹ The woman said to her husband, "See now, I realize that this is a holy man of God who is always passing by.

¹⁰ Let us make a little room on the roof for Elisha, and let us put in it a bed, a table, a seat, and a lamp. Then when he comes to us, he will stay there." ¹¹ So when the day came again that Elisha stopped there, he stayed in the room and rested there.

¹² Elisha said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." When he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ Elisha said to him, "Say to her, 'You have gone to all this trouble to care for us. What can be done for you? Can we speak for you to the king or to the army commander?'" She answered, "I live among my own people."

¹⁴ So Elisha said, "What can we do for her, then?" Gehazi answered, "Indeed, she has no son, and her husband is old." ¹⁵ So Elisha answered, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the door. ¹⁶ Elisha said, "At this time of year, in one year's time, you will be holding a son." She said, "No, my master and man of God, do not lie to your servant."

¹⁷ But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time in the following year, as Elisha had said to her. ¹⁸ When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father, who was with harvesters. ¹⁹ He said to his father, "My head, my head." His father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." ²⁰ When the servant had picked him up and brought the boy to his mother, the child sat on her knees until noon and then died.

²¹ So the woman got up and laid the boy on the bed of the man of God, shut the door, and went out. ²² She called to her husband, and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys so that I may hurry to the man of God and then come back."

²³ Her husband said, "Why do you want to go to him today? It is not a new moon nor a Sabbath." She replied, "It will be all right." ²⁴ Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, "Drive on quickly; do not slow down for me unless I say so."

²⁵ So she went and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

So when the man of God saw her in the distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, here comes the Shunammite woman.

²⁶ Please run to meet her and say to her, 'Is everything alright with you and with your husband and child?'" She answered, "It is all right."

²⁷ When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone, for she is very upset, and Yahweh has hidden the problem from me, and has told me nothing."

²⁸ Then she said, "Did I ask you for a son, my master? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me'?" ²⁹ Then Elisha said to Gehazi, "Gird your loins and take my staff in your hand. Go to her home. If you meet any man, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Lay my staff on the young man's face."

³⁰ But the mother of the young man said, "As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you." So Elisha arose and followed her. ³¹ Gehazi hurried on ahead of them and laid the staff on the young man's face, but the young man did not speak or hear. So then Gehazi returned to meet Elisha and told him saying, "The young man has not awakened."

³² When Elisha arrived at the house, the young man was dead and was still on the bed. ³³ So Elisha went in and shut the door on the two of them and prayed to Yahweh. ³⁴ He went up and lay on the child; he put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself out on the boy, and the boy's body grew warm.

³⁵ Then Elisha got up and walked around the room and again went up and stretched himself out on the boy. The child sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes! ³⁶ So Elisha called Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite!" So he called her, and when she came into the room, Elisha said, "Pick up your son." ³⁷ Then she lay facedown on the ground at his feet and bowed to the ground, and then picked up her son and went out.

³⁸ Then Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his servant, "Put the large pot on the fire and cook stew for the sons of the prophets." ³⁹ One of them went out into a field to gather vegetables. He found a wild vine and gathered enough wild gourds to fill the fold of his robe. They cut them up and put them into the stew, but did not know what kind they were.

⁴⁰ So they poured out the stew for the men to eat. Later, as they were eating, they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" So they could not eat it anymore. ⁴¹ But Elisha said, "Bring some flour." He threw it into the pot and said, "Pour it out for the people, so that they may eat." Then there was no longer anything hurtful in the pot.

⁴² A man came from Baal Shalishah to the man of God and brought twenty loaves of barley bread in his sack from the firstfruits and fresh ears of grain. He said, "Give this to the people so they can eat." ⁴³ His servant said, "What, should I set this before a hundred men?" But Elisha said, "Give this to the people, so they can eat, because Yahweh says, 'They will eat and will have some left.'" ⁴⁴ So his servant set it before them; they ate, and left some remaining, just as the word of Yahweh promised.

Chapter 5

¹ Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great and honorable man in his master's view, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. He was also a mighty warrior, but he was a leper. ² The Arameans had gone out in raiding parties and had captured a little girl from the land of Israel. She served Naaman's wife.

³ The girl said to her mistress, "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal my master of his leprosy." ⁴ So Naaman went in and told the king what the little girl from the land of Israel had said.

⁵ So the king of Aram said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." Naaman left and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothes. ⁶ He also took the letter to the king of Israel that said, "Now when this letter is brought to you, you will see that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

⁷ When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man wants me to cure a man of his leprosy? It seems he is seeking to start an argument with me."

⁸ So when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and dip yourself into the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored; you will be clean."

¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away and said, "Look, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place and heal my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Can I not bathe in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

¹³ Then Naaman's servants came near and spoke to him, "My father, if the prophet had commanded you do some difficult thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he says to you, 'Dip yourself and be clean'?" ¹⁴ Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, obeying the instructions of the man of God. His flesh was restored again like the flesh of a little child, and he was healed.

¹⁵ Naaman returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him. He said, "See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. So therefore, please take a gift from your servant." ¹⁶ But Elisha replied, "As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing." Naaman urged Elisha to take a gift, but he refused.

¹⁷ So Naaman said, "If not, then I ask you to let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on, your servant will offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to any god but Yahweh. ¹⁸ In this one thing may Yahweh pardon your servant, that is, when my king goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh pardon your servant in this matter." ¹⁹ Elisha said to him, "Go in peace." So Naaman left.

²⁰ He had traveled only a short distance, when Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said to himself, "Look, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean by not receiving from his hands gifts that he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him and receive something from him." ²¹ So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from his chariot to meet him and said, "Is everything all right?" ²² Gehazi said, "Everything is all right. My master has sent me, saying, 'See, now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'"

²³ Naaman replied, "I am very happy to give you two talents." Naaman urged Gehazi and tied two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothes, and laid them on two of his servants, who carried the bags of silver before Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the bags of silver from their hands and hid them in the house; he sent the men away, and they left. ²⁵ When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha said to him, "Where have you come from, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant went nowhere."

²⁶ Elisha said to Gehazi, "Was not my spirit with you when the man turned his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept money and clothes, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants? ²⁷ So the leprosy of Naaman will be on you and your descendants forever." So Gehazi went out from his presence, a leper as white as snow.

Chapter 6

¹ The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we live with you is too small for us all. ² Please let us go to the Jordan, and let every man cut down a tree there, and let us build us a place there where we may live." Elisha answered, "You may go ahead." ³ One of them said, "Please go with your servants." Elisha answered, "I will go."

⁴ So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they began to cut down trees. ⁵ But as one was chopping, the ax head fell into the water; he cried out and said, "Oh no, my master, it was borrowed!"

⁶ So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" The man showed Elisha the place. He then cut off a stick, threw it in the water, and made the iron float. ⁷ Elisha said, "Pick it up." So the man reached out his hand and grabbed it.

⁸ Now the king of Aram was waging war against Israel. He consulted with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place." ⁹ So the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Be careful not to pass that place, for the Arameans are going down there."

¹⁰ The king of Israel sent a message to the place about which the man of God had spoken and warned him. More than once or twice, when the king went there, he was on his guard. ¹¹ The king of Aram was enraged about these warnings, and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you not tell me who among us is for the king of Israel?"

¹² So one of his servants said, "No, my master, king, for Elisha the prophet in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your own bedroom!" ¹³ The king replied, "Go and see where Elisha is so I may send men and capture him." It was told him, "See, he is in Dothan."

¹⁴ So the king sent to Dothan horses, chariots, and a large army. They came by night and surrounded the city. ¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone outside, behold, a large army with horses and chariots surrounded the city. His servant said to him, "Oh, my master! What will we do?" ¹⁶ Elisha answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

¹⁷ Elisha prayed and said, "Yahweh, I beg that you will open his eyes that he may see." Then Yahweh opened the servant's eyes, and he saw. Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha! ¹⁸ When the Arameans came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, "Strike these people blind, I ask you." So Yahweh made them blind, just as Elisha had asked. ¹⁹ Then Elisha told the Arameans, "This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you are looking for." Then he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ It came about that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "Yahweh, open the eyes of these men that they may see." Yahweh opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the middle of the city of Samaria. ²¹ The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"

²² Elisha answered, "You must not kill them. Would you kill those whom you had taken captive with your sword and bow? Put bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." ²³ So the king prepared much food for them, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went back to their master. Those bands of Aramean soldiers did not return for a long time into the land of Israel.

²⁴ Later after this Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and attacked Samaria and besieged it. ²⁵ So there was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. ²⁶ As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, "Help, my master, king."

²⁷ He said, "If Yahweh does not help you, how can I help you? Is there anything coming from the threshing floor or winepress?" ²⁸ The king continued, "What is troubling you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'" ²⁹ So we 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 So when the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes (now he was passing by on the wall), and the people looked and saw that he had sackcloth underneath, against his skin. ³¹ Then he said, "May God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on him today."

³² But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man from before him, but when the messenger came to Elisha, he said to the elders, "See how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?" ³³ While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. The king had said, "Behold, this trouble comes from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?"

Chapter 7

¹ Elisha said, "Hear the word of Yahweh. This is what Yahweh says: 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'" ² Then the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, "See, even if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, can this thing happen?" Elisha replied, "See, you will watch it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it."

³ Now there were four men with leprosy right outside the city gate. They said one to another, "Why should we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we say that we should go into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we will die there. But if we still sit here, we will still die. Now then, come, let us go to the army of the Arameans. If they keep us alive, we will live, and if they kill us, we will only die."

⁵ So they rose up at twilight to go into the Aramean camp; when they arrived at the outermost part of the camp, there was no one there. ⁶ For the Lord had made the Aramean army hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses—the noise of another large army, and they said to each other, "The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to come against us."

⁷ So the soldiers arose and fled in the twilight; they left their tents, their horses, their donkeys, and the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. ⁸ When the men with leprosy came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried away silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them. They came back and entered into another tent and carried plunder away from there also, and went and hid it.

⁹ Then they said to each other, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping quiet about it. If we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now then, come, let us go and tell the king's household." ¹⁰ So they went and called the gatekeepers of the city. They told them, saying, "We went to the camp of the Arameans, but there was no one there, not the sound of anyone, but there were the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were." ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers shouted out the news, and then it was told inside the king's household.

¹² Then the king arose at night and said to his servants, "I will tell you now what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry, so they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the fields. They are saying, 'When they come out of the city, we will take them alive, and get into the city.'" ¹³ One of the king's servants answered and said, "I beg you, let some men take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. They are like all the rest of the population of Israel who are left—most are now dead; let us send them and see."

¹⁴ So they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the army of the Arameans, saying, "Go and see." ¹⁵ They went after them to the Jordan, and all the road was full of clothes and equipment that the Arameans had cast away in their hurry. So the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶ The people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, just as the word of Yahweh had said. ¹⁷ The king had ordered the officer on whose hand he had leaned to be in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him down in the gateway. He died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king had come down to him.

¹⁸ So it happened as the man of God had said to the king, saying, "About this time in the gate of Samaria, two measures of barley will be available for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel." ¹⁹ That officer had answered the man of God and said, "See, even if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, can this thing happen?" Elisha had said, "See, you will watch it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it." ²⁰ That is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Chapter 8

¹ Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life. He said to her, "Arise, and go with your household, and stay wherever you can in another land, because Yahweh has called for a famine which will come on this land for seven years." ² So the woman arose and she obeyed the word of the man of God. She went with her household and lived in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³ It came about at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to the king to cry to him for her house and for her land. ⁴ Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done."

⁵ Then as he was telling the king how Elisha had restored to life the child who was dead, the very woman whose son he had restored to life came to cry to the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, "My master, king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life." ⁶ When the king asked the woman about her son, she explained it to him. So the king ordered a certain officer for her, saying, "Give back to her all that was hers and all the harvests of her fields since the day that she left the land until now."

⁷ Elisha came to Damascus where Ben-Hadad the king of Aram was sick. The king was told, "The man of God has come here." ⁸ The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go meet the man of God, and consult with Yahweh through him, saying, 'Will I revive from this sickness?'" ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift with him of every kind of good thing of Damascus, carried by forty camels. So Hazael came and stood before Elisha and said, "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I revive from this sickness?'"

¹⁰ Elisha said to him, "Go, say to Ben-Hadad, 'You will surely revive,' but Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die." ¹¹ Then Elisha stared at Hazael until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. ¹² Hazael asked, "Why do you weep, my master?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, dash in pieces their little ones, and rip open their pregnant women."

¹³ Hazael replied, "Who is your servant, that he should do this great thing? He is only a dog." Elisha answered, "Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram." ¹⁴ Then Hazael left Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" He answered, "He told me that you would certainly revive." ¹⁵ Then the next day Hazael took the blanket and dipped it in water, and spread it on Ben-Hadad's face so that he died. Then Hazael became king in his place.

¹⁶ In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoram began to reign. He was the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He began to reign when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. ¹⁷ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab was doing; for he had Ahab's daughter as his wife, and he did what was evil in Yahweh's sight. ¹⁹ However, because of his servant David, Yahweh did not want to destroy Judah, since he had told David that he would always give him a lamp for his descendants.

²⁰ In Jehoram's days, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah, and they set a king over themselves. ²¹ Then Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. When the Edomites surrounded Jehoram, his chariot commanders rose up and attacked them during the night; but Jehoram's army ran away and went back to their tents.

²² So Edom has been in rebellion against the rule of Judah to this present day. Libnah also revolted at the same time. ²³ As for the other matters concerning Jehoram, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²⁴ Jehoram lay down with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David. Then Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. ²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was the daughter of Omri, king of Israel. ²⁷ Ahaziah walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab was doing, for Ahaziah was a son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

²⁸ Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹ King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Arameans had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.

Chapter 9

¹ Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, "Gird your loins, then take this little bottle of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. ² When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi, and go in and make him arise up from among his companions, and conduct him to an inner chamber. ³ Then take the bottle of oil and pour it on his head and say, 'Yahweh says this: "I have anointed you king over Israel."' Then open the door, and run off; do not delay."

⁴ So the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵ When he arrived, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. So the young prophet said, "I have come on an errand to you, captain." Jehu replied, "To which of us?" The young prophet answered, "To you, captain." ⁶ So Jehu arose and went into the house, and the prophet poured the oil on his head and said to Jehu, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this: 'I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel.

⁷ You must kill the family of Ahab your master so that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh who were murdered by the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ For the whole family of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male child in Israel, whether he is a slave or a free person.

⁹ I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ The dogs will eat Jezebel in Jezreel, and there will be no one to bury her.'" Then the prophet opened the door and ran off.

¹¹ Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, "Is everything all right? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" Jehu answered them, "You know the man and the kinds of things he says." ¹² They said, "That is a lie. Tell us." Jehu answered, "He said this and that to me, and he also said, 'This is what Yahweh says: I have anointed you as king over Israel.'" ¹³ Then each of them quickly took off his outer garment and put it under Jehu at the top of the steps. They blew the ram's horn and said, "Jehu is king."

¹⁴ In this way Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Aram, ¹⁵ but King Joram had gone back to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds that the Arameans had given him, when he had fought against Hazael king of Aram.

Jehu said to the servants of Joram, "If this is your opinion, then let no one escape and go out of the city, in order to go tell this news in Jezreel."

¹⁶ So Jehu rode in a chariot to Jezreel; for Joram was resting there. Now Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ The watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came at a distance; he said, "I see a group of men coming." Joram said, "Take a horseman, and send him out to meet them; tell him to say, 'Are you coming in peace?'" ¹⁸ So a man was sent on horseback to meet him; he said, "The king says this: 'Are you coming in peace?'" So Jehu said, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and ride behind me." Then the watchman told the king, "The messenger has met them, but he is not coming back."

¹⁹ Then he sent out a second man on horseback, who came to them and said, "The king says this: 'Are you coming in peace?'" Jehu answered, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and ride behind me." ²⁰ Again the watchman reported, "He has met them, but he is not coming back. For the way that the chariot is being driven is the way that Jehu son of Nimshi drives; he is driving wildly."

²¹ So Joram said, "Get my chariot ready." They prepared his chariot, and Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his chariot, to meet Jehu. They found him at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Are you coming in peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace is there, when the idolatrous acts of prostitution and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel are so many?"

²³ So Joram turned his chariot and fled and said to Ahaziah, "There is treachery, Ahaziah." ²⁴ Then Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between his shoulders; the arrow went through his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, "Pick him up and throw him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. Think about how when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, Yahweh placed this prophecy against him: ²⁶ 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—this is Yahweh's declaration—and I will surely make you pay for it on this field—this is Yahweh's declaration. Now then, pick him up and throw him on this field, according to the word of Yahweh."

²⁷ When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. But Jehu followed him, and said, "Kill him also in the chariot," and they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there. ²⁸ His servants carried his body in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ Now it was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah.

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu was entering the gate, she said to him, "Are you coming in peace, you Zimri, your master's murderer?" ³² Jehu looked up at the window and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Then two or three eunuchs looked out.

³³ So Jehu said, "Throw her down." So they threw Jezebel down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and the horses, and Jehu trampled her underfoot. ³⁴ When Jehu entered the palace, he ate and drank. Then he said, "See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter."

³⁵ They went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ So they came back and told Jehu. He said, "This is the word of Yahweh which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'In the land at Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel, ³⁷ and the body of Jezebel will be like dung on the surface of the fields in the land at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, "This is Jezebel."'"

Chapter 10

¹ Now Ahab had seventy descendants in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, including the elders and the guardians of Ahab's descendants, saying, ² "Your master's descendants are with you, and you also have chariots and horses and a fortified city and armor. So then, as soon as this letter comes to you, ³ select the best and most deserving of your master's descendants and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's royal line."

⁴ But they were terrified and said among themselves, "See, the two kings could not stand before Jehu. So how can we stand?" ⁵ Then the man who was in charge of the palace, and the man who was over the city, and the elders also, and they who raised the children, sent word back to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants. We will do everything that you command us. We will not make any man king. Do what is good in your eyes."

⁶ Then Jehu wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, "If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, you must take the heads of the men of your master's descendants, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time." Now the king's descendants, seventy in number, were with the important men of the city, who were bringing them up. ⁷ So when the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and killed them, seventy persons, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.

⁸ A messenger came to Jehu, saying, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." So he said, "Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning." ⁹ In the morning Jehu went out and stood, and said to all the people, "You are innocent. See, I plotted against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

¹⁰ Now you should certainly realize that no part of Yahweh's word, the word that he spoke concerning the family of Ahab, will fall to the ground, for Yahweh has done what he spoke about through his servant Elijah." ¹¹ So Jehu killed all who remained in the family of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his important men, his close friends, and his priests, until no survivor remained to him.

¹² Then Jehu arose and left; he went to Samaria. As he was arriving at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ he met brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah. Jehu said to them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are brothers of Ahaziah, and we are going down to greet the children of the king and the children of Queen Jezebel." ¹⁴ Jehu said to his own men, "Take them alive." So they took them alive and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, all forty-two men. He did not leave any of them alive.

¹⁵ When Jehu had left there, he met Jehonadab son of Rekab coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart with me, as my heart is with yours?" Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." So he gave Jehu his hand, and Jehu took Jehonadab up with him into the chariot. ¹⁶ Jehu said, "Come with me and see my zeal for Yahweh." So he had Jehonadab ride along with him in his chariot. ¹⁷ When he came to Samaria, Jehu killed all who remained from Ahab's descendants in Samaria, until he had destroyed Ahab's royal line, just as was told them before by the word of Yahweh, which he had spoken to Elijah.

¹⁸ Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers, and all his priests. Let no one be left out, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever does not come will not live." But Jehu did this deceitfully, with the intent to kill the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ Jehu said, "Announce that there will be an assembly for Baal." So they announced 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. They came into the temple of Baal, and it was filled from one end to another. ²² Jehu said to the man who kept the priest's wardrobe, "Bring out robes for all the worshipers of Baal." So the man brought out robes to them.

²³ So Jehu went with Jehonadab son of Rekab into the house of Baal, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search and make sure that there is no one here with you from the servants of Yahweh, but the worshipers of Baal alone." ²⁴ Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had chosen eighty men who were standing outside, and he told them, "If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escapes, whoever lets that man escape, his life will be taken for the life of the one who escaped."

²⁵ So then as soon as Jehu finished offering the burnt offering, he said to his bodyguards and to the officers, "Go in and kill them. Let no one come out." So they killed them with the edge of the sword, and the bodyguards and the officers threw them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal. ²⁶ They dragged out the stone pillars that were in the house of Baal, and they burned them. ²⁷ Then they broke down the pillar of Baal, and destroyed the house of Baal and made it a latrine, which it is to this day. ²⁸ That is how Jehu destroyed Baal worship from Israel.

²⁹ But Jehu did not leave the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he made Israel sin—that is, the worship of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan. ³⁰ So Yahweh said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in executing what was right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." ³¹ But Jehu took no care to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, by which he made Israel sin.

³² In those days Yahweh began to cut off regions from Israel, and Hazael defeated the Israelites at the borders of Israel, ³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, through Gilead to Bashan.

³⁴ As for the other matters concerning Jehu, and all that he did, and all his power, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ³⁵ Jehu lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. ³⁶ The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Chapter 11

¹ Now when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and killed all the royal children. ² But Jehosheba, a daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah, and hid him away from among the king's sons who were killed, along with his nurse; she put them into a bedroom. They hid him from Athaliah so that he was not killed. ³ He remained with her six years, hidden in the house of Yahweh, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

⁴ In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent messages and brought the commanders of hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to himself, into the temple of Yahweh. He made a covenant with them, and he made them swear an oath in the house of Yahweh. Then he showed them the king's son. ⁵ He commanded them, saying, "This is what you must do. A third of you who come on the Sabbath will keep watch over the king's house, ⁶ and a third will be at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guardhouse. You shall guard the guardhouse of the temple."

⁷ The two other groups who are not serving on the Sabbath, you must keep the watch over the house of Yahweh for the king. ⁸ You must surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever enters within your ranks, let him be killed. You must stay with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.

⁹ So the commanders of hundreds obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each one took his men, those who were to come in to serve on the Sabbath, and those who were to stop serving on that Sabbath; and they came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ Then Jehoiada the priest gave the commanders of hundreds the spears and shields that belonged to King David and that were in the house of Yahweh.

¹¹ So the guards stood, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side, near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. ¹² Then Jehoiada brought out the king's son Joash, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant decrees. Then they made him king and anointed him. They clapped their hands and said, "Long live the king!"

¹³ When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people in the house of Yahweh. ¹⁴ She looked, and, behold, the king was standing by the pillar, as the custom was, and the captains and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and shouted, "Treason! Treason!"

¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds who were over the army, saying, "Bring her out between the ranks. Anyone who follows her, kill him with the sword." For the priest had said, "Do not let her be killed in the house of Yahweh." ¹⁶ So they seized her as she reached the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was killed.

¹⁷ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and people, that they should be Yahweh's people, and also between the king and the people. ¹⁸ So all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They smashed Baal's altars and his idol figures to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of those altars. Then Jehoida the priest appointed guards over the temple of Yahweh.

¹⁹ Jehoida took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guard, and all the people of the land, and together they brought down the king from the house of Yahweh and they went into the king's house, entering by way of the gate of the guards. Joash took his place on the royal throne. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been killed with the sword at the king's house.

²¹ Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.

Chapter 12

¹ In the seventh year of Jehu, the reign of Joash began; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the time, because Jehoiada the priest was instructing him. ³ But the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴ Joash said to the priests, "All the money that is brought in as sacred offerings into the house of Yahweh, that money for which each person is assessed—whether it is the money collected in the census, or the money received from personal vows, or the money brought in by people motivated by Yahweh in their hearts to give— ⁵ the priests should receive the money from one of their treasurers and repair whatever damage is found in the temple."

⁶ But by the twenty-third year of King Joash, the priests had not repaired anything in the temple. ⁷ Then King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and for the other priests; he said to them, "Why have you not repaired anything in the temple? Now take no more money from your taxpayers, but take what has been collected for repairs of the temple and give it to those who can make the repairs." ⁸ So the priests consented to take no more money from the people and not repair the temple themselves.

⁹ Then, Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh. The priests who were guarding the temple entrance put into it all the money that was brought to the house of Yahweh. ¹⁰ Whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest would come and put the money in bags and then count it, the money found in the temple of Yahweh.

¹¹ They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of men who took care of the temple of Yahweh. They paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the temple of Yahweh, ¹² and to the masons and the stonecutters, for buying timber and cutting stone to repair the temple of Yahweh, and for all that was needed to be paid to repair it.

¹³ But the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh did not pay to make for it any silver cups, lamp trimmers, basins, trumpets, or any gold or silver furnishing. ¹⁴ They gave this money to those who did the work of repairing the house of Yahweh.

¹⁵ In addition, they did not require the money paid for repairs to be accounted for by the men who received it and paid it to the workmen, because these men practiced faithfulness. ¹⁶ But the money for the guilt offerings and the money for the sin offerings was not brought into the temple of Yahweh, because it belonged to the priests.

¹⁷ Then Hazael king of Aram attacked and fought against Gath, and took it. Hazael then turned to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Joash king of Judah took all the things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had set apart, and what he had set apart, and all the gold that was found in the storerooms of the houses of Yahweh and of the king and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. Then Hazael went away from Jerusalem.

¹⁹ As for the other matters concerning Joash, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ His servants arose and plotted together; they attacked Joash in Beth Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. ²¹ Jozabad ¹ son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad son of Shomer, his servants, attacked him, and he died. They buried Joash with his ancestors in the city of David, and Amaziah, his son, became king in his place.

¹Some ancient copies have Jozacar .

Chapter 13

¹ In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned seventeen years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and followed the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin; and Jehoahaz did not turn away from them.

³ The anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael. ⁴ So Jehoahaz implored Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him because he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram was oppressing them. ⁵ So Yahweh gave Israel a rescuer, and they escaped from the hand of the Arameans, and the people of Israel began to live in their tents as they had before.

⁶ Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin, and they continued in them; and the Asherah pole remained in Samaria. ⁷ The Arameans left Jehoahaz with only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the chaff at threshing time.

⁸ As for the other matters concerning Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his power, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ⁹ So Jehoahaz lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoash his son became king in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began over Israel in Samaria; he reigned sixteen years. ¹¹ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. He did not leave behind any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he had made Israel to sin, but he walked in them.

¹² As for the other matters concerning Jehoash, and all that he did, and his might by which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ¹³ Jehoash lay down with his ancestors, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

¹⁴ Now Elisha became sick with an illness by which he later died, so Jehoash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him. He said, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen are taking you away!" ¹⁵ Elisha said to him, "Pick up a bow and some arrows," so Joash picked up a bow and some arrows. ¹⁶ Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow," so he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands.

¹⁷ Elisha said, "Open the window eastward," so he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot!", and he shot. Elisha said, "This is Yahweh's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you will attack the Arameans in Aphek until you have consumed them." ¹⁸ Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows," so Joash took them. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them," and he struck the ground three times, then stopped. ¹⁹ But the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have hit the ground five or six times. Then you would have attacked Aram until you annihilated it, but now you will attack Aram only three times."

²⁰ Then Elisha died, and they buried him. Now marauding bands of Moabites invaded the land at the beginning of the year. ²¹ As they were burying a certain man, they saw a marauding band of Moabites, so they threw the body into Elisha's grave. As soon as the man touched Elisha's bones, he revived and stood up on his feet.

²² Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³ But Yahweh was gracious to Israel, and had compassion on them and concern for them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So Yahweh did not destroy them, and he still has not driven them away from his presence.

²⁴ Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son became king in his place. ²⁵ Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the cities that had been taken from Jehoahaz his father by war. Jehoash attacked him three times, and he recovered those cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

¹ In the second year of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, yet not like David his father. He did everything that Joash, his father, had done.

⁴ But the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. ⁵ It came about that as soon as his rule was well established, he killed the servants who had murdered his father, the king.

⁶ Yet he did not put to death the sons of the murderers, according to what was written in the book of the law of Moses, as Yahweh had commanded, saying, "Fathers must not be put to death because of their children, neither must the children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one must die for his own sin." ⁷ He killed ten thousand soldiers of Edom in the Valley of Salt; he also took Sela in war and called it Joktheel, which is what it is called to this day.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us meet each other face to face in battle." ⁹ But Jehoash the king of Israel sent messengers back to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "A thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' but a wild beast in Lebanon walked by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed attacked Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Take pride in your victory, but stay at home, for why should you cause yourself trouble and fall, both you and Judah with you?"

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel attacked and he and Amaziah king of Judah met each other face to face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent.

¹³ Jehoash king of Israel, captured Amaziah, king of Judah son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. He came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits in distance. ¹⁴ He took all the gold and silver, all the objects that were found in the house of Yahweh, and the valuable things in the king's palace, with hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

¹⁵ As for the other matters concerning Jehoash, all that he did, his power, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶ Then Jehoash lay down with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam, his son, became king in his place.

¹⁷ Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ¹⁸ As for the other matters concerning Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹ They made a conspiracy against Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. He fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.

²⁰ They brought him back on horses, and he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem in the city of David. ²¹ All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ²² It was Azariah who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah, after King Amaziah lay down with his ancestors.

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria; he reigned forty-one years. ²⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. He did not depart from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. ²⁵ He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, following the commands of the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which he had spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hepher.

²⁶ For Yahweh saw the suffering of Israel, that it was very bitter for everyone, both slave and free, and that there was no rescuer for Israel. ²⁷ But Yahweh had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

²⁸ As for the other matters concerning Jeroboam, all that he did, his power, how he waged war and recovered Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ Jeroboam lay down with his ancestors, with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 15

¹ In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. ² Azariah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jekoliah, and she was from Jerusalem. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Amaziah had done.

⁴ However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. ⁵ Yahweh afflicted the king so that he was a leper to the day of his death and lived in a separate house. Jotham, the king's son, was over the household and ruled the people of the land.

⁶ As for the other matters concerning Azariah, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ⁷ So Azariah lay down with his ancestors; they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David. Jotham, his son, became king in his place.

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. ⁹ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.

¹⁰ Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, attacked him in Ibleam, and put him to death. Then he became king in his place. ¹¹ As for the other matters concerning Zechariah, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel. ¹² This was the word of Yahweh that he spoke to Jehu, saying, "Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." That is what happened.

¹³ Shallum son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned only one month in Samaria. ¹⁴ Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria. There he attacked Shallum son of Jabesh, in Samaria. He put him to death and became king in his place.

¹⁵ As for the other matters concerning Shallum and the conspiracy that he formed, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were there, and the borders around Tirzah, because they did not open up the city to him. So he attacked it, and he ripped open all the pregnant women in that village. ¹

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi began to reign over Israel; he reigned ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. For his whole life, he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.

¹⁹ Then Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, so that Pul's support might be with him to strengthen the kingdom of Israel in his hand. ²⁰ Menahem exacted this money from Israel by requiring each of the wealthy, powerful men to pay fifty shekels of silver to him to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land.

²¹ As for the other matters concerning Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel? ²² So Menahem lay down with his ancestors, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned two years. ²⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. He did not leave behind the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he had caused Israel to sin.

²⁵ Pekahiah had an officer named Pekah son of Remaliah, who conspired against him. Along with fifty men of Gilead, Pekah killed Pekahiah as well as Argob and Arieh in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's palace. Pekah killed Pekahiah and became king in his place. ²⁶ As for the other matters concerning Pekahiah, all that he did, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel.

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned twenty years. ²⁸ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali. He carried away the people to Assyria. ³⁰ So Hoshea son of Elah formed a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him and put him to death. Then he became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah. ³¹ As for the other matters concerning Pekah, all that he did, they are written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel.

³² In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah; she was the daughter of Zadok.

³⁴ Jotham did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ However, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. Jotham built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. ³⁶ As for the other matters concerning Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah?

³⁷ In those days Yahweh began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah. ³⁸ Jotham lay down with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, his ancestor. Then Ahaz, his son, became king in his place.

¹Instead of Tiphsah , one ancient translation and some modern translations read Tappuah .

Chapter 16

¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah, began to reign. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, as David his ancestor had done.

³ Instead, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even made his son pass through the fire, following the detestable practices of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every green tree.

⁵ Then Rezin, king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to attack. They besieged Ahaz, but they could not conquer him. ⁶ At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove the Jews out of Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, where they have lived to this day.

⁷ So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who have attacked me." ⁸ So Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh and among the treasures of the king's palace and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. ⁹ Then the king of Assyria listened to him, and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, conquered it and carried off its people as prisoners to Kir. He also killed Rezin the king of Aram.

¹⁰ King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. At Damascus he saw an altar. He sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar and its pattern and the design for all the workmanship needed. ¹¹ So Uriah the priest built an altar to be just like the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. He finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. ¹² When the king came from Damascus he saw the altar; the king approached the altar and made offerings on it.

¹³ He made his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar. ¹⁴ The bronze altar that was before Yahweh—he brought it from the front of the temple, from between his altar and the temple of Yahweh and put it on the north side of his altar.

¹⁵ Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, "On the large altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offerings. Sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar will be for me to consult for guidance." ¹⁶ Uriah the priest did just what King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷ Then King Ahaz removed the panels and the basins from the portable stands; he also took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸ He removed the covered walkway for the Sabbath that they had built at the temple, along with the king's entry outside the temple of Yahweh, because of the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ As for the other matters concerning Ahaz and what he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²⁰ Ahaz lay down with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 17

¹ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, the reign of Hoshea son of Elah began. He ruled in Samaria over Israel for nine years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. ³ Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his servant and brought him tribute.

⁴ Then the king of Assyria realized that Hoshea had been plotting against him, for Hoshea had sent messengers to So king of Egypt; also, he offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. So the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria attacked throughout all the land, and attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria. He put them in Halah, at the Habor River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This captivity happened because the people of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. The people had been worshiping other gods ⁸ and walking in the customs of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel that they had done.

⁹ The people of Israel did secretly—against Yahweh their God—things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ¹⁰ They also set up stone pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

¹¹ There they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations had done, those whom Yahweh had carried away before them. The Israelites performed wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger; ¹² they worshiped idols, about which Yahweh had said to them, "You will not do this thing."

¹³ Yet Yahweh had testified to Israel and to Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, and be careful to keep all the law I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets."

¹⁴ But they would not listen; instead they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not trust in Yahweh their God. ¹⁵ They rejected his statutes and the covenant that he had made with their ancestors, and the covenant decrees that he had given to them. They followed useless practices and they themselves became useless. They followed the pagan nations who were around them, those that Yahweh had commanded them not to imitate.

¹⁶ They ignored all the commandments of Yahweh their God. They made cast metal figures of two calves to worship. They made an Asherah pole, and they worshiped all the host of the heavens and Baal. ¹⁷ They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire, they used divination and enchantments, they sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and they provoked him to anger. ¹⁸ Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. There was no one left but the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Even Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, and they followed the customs that Israel had practiced. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all the descendants of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hand of those who would take the possession as spoil, until he had cast them out of his sight.

²¹ He tore Israel from the royal line of David, and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them commit a great sin. ²² The people of Israel followed all the sins of Jeroboam and they did not depart from them, ²³ so Yahweh removed Israel from his sight, as he had said through all his servants the prophets that he would. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria, and it is this way to this present day.

²⁴ The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and from Kuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel. They took over Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ It happened at the beginning of their residence there that they did not honor Yahweh. So Yahweh sent lions among them which killed some of them. ²⁶ So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the practices required by the god of the land. So he has sent lions among them, and, see, the lions are killing people there because they do not know the practices required by the god of the land."

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Take one of the priests there whom you brought from there, and let him go and live there, and let him teach them the practices required by the god of the land." ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel; he taught them how they should honor Yahweh.

²⁹ Every ethnic group made gods of their own, and put them in the high places that the Samaritans had made—every ethnic group in the cities where they lived. ³⁰ The people of Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth; the people of Kuthah made Nergal; the people of Hamath made Ashima; ³¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of the Sepharvites.

³² They also honored Yahweh, and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the temples at the high places. ³³ They honored Yahweh and also worshiped their own gods, in the customs of the nations from among whom they had been taken away.

³⁴ To this day they persist in their old customs. They neither honor Yahweh, nor do they follow the statutes, the customs, the law, or the commandments that Yahweh gave to the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. ³⁵ When Yahweh made a covenant with them, he commanded them, "You will not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor worship them, nor sacrifice to them.

³⁶ But Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, it is him you will honor, it is to him you will bow down, and it is to him that you will sacrifice. ³⁷ The statutes and the decrees, the law and the commandments that he wrote for you, you will keep them forever. So you must not fear other gods, ³⁸ and the covenant that I have made with you, you will not forget; neither will you honor other gods.

³⁹ But Yahweh your God is who you will honor. He will rescue you from the might of your enemies." ⁴⁰ They would not listen, because they continued to do what they had done in the past. ⁴¹ So these nations feared Yahweh and they also worshiped their carved figures, and their children did the same—as did their children's children. They continue to do what their ancestors did, up to this day.

Chapter 18

¹ Now in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah; she was the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as David, his ancestor, had done.

⁴ He removed the high places, destroyed the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because in those days the people of Israel were burning incense to it; it was called "Nehushtan." ⁵ Hezekiah trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among the kings who were before him.

⁶ For he held on to Yahweh. He did not stop following him but kept his commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses. ⁷ So Yahweh was with Hezekiah, and wherever he went he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He attacked the Philistines to Gaza and the borders around, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

⁹ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ At the end of three years they took it, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel; in this way Samaria was captured.

¹¹ So the king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and at the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² He did this because they did not obey the voice of Yahweh their God, but they violated the terms of his covenant, all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded. They refused to listen to it or do it.

¹³ Then in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ¹⁴ So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, saying, "I have offended you. Withdraw from me. Whatever you put on me I will bear." The king of Assyria required Hezekiah king of Judah to pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king's palace.

¹⁶ Then Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh and from the pillars that he had overlaid; he gave the gold to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ But the king of Assyria mobilized his great army, sending Tartan and Rabsaris and the chief commander from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They traveled up the roads and arrived outside Jerusalem. They approached the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the launderers' field, and stood by it. ¹⁸ When they had called to King Hezekiah, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, went out to meet them.

¹⁹ So the chief commander said to them to tell Hezekiah what the great king, the king of Assyria, said: "What is the source of your confidence? ²⁰ You speak only useless words, saying you have counsel and strength for war. In whom are you trusting, that you should rebel against me? ²¹ Look, you trust in Egypt, this walking stick of crushed reed; if a man leans on it, it will stick into his hand and pierce it. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to anyone who trusts in him.

²² But if you say to me, 'We are trusting in Yahweh our God,' is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem'? ²³ Now therefore, I want to make you a good offer from my master the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to find riders for them.

²⁴ How could you resist even one captain of the least of my master's servants? You have put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen! ²⁵ Have I traveled up here without Yahweh to fight against this place and destroy it? Yahweh said to me, 'Attack this land and destroy it.'"

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah in the ears of the people who are on the wall." ²⁷ But the chief commander said to them, "Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"

²⁸ Then the chief commander stood and shouted in a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, "Listen to the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ The king says, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my power. ³⁰ Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, "Yahweh will surely rescue us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."'

³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and drink from the water in his own cistern. ³² You will do this 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, a land of olive trees and honey, so that you may live and not die.' Do not listen to Hezekiah when he tries to persuade you, saying, 'Yahweh will rescue us.'

³³ Has any of the gods of the peoples rescued them out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria out of my hand? ³⁵ Among all the gods of the lands, is there any god who has rescued his land from my power? How could Yahweh save Jerusalem from my might?"

³⁶ But the people remained silent and did not respond, for the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." ³⁷ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household; Shebna the scribe; and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of the chief commander.

Chapter 19

¹ It came about that when King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Yahweh. ² He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet.

³ They said to him, "Hezekiah says, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for the children have come to the time of birth, but there is no strength for them to be born. ⁴ It may be that Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the chief commander, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Now lift up your prayer for the remnant that is still here.'"

⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ and Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master: 'Yahweh says, "Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me. ⁷ Look, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a certain report and go back to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"

¹⁰ "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah, 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, "Jerusalem will not be given over into the hand of the king of Assyria." ¹¹ See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them completely. So will you be rescued?

¹² Have the gods of the nations rescued them, the nations that my fathers destroyed: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?'"

¹⁴ Hezekiah received this letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it before him. ¹⁵ Then Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh and said, "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, you who sit above the cherubim, you are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

¹⁶ Incline your ear, Yahweh, and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, just wood and stone. So the Assyrians have destroyed them.

¹⁹ Now then, Yahweh our God, save us, I implore you, from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God alone."

²⁰ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, "Yahweh, the God of Israel says, 'Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you. ²¹ This is the word that Yahweh has spoken about him:

"The virgin daughter of Zion

despises you and mocks you.

The daughter of Jerusalem

shakes her head at you.

²² Whom have you defied and slandered?

Against whom have you exalted your voice

and lifted up your eyes in pride?

Against the Holy One of Israel!

²³ By your messengers

you have defied the Lord,

and have said,

'With the multitude of my chariots

I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,

to the highest elevations of Lebanon.

I will cut down the tall cedars

and the choice cypress trees there.

I will enter into its farthest parts,

its most fruitful forest.

²⁴ I have dug wells

and have drunk foreign waters.

I dried up all the rivers of Egypt

under the soles of my feet.'

²⁵ Have you not heard how I

determined it long ago,

and worked it out in ancient times?

Now I am bringing it to pass.

You are here to reduce impregnable cities

into heaps of ruins.

²⁶ Their inhabitants, of little strength,

are shattered and ashamed.

They are plants in the field,

green grass,

the grass on the roof or in the field,

burned before it has grown up.

²⁷ But I know your sitting down,

your going out, your coming in,

and your raging against me.

²⁸ Because of your raging against me,

and because your arrogance has reached my ears,

I will put my hook in your nose,

and my bit in your mouth;

I will turn you back

the way you came."

²⁹ This will be the sign for you:

This year you will eat what grows wild,

and in the second year what grows from that.

But in the third year you must plant and harvest,

plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

³⁰ The remnant of the house of Judah that survives

will again take root and bear fruit.

³¹ For from Jerusalem a remnant will come out,

from Mount Zion an escaped remnant will come. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.

³² Therefore Yahweh says this about the king of Assyria:

"He will not come into this city

nor shoot an arrow here.

Neither will he come before it with shield

or build up a siege ramp against it.

³³ The way by which he came

will be the same way he will leave;

he will not enter this city—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

³⁴ For I will defend this city and rescue it,

for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.'"

³⁵ It came about that night that the angel of Yahweh went out and attacked the camp of the Assyrians, putting to death 185,000 soldiers. When the men arose early in the morning, dead bodies lay everywhere. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria left Israel and went home and stayed in Nineveh. ³⁷ Later, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrok his god, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

Chapter 20

¹ In those days Hezekiah was sick to the point of dying. So Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet came to him, and said to him, "Yahweh says, 'Set your house in order; for you will die, and not live.'" ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, ³ "Please, Yahweh, I beg you, call to mind how I have faithfully walked before you with my whole heart, and how I have done what was good in your sight." Then Hezekiah wept loudly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had gone out into the middle courtyard, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, ⁵ "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of David your ancestor, says: "I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. I am about to heal you on the third day, and you will go up to the house of Yahweh.

⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."'" ⁷ So Isaiah said, "Take a lump of figs." They did so and put it on his boil, and he recovered.

⁸ Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I should go up to the temple of Yahweh on the third day?" ⁹ Isaiah replied, "This will be the sign for you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that he has spoken. Will the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?"

¹⁰ Hezekiah answered, "It is an easy thing for the shadow to go forward ten steps. No, let the shadow go backward ten steps." ¹¹ So Isaiah the prophet cried out to Yahweh, and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, from where it had moved on the stairway of Ahaz.

¹² At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ Hezekiah listened to those letters, and then showed the messengers all the palace and his valuable things, the silver, the gold, the spices and precious oil, and the storehouse of his weapons, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his kingdom, that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?" Hezekiah said, "They came from the distant country of Babylon." ¹⁵ Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my valuable things that I have not shown them."

¹⁶ So Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of Yahweh: ¹⁷ 'Look, the days are about to come when everything in your palace, the things that your ancestors stored away until this present day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says Yahweh. ¹⁸ Some of your descendants whom you will father will be taken away from you, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "Will there not be peace and stability in my days?" ²⁰ As for the other matters concerning Hezekiah, and all his power, and how he constructed the pool and the conduit, and how he brought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²¹ Hezekiah lay down with his ancestors, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

Chapter 21

¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the disgusting things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he built altars for Baal, made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshiped them.

⁴ Manasseh built altars in the house of Yahweh, although Yahweh had commanded, "It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever." ⁵ He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh. ⁶ He caused his son to pass through the fire, he performed sorcery and divination and consulted with sorcerers and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking him to anger.

⁷ The carved figure of Asherah that he had made, he placed it in the house of Yahweh. It was about this house that Yahweh had spoken to David and Solomon his son; he had said: "It is in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that I will put my name forever. ⁸ I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to obey all that I have commanded them, and to follow all the law that my servant Moses commanded them." ⁹ But the people did not listen, and Manasseh led them to do evil even more than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed before the people of Israel.

¹⁰ So Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹ "Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these disgusting things, and has acted wickedly more than all that the Amorites who were before him did, and has also made Judah sin with his idols, ¹² therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this: Look, I am about to bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

¹³ I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria, and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem clean, as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴ I will throw off the remnant of my inheritance and give them into the hand of their enemies. They will become victims and plunder for all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done what is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors came out of Egypt, to this day."

¹⁶ Moreover, Manasseh shed much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another with death. This was in addition to the sin by which he made Judah to sin, when they did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ¹⁷ As for the other matters concerning Manasseh, all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸ Manasseh lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Amon his son became king in his place.

¹⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth; she was the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done.

²¹ Amon followed in all the way that his father had walked in and worshiped the idols that his father worshiped, and bowed down to them. ²² He abandoned Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of Yahweh. ²³ The servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house.

²⁴ But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵ As for the other matters concerning Amon that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²⁶ The people buried him in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 22

¹ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah (she was the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath). ² He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. He walked in all the way of David his ancestor, and he did not turn away either to the right or to the left.

³ It came about that in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying, ⁴ "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and tell him to count the money that has been brought into the house of Yahweh, which the temple guards have gathered from the people. ⁵ Let it be given into the hand of the workmen who are in charge of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of Yahweh, for them to make repairs to damage in the temple.

⁶ Let them give money to the carpenters, the builders, and the masons, and also to buy timber and cut stone to repair the temple." ⁷ But no accounting was required for the money that was given to them, because they handled it faithfully.

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh." So Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹ Shaphan went and took the book to the king, and also reported to him, saying, "Your servants have spent the money that was found in the temple and they have given it into the hand of the workmen who supervise the care for the house of Yahweh." ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the scribe said to the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." Then Shaphan read it to the king.

¹¹ It came about that when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. ¹² The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, his own servant, saying, ¹³ "Go and consult with Yahweh for me, and for the people and for all Judah, because of the words of this book that has been found. For great is the anger of Yahweh that has been kindled against us because our ancestors have not listened to the words of this book so as to obey all that was written concerning us."

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter), and they spoke with her. ¹⁵ She said to them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ "This is what Yahweh says: 'See, I will bring disaster to this place and to its inhabitants, according to everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read.

¹⁷ Because they have abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they might provoke me to anger with all the deeds they have committed—therefore my anger has been kindled against this place, and it will not be extinguished.'" ¹⁸ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask Yahweh's will, this is what you will say to him: "Yahweh, the God of Israel says this: 'About the words that you heard, ¹⁹ because your heart was tender, and because you have humbled yourself before Yahweh, when you heard what I said against this place and its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have listened to you—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁰ See, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'"'" So the men took this message back to the king.

Chapter 23

¹ So the king sent messengers who gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ² Then the king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, prophets, and all the people, from small to great. He then read in their hearing all the words of the book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of Yahweh.

³ The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments, his regulations, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book. So all the people agreed to stand by the covenant.

⁴ The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests under him, and the gatekeepers to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal and Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields in the Kidron Valley and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁵ He got rid of the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had chosen to burn incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places around Jerusalem—those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon, to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

⁶ He brought out the Asherah pole from the temple of Yahweh, outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley and burned it there. He crushed it to dust and threw that dust onto the graves of the common people. ⁷ He broke down the houses of the cultic prostitutes in the temple of Yahweh, where the women wove garments for Asherah.

⁸ Josiah brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the high places at the gates that were at the entrance to the gate of Joshua (the city governor), on the left side of the city gate. ⁹ Although the priests of those high places were not allowed to serve at the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

¹⁰ Josiah defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so that no one might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire as a sacrifice to Molech. ¹¹ He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun. They had been in an area at the entrance to the temple of Yahweh, near the room of Nathan-Melek, the chamberlain. Josiah burned the chariots of the sun.

¹² Josiah the king destroyed the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the temple of Yahweh. Josiah smashed them into pieces and threw them into the Kidron Valley. ¹³ The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the mount of corruption that Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Molech, the detestable idol of the people of Ammon. ¹⁴ He broke the stone pillars into pieces and cut down the Asherah poles and he filled those places with the bones of human beings.

¹⁵ Josiah also completely destroyed the altar that was at Bethel and the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat (the one who made Israel to sin) had constructed. He also burned that altar and the high place and crushed it to dust. He also burned the Asherah pole. ¹⁶ As Josiah looked over the area, he noticed the graves that were on the hillside. He sent men to take the bones from the graves; then he burned them on the altar, which defiled it. This was according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God had spoken, the man who spoke of these things beforehand.

¹⁷ Then he said, "What monument is that I see?" The men of the city told him, "That is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and spoke about these things that you have just done against the altar of Bethel." ¹⁸ So Josiah said, "Let it alone. No one should move his bones." So they let his bones alone, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

¹⁹ Then Josiah removed all the houses on the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made, and that provoked Yahweh to anger. He did to them exactly what had been done at Bethel. ²⁰ He slaughtered all the priests of the high places on the altars and he burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant." ²² Such a Passover celebration had never been held from the days of the judges who ruled Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel or Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover of Yahweh was celebrated in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Josiah also completely removed the sorcerers and spiritists. He also completely removed the fetishes, the idols, and all the disgusting things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so as to confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of Yahweh. ²⁵ Before Josiah, there had been no king like him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might, who followed all the law of Moses. Nor did any king like Josiah arise after him.

²⁶ Nevertheless, Yahweh did not turn away from the burning of his raging anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke him to anger. ²⁷ So Yahweh said, "I will also remove Judah out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will throw away this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, 'My name will be there.'"

²⁸ As for the other matters concerning Josiah, everything that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ²⁹ In his days, Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, went to fight against the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to meet Necho in battle, and Necho killed him at Megiddo. ³⁰ Josiah's servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own grave. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.

³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² Jehoahaz did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like everything that his ancestors had done. ³³ Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he might not reign in Jerusalem. Then Necho imposed a fine on Judah of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

³⁴ Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away to Egypt, and Jehoahaz died there. ³⁵ Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh. In order to meet the demand of Pharaoh, Jehoikim taxed the land and he forced each man among the people of the land to pay him the silver and gold according to their assessments.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah; she was the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷ Jehoiakim did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, just as his ancestors had done.

Chapter 24

¹ In Jehoiakim's days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Judah; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then Jehoiakim turned back and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. ² Yahweh sent against Jehoiakim marauding bands of Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it. This was in conformity with the word of Yahweh that had been spoken through his servants the prophets.

³ It was certainly at the mouth of Yahweh that this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, because of the sins of Manasseh, all that he did, ¹ ⁴ and also because of the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. Yahweh was not willing to pardon that.

⁵ As for the other matters concerning Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? ⁶ Jehoiakim lay down with his ancestors, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

⁷ The king of Egypt did not attack any more out of his land, because the king of Babylon had conquered all the lands that had been controlled by the king of Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta; she was the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did all that his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and besieged the city. ¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, ¹² and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers. The king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his own reign.

¹³ Nebuchadnezzar took out from there all the valuable things in the house of Yahweh, and those in the king's palace. He cut into pieces all the golden objects that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had said would happen. ¹⁴ He took into exile all Jerusalem, all the leaders, and all the mighty warriors, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one was left except the poorest people in the land.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin into exile at Babylon, as well as the king's mother, wives, officers, and the nobles of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶ All the fighting men, seven thousand in number, and one thousand craftsmen and blacksmiths, all of them strong and fit for fighting—the king of Babylon brought these men into exile at Babylon. ¹⁷ The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's father's brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ¹⁹ He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ Through Yahweh's anger, all these events happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he drove them out of his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

¹Some ancient Hebrew copies read, It was certainly because of the wrath of Yahweh .

Chapter 25

¹ It happened that in the ninth year of the reign of King Zedekiah, in the tenth month, and on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem. He camped opposite it, and they built a siege wall around it. ² So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month of that year, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

⁴ Then the city was broken into, and all the fighting men fled at night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, although the Chaldeans were all around the city. The king went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of Chaldeans pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of the Jordan River valley near Jericho. All his army was scattered away from him.

⁶ They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they passed sentence on him. ⁷ As for Zedekiah's sons, they slaughtered them before his eyes. Then he put out his eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and brought him to Babylon.

⁸ Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon and commander of his bodyguards, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He burned the house of Yahweh, the king's palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem; also every important building in the city he burned. ¹⁰ As for all the walls around Jerusalem, all the army of the Chaldeans who were under the commander of the bodyguard destroyed them.

¹¹ As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the remainder of the population—Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguard, took them away into exile. ¹² But the commander of the bodyguard did leave some of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

¹³ As for the bronze pillars that were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans broke them into pieces and carried the bronze back to Babylon. ¹⁴ The pots, shovels, lamp trimmers, spoons, and all the utensils of bronze with which the priests had served in the temple—the Chaldeans took them all away. ¹⁵ The censers and the bowls that were made of gold and those made of silver—the captain of the king's guard took them away as well.

¹⁶ The two pillars, the sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh contained more bronze than could be weighed. ¹⁷ The height of the first pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of bronze was on top of it. The capital was three cubits high, with latticework and pomegranates all around on the capital, all made of bronze. The other pillar and its latticework were the same as the first.

¹⁸ The commander of the bodyguard took Seraiah the chief priest, together with Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three gatekeepers. ¹⁹ From the city he took prisoner an officer who was in charge of soldiers, and five men of those who advised the king, who were still in the city. He also took prisoner the king's army officer responsible for drafting men into the army, along with sixty important men from the land who were in the city.

²⁰ Then Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. In this way, Judah went out of its land into exile.

²² As for the people who remained in the land of Judah, those whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he put Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, in charge of them. ²³ Now when all the commanders of the soldiers, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah. These men were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maakathite—they and their men. ²⁴ Gedaliah made an oath to them and to their men, and said to them, "Do not be afraid of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you."

²⁵ But it happened that in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, from the royal family, came with ten men and attacked Gedaliah. Gedaliah died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶ Then all the people, from the least to the greatest, and the commanders of the soldiers, arose and went to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

²⁷ It happened later in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Awel-Marduk king of Babylon released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. This happened in the year that Awel-Marduk began to reign.

²⁸ He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat more honorable than that of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ Awel-Marduk removed Jehoiachin's prison clothes, and Jehoiachin ate regularly at the king's table for the rest of his life. ³⁰ A regular food allowance was given to him by the king every day for the rest of his life.

1 Chronicles

Chapter 1

¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech.

⁴ The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹

⁵ The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

⁶ The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ²

⁷ The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.

⁸ The sons of Ham were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

⁹ The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

¹⁰ Cush became the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty man on the earth.

¹¹ Egypt became the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹² Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

¹³ Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of the Hittites. ¹⁴ He also became the ancestor of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁵ Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁶ Arvadites, Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

¹⁷ The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

¹⁸ Arphaxad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.

¹⁹ Eber had two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.

²⁰ Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²¹ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²² Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²³ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were descendants of Joktan.

²⁴ Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,

²⁵ Eber, Peleg, Reu,

²⁶ Serug, Nahor, Terah,

²⁷ Abram, who was Abraham.

²⁸ The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.

²⁹ These are their descendants: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹ Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were Ishmael's sons.

³² The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.

³³ Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.

³⁴ Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.

³⁵ The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

³⁶ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.

³⁷ The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

³⁸ The sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

³⁹ The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam, and Timna was Lotan's sister.

⁴⁰ The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah.

⁴¹ The son of Anah was Dishon. The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

⁴² The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

⁴³ These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the people of Israel: Bela son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

⁴⁴ When Bela died, Jobab 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 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the land 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 When Samlah died, Shaul of Rehoboth on the river reigned in his place.

⁴⁹ When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor reigned in his place.

⁵⁰ When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred daughter of Me-Zahab.

⁵¹ Hadad died.

The chiefs in Edom were Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,

⁵² Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, ⁵³ Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, ⁵⁴ Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

¹The Hebrew copies do not have the expression, The sons of Noah, but the ancient Greek translation includes this expression.

²Most Hebrew copies have Diphath instead of Riphath. However Diphath was probably a misspelling and other ancient copies corrected it to read Riphath. This last name is found in Genesis 10:3.

Chapter 2

¹ These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

³ Judah's sons were Er, Onan, and Shelah, who were born to him by Shua's daughter, a Canaanite woman. Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. ⁴ Tamar, his daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons.

⁵ Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.

⁶ Zerah's sons were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda, five in all.

⁷ Karmi's son was Achar, who brought trouble on Israel when he acted faithlessly in regard to what was devoted to God. ¹

⁸ Ethan's son was Azariah.

⁹ Hezron's sons were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

¹⁰ Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, a leader among Judah's descendants. ¹¹ Nahshon became the father of Salmon, and Salmon became the father of Boaz. ¹² Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse.

¹³ Jesse became the father of his firstborn Eliab, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, ¹⁴ Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, ¹⁵ Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh.

¹⁶ Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three of them. ¹⁷ Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.

¹⁸ Caleb son of Hezron became the father of children by Azubah, his wife, and by Jerioth. His sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹ Azubah died, and then Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. ²⁰ Hur became the father of Uri, and Uri became the father of Bezalel.

²¹ Later Hezron (when he was sixty years old) married the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. She bore him Segub. ²² Segub became the father of Jair, who controlled twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead.

²³ Geshur and Aram took Havvoth Jair and Kenath, as well as sixty surrounding towns. All these inhabitants were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

²⁴ After the death of Hezron, Caleb went to Ephrathah, the wife of his father Hezron. She bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa. ²

²⁵ The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram the firstborn, 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 Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.

²⁹ 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, but Seled died without children.

³¹ The son of Appaim was Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. The son of Sheshan was Ahlai.

³² The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children.

³³ The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.

³⁴ Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. ³⁵ Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as his wife. She bore him Attai.

³⁶ Attai became the father of Nathan, and Nathan became the father of Zabad.

³⁷ Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal became the father of Obed.

³⁸ Obed became the father of Jehu, and Jehu became the father of Azariah.

³⁹ Azariah became the father of Helez, and Helez became the father of Eleasah.

⁴⁰ Eleasah became the father of Sismai, and Sismai became the father of Shallum.

⁴¹ Shallum became the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah became the father of Elishama.

⁴² The sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, were Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph. His second son, Mareshah, was the father of Hebron.

⁴³ The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴ Shema became the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam. Rekem became the father of Shammai.

⁴⁵ The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.

⁴⁶ Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran became the father of Gazez.

⁴⁷ The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

⁴⁸ Maakah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹ She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Makbenah and the father of Gibea. The daughter of Caleb was Aksah.

⁵⁰ These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim, ⁵¹ Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.

⁵² Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim had descendants: Haroeh, half of the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the clans of Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. The Zorathites and Eshtaolites descended from these.

⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, and half of the Manahathites—the Zorites, ⁵⁵ and the clans of the scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rekab.

¹Some Hebrew copies spell the name: Achan instead of Achar, a name which means trouble .

²Some translate the Hebrew to read, After Hezron's death in Caleb Ephrathah, his wife Abijah bore him a son, Ashhur the father of Tekoa .

Chapter 3

¹ Now these are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam from Jezreel; the second was Daniel, by Abigail from Carmel;

² the third was Absalom, whose mother was Maakah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. The fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith;

³ the fifth was Shephatiah by Abital; the sixth was Ithream by Eglah his wife.

⁴ These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. He then ruled thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ⁵ These four sons, by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel, were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. ¹

⁶ David's other nine sons were: Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. ⁹ These were David's sons, not including the sons by his concubines. Tamar was their sister.

¹⁰ Solomon's son was Rehoboam. Rehoboam's son was Abijah. Abijah's son was Asa. Asa's son was Jehoshaphat.

¹¹ Jehoshaphat's son was Jehoram. Jehoram's son was Ahaziah. Ahaziah's son was Joash.

¹² Joash's son was Amaziah. Amaziah's son was Azariah. Azariah's son was Jotham.

¹³ Jotham's son was Ahaz. Ahaz's son was Hezekiah. Hezekiah's son was Manasseh.

¹⁴ Manasseh's son was Amon. Amon's son was Josiah.

¹⁵ Josiah's sons were his firstborn Johanan, his second son Jehoiakim, his third son Zedekiah, and his fourth son Shallum.

¹⁶ Jehoiakim's sons were Jehoiachin and Zedekiah.

¹⁷ The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive, were Shealtiel, ¹⁸ Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

¹⁹ Pedaiah's sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei. Zerubbabel's sons were Meshullam and Hananiah; Shelomith was their sister.

²⁰ His other five sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed.

²¹ Hananiah's sons were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. His son was Rephaiah, and further descendants were Arnan, Obadiah, and Shekaniah.

²² The descendants of Shekaniah were Shemaiah and his sons: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat.

²³ Neariah's three sons were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam.

²⁴ Elioenai's seven sons were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.

¹One ancient Hebrew copy and the ancient Latin translation have Bathseba, however, most ancient Hebrew copies have Bathshua. 1 Samuel 12:24 is clear that Bathsheba was Solomon's mother and so her name is spelled here, "Bathsheba," so as to avoid confusion.

Chapter 4

¹ Judah's descendants were Perez, Hezron, Karmi, Hur, and Shobal.

² Reaiah, the son of Shobal, was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were of the clans of the Zorathites.

³ These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. Their sister's name was Hazzelelponi. ⁴ Penuel was the father of Gedor. Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.

⁵ Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

⁶ Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷ Helah's sons were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, ⁸ and Koz, who became the father of Anub and Hazzobebah, and of the clans descended from Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez. She said, "Because I bore him in pain." ¹⁰ Jabez called out to the God of Israel and said, "If only you would truly bless me, expand my territory, and your hand will be with me. When you do this you will keep me from harm, so that I may be free from pain!" So God granted him his prayer.

¹¹ Kelub brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir Nahash. ¹ These were men who lived in Rekah.

¹³ Kenaz's sons were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel's sons were Hathath and Meonothai. ² ¹⁴ Meonothai became the father of Ophrah, and Seraiah became the father of Joab, the originator of Ge Harashim, whose people were craftsmen.

¹⁵ The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah and Naam. Elah's son was Kenaz.

¹⁶ Jehallelel's sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

¹⁷ Ezrah's sons were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered's Egyptian wife ³ conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, who became the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸ These were the sons of Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married. Mered's Judahite wife bore Jered, who became the father of Gedor; Heber, who became the father of Soko; and Jekuthiel, who became the father of Zanoah.

¹⁹ Of the two sons of Hodiah's wife, sister of Naham, one became the father of Keilah the Garmite. The other was Eshtemoa the Maakathite.

²⁰ The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

²¹ The descendants of Shelah son of Judah, were Er father of Lekah, Laadah father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, ²² Jokim, the men of Kozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (This information is from ancient records.) ²³ These were the potters who lived in Netaim and Gederah and worked for the king.

²⁴ Simeon's descendants were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.

²⁵ Shallum was Shaul's son, Mibsam was Shallum's son, and Mishma was Mibsam's son.

²⁶ Mishma's descendants were Hammuel his son, Zakkur his grandson, and Shimei his great-grandson.

²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. His brothers did not have many children, so their clans did not increase greatly in numbers as the people of Judah did. ²⁸ They lived at Beersheba, Moladah, and at Hazar Shual.

²⁹ They also live at Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David.

³² Their five villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan, ³³ together with the outlying villages as far as Baalath. These were their settlements, and they kept the genealogical records.

³⁴ Clan leaders were Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, ³⁵ Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah son of Seraiah son of Asiel, ³⁶ Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷ and Ziza son of Shiphi son of Allon son of Jedaiah son of Shimri son of Shemaiah.

³⁸ These mentioned by name were leaders in their clans, and their fathers' houses increased greatly.

³⁹ They went near Gedor, on the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰ They found abundant and good pasture. The land was broad, quiet, and peaceable. The Hamites had formerly lived there. ⁴¹ These just listed by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and attacked the Hamite tents and the Meunites, who were there also. They completely destroyed them and lived there because they found pasture for their flocks.

⁴² From them, from the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to Mount Seir with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, as their leader. ⁴³ They defeated the rest of the escaped remnant of Amalekites, and have lived there to this day.

¹Some modern translations read who settled in the town of Nahash .

²Most copies of the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew, and the ancient Latin translation of the Hebrew, insert: Meonothai into this verse, believing that it was omitted through a copyist's mistake.

³The Hebrew does not indicate here who the woman was. We understand from 4:18 that it was Mered's Egyptian wife.

Chapter 5

¹ The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—now Reuben was Israel's firstborn, but his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel because Reuben had defiled his father's couch. So he is not recorded in the genealogy as having the birthright. ² Judah was the strongest of his brothers, and the leader would come from him. But the birthright was Joseph's— ³ the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi.

⁴ The descendants of Joel were these: Joel's son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah's son was Gog. Gog's son was Shimei. ⁵ Shimei's son was Micah. Micah's son was Reaiah. Reaiah's son was Baal.

⁶ Baal's son was Beerah, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader in the tribe of Reuben.

⁷ His kinsmen according to their clans, enrolled in the genealogy by their generations: Jeiel the leader, Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela son of Azaz son of Shema son of Joel. They lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon, ⁹ and eastward to the start of the wilderness that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.

¹⁰ In the days of Saul, the tribe of Reuben attacked the Hagrites and defeated them. They lived in the Hagrites' tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.

¹¹ The members of the tribe of Gad lived near them, in the land of Bashan as far as Salekah.

¹² Joel was their leader; Shapham was second; and Janai and Shaphat in Bashan.

¹³ Their relatives, by their clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all.

¹⁴ These persons named above were the descendants of Abihail, and Abihail was the son of Huri. Huri was the son of Jaroah. Jaroah was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Michael. Michael was the son of Jeshishai. Jeshishai was the son of Jahdo. Jahdo was the son of Buz.

¹⁵ Ahi son of Abdiel son of Guni, was head of their clan.

¹⁶ They lived in Gilead, in Bashan, in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as its borders. ¹⁷ All these were listed by genealogical records in the days of Jotham king of Judah and of Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸ The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 soldiers skilled in battle, who carried shield and sword and who drew the bow, who could go out to war. ¹⁹ They attacked the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

²⁰ They received divine help against them. In this way, the Hagrites and all who were with them were defeated. This was because the Israelites cried out to God in the battle, and he responded to them, because they put their trust in him. ²¹ They captured their animals, including fifty thousand camels, 250,000 sheep, two thousand donkeys, and 100,000 men. ²² Many fell because the battle was from God. They lived in their land until the captivity.

²³ The sons of the half tribe of Manasseh lived in the land of Bashan as far as Baal Hermon and Senir (that is, Mount Hermon). ²⁴ These were the heads of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses.

²⁵ But they were unfaithful to their ancestors' God. They acted like prostitutes with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ The God of Israel stirred up Pul king of Assyria (also called Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria). He took into exile the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. He brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.

Chapter 6

¹ The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

² The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴ Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, and Phinehas became the father of Abishua.

⁵ Abishua became the father of Bukki, and Bukki became the father of Uzzi.

⁶ Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah, and Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth.

⁷ Meraioth became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub.

⁸ Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz.

⁹ Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah, and Azariah became the father of Johanan.

¹⁰ Johanan became the father of Azariah, who served as a priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.

¹¹ Azariah became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub.

¹² Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Shallum.

¹³ Shallum became the father of Hilkiah, and Hilkiah became the father of Azariah.

¹⁴ Azariah became the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah became the father of Jozadak.

¹⁵ Jozadak went into captivity when Yahweh exiled Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶ The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷ The sons of Gershon were named Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers.

²⁰ The descendants of Gershon: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹ Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son.

²² The descendants of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah 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 descendants of Elkanah were Amasai, Ahimoth,

²⁶ Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ²⁷ Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. ¹

²⁸ The sons of Samuel were the firstborn, Joel, and Abijah, the second-born.

²⁹ The descendants of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,

³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

³¹ These are the names of the men whom David put in charge of music in the house of Yahweh, after the ark came to rest there. ³² They served by singing before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem. They fulfilled their duties according to the instructions given to them.

³³ These were those who served with their sons. From the clans of the Kohathites came Heman the musician. Here were his ancestors, going back in time: Heman was the son of Joel. Joel was the son of Samuel.

³⁴ Samuel was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham. Jeroham was the son of Eliel. Eliel was the son of Toah.

³⁵ Toah was the son of Zuph. Zuph was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Mahath. Mahath was the son of Amasai. Amasai was son of Elkanah.

³⁶ Amasai was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Joel. Joel was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Zephaniah.

³⁷ Zephaniah was the son of Tahath. Tahath was the son of Assir. Assir was the son of Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph was the son of Korah.

³⁸ Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath. Kohath was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Israel.

³⁹ Heman's fellow worker was Asaph, who stood at his right hand. Asaph was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Shimea.

⁴⁰ Shimea was the son of Michael. Michael was the son of Baaseiah. Baaseiah was the son of Malkijah. ⁴¹ Malkijah was the son of Ethni. Ethni was the son of Zerah. Zerah was the son of Adaiah.

⁴² Adaiah was the son of Ethan. Ethan was the son of Zimmah. Zimmah was the son of Shimei. ⁴³ Shimei was the son of Jahath. Jahath was the son of Gershon. Gershon was the son of Levi.

⁴⁴ At Heman's left hand were his fellow workers the sons of Merari. They included Ethan son of Kishi. Kishi was the son of Abdi. Abdi was the son of Malluk. ⁴⁵ Malluk was the son of Hashabiah. Hashabiah was the son of Amaziah. Amaziah was the son of Hilkiah.

⁴⁶ Hilkiah was the son of Amzi. Amzi was the son of Bani. Bani was the son of Shemer. ⁴⁷ Shemer was the son of Mahli. Mahli was the son of Mushi. Mushi was the son of Merari. Merari was the son of Levi.

⁴⁸ Their associates, the Levites, were assigned to do all the labor for the tabernacle, the house of God.

⁴⁹ But Aaron and his descendants made the offerings on the altar for burnt offerings; and the offering on the incense altar for all the work on the most holy place. These offerings made atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰ Aaron's descendants are reckoned as follows: Aaron's son was Eleazar. Eleazar's son was Phinehas. Phinehas' son was Abishua. ⁵¹ Abishua's son was Bukki. Bukki's son was Uzzi. Uzzi's son was Zerahiah.

⁵² Zerahiah's son was Meraioth. Meraioth's son was Amariah. Amariah's son was Ahitub. ⁵³ Ahitub's son was Zadok. Zadok's son was Ahimaaz.

⁵⁴ These are the locations where Aaron's descendants were assigned to live, that is, for the descendants of Aaron who were from the clans of the Kohathites (the first lot was theirs). ⁵⁵ To them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its pasturelands, ⁵⁶ but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷ To the descendants of Aaron they gave: Hebron (a city of refuge), and Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, ⁵⁸ Hilen with its pasturelands, and Debir with its pasturelands.

⁵⁹ They also gave to the descendants of Aaron: Ashan with its pasturelands, Juttah, ² and Beth Shemesh with its pasturelands; ⁶⁰ and from the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands.

All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen cities.

⁶¹ To the rest of Kohath's descendants were given by lot ten cities from the half tribe of Manasseh. ⁶² To Gershon's descendants in their various clans were given thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁶³ To Merari's descendants they gave by lot twelve cities, clan by clan, from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁶⁴ So the people of Israel gave these cities with their pasturelands to the Levites. ⁶⁵ They assigned by lot these towns mentioned by name from the tribes of the sons of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

⁶⁶ Some of the clans of the descendants of Kohath were given cities from the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷ They gave them: Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth Horon with its pasturelands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath Rimmon with its pasturelands.

⁷⁰ The half tribe of Manasseh gave the Kohathites Aner with its pasturelands and Bileam with its pasturelands. These became the possessions of the rest of the Kohathite clans.

⁷¹ To Gershon's descendants out of the clans of the half tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands.

⁷² The tribe of Issachar gave to Gershon's descendants Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands.

⁷⁴ Issachar received from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ⁷⁵ Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands.

⁷⁶ They received from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands.

⁷⁷ The rest of Merari's descendants received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, ³ and Rimmono with its pasturelands and Tabor with its pasturelands;

⁷⁸ and from the tribe of Reuben, across the Jordan on the east side of Jericho, they received Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth and its pasturelands, and Mephaath and its pasturelands.

⁸⁰ The Levites received from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ⁸¹ Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands.

¹The ancient Greek translation taken from the Hebrew copies adds to the list Samuel his son .

²The place name Juttah is not in the ancient Hebrew copies but is found in the Syriac translation of the Hebrew copies; also see Joshua 21:16.

³The names Jokneam and Kartah are not found in the Hebrew copies but are found in the ancient Greek translation taken from the Hebrew copies. Compare the list in Joshua 21:34.

Chapter 7

¹ Issachar's four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

² The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel. They were the heads of their clans, from the descendants of Tola and they were listed as mighty warriors among their generations. They numbered 22,600 in the days of David.

³ Uzzi's son was Izrahiah. His sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah; all five of them were clan leaders.

⁴ Along with them, according to the genealogical records of their clans, they had thirty-six thousand troops of the army for battle, for they had many wives and sons.

⁵ Their relatives from all the clans of Issachar numbered in all eighty-seven thousand mighty warriors, as listed in their genealogy.

⁶ Benjamin's three sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.

⁷ Bela's sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five heads of clans and mighty warriors. There were 22,034 of them recorded in their genealogy.

⁸ Beker's sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were his sons. ⁹ Recorded in their genealogy, according to their generations, were 20,200 heads of their clans, mighty warriors.

¹⁰ The son of Jediael was Bilhan. Bilhan's sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.

¹¹ All these were sons of Jediael. Listed in their clan lists were 17,200 heads of houses and mighty warriors fit for military service.

¹² The Shuppites and the Huppites were descendants of Ir, and the Hushites were descendants of Aher.

¹³ The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem—the descendants of Bilhah.

¹⁴ The descendants of Manasseh were Asriel, who was his descendant through his Aramean concubine. (She gave birth to Makir, the father of Gilead. ¹⁵ Then Makir took a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites, and his sister's name was Maakah.) The name of the second was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.

¹⁶ Then Maakah, wife of Makir, bore a son and she called him Peresh, and his brother's name was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.

¹⁷ The son of Ulam was Bedan. These were the descendants of Gilead, who was the son of Makir, who was the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸ Gilead's sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.

¹⁹ The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

²⁰ The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, ²¹ Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son. Ezer and Elead were killed by men of Gath, natives in the land, when they went to steal their livestock. ²² Ephraim their father mourned for them many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.

²³ He went to his wife. She conceived and bore a son. Ephraim named him Beriah, because tragedy had come to his family. ²⁴ His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah.

²⁵ Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son,

²⁶ Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, ²⁷ Nun his son, and Joshua was his son.

²⁸ Their possessions and residences were Bethel and its surrounding villages. They extended eastward to Naaran and westward to Gezer and its villages, and to Shechem and its villages to Ayyah and its villages. ²⁹ On the border with Manasseh were Beth Shan and its villages, Taanach and its villages, Megiddo and its villages, and Dor and its villages. In these towns the descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived.

³⁰ Asher's sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Serah was their sister.

³¹ Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel, who was the father of Birzaith.

³² Heber's sons were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. Shua was their sister.

³³ Japhlet's sons were Pasak, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet's children.

³⁴ Shomer, Japhlet's brother, had these sons: Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.

³⁵ Shemer's brother, Helem, had these sons: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.

³⁶ Zophah's sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷ Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.

³⁸ Jether's sons were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.

³⁹ Ulla's sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. ⁴⁰ All these were descendants of Asher. They were heads of clans, distinguished men, mighty warriors, and chief among the leaders. There were twenty-six thousand men listed who were fit for military service recorded in their genealogy.

Chapter 8

¹ Benjamin's five sons were Bela his firstborn, Ashbel, Aharah,

² Nohah, and Rapha.

³ Bela's sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴ Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵ Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.

⁶ These were the descendants of Ehud who were heads of fathers' houses for the inhabitants of Geba, who were compelled to move to Manahath:

⁷ Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. The last, Gera, led them in their move. He was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.

⁸ Shaharaim became the father of children in the land of Moab, after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. ⁹ By his wife Hodesh, Shaharaim became the father of Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malkam, ¹⁰ Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. ¹¹ He had already become the father of Abitub and Elpaal by Hushim.

¹² Elpaal's sons were Eber, Misham, and Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its surrounding villages). ¹³ There were also Beriah and Shema. They were heads of the fathers' houses of those living in Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.

¹⁴ Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, ¹⁵ Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶ Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah.

¹⁷ Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸ Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.

¹⁹ Jakim, Zikri, Zabdi, ²⁰ Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹ Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.

²² Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³ Abdon, Zikri, Hanan, ²⁴ Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵ Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.

²⁶ Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷ Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zikri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸ These were heads of clans—according to the genealogical records they were heads. These were the chief men who dwelled in Jerusalem.

²⁹ The father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maakah, lived in Gibeon. ³⁰ His firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹ Gedor, Ahio, and Zeker.

³² Another of Jeiel's sons was Mikloth, who became the father of Shimeah. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

³³ Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

³⁴ The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.

³⁵ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melek, Tarea, and Ahaz.

³⁶ Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah. Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza. ³⁷ Moza was the father of Binea. Binea was the father of Raphah. Raphah was the father of Eleasah. Eleasah was the father of Azel.

³⁸ Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were sons of Azel.

³⁹ The sons of Eshek, his brother, were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰ Ulam's sons were mighty warriors and archers. They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150. All these belonged to the descendants of Benjamin.

Chapter 9

¹ So all Israel was recorded in genealogies. They were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. As for Judah, they were carried away in exile to Babylon because of their faithlessness. ² The first to resettle in their possessions, in their cities, were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants. ³ Some descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem.

⁴ The settlers included Uthai son of Ammihud son of Omri son of Imri son of Bani, one of the descendants of Perez son of Judah.

⁵ Among the Shelanites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons.

⁶ Among the descendants of Zerah was Jeuel. Their relatives numbered 690.

⁷ Among the descendants of Benjamin was Sallu son of Meshullam son of Hodaviah son of Hassenuah.

⁸ There were also Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi son of Mikri; and Meshullam son of Shephatiah son of Reuel son of Ibnijah.

⁹ Their kinsmen, according to the genealogical records, numbered 956. All these men were heads of fathers' houses for their fathers' houses.

¹⁰ The priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jakin.

¹¹ There was also Azariah son of Hilkiah son of Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth son of Ahitub, the one in charge of the house of God.

¹² There was Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pashhur son of Malkijah. There was also Maasai son of Adiel son of Jahzerah son of Meshullam son of Meshillemith son of Immer.

¹³ Their relatives, who were leaders of their clans, numbered 1,760. They were very capable men for the work of service in the house of God.

¹⁴ Among the Levites, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah, among the descendants of Merari. ¹⁵ There were also Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mika son of Zikri son of Asaph. ¹⁶ There were also Obadiah son of Shemaiah son of Galal son of Jeduthun; and Berekiah son of Asa son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

¹⁷ The doorkeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸ Previously they stood guard at the king's gate on the east side for the camp of Levi's descendants. ¹⁹ Shallum son of Kore son of Ebiasaph, ¹ son of Korah, and his relatives from his clan, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the guard service. They guarded the door to the tent, as their ancestors had guarded the camp of Yahweh, and they also had guarded the entrance.

²⁰ Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of them in the past, and Yahweh had been with him. ²¹ Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was guard of the entrance to the tent of meeting.

²² All those who were chosen as gatekeepers at the entrances numbered 212. Their names were recorded in the people's genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust. ²³ So they and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the house of Yahweh, that is called the house of the tabernacle. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were posted on all four sides, toward the east, west, north, and south.

²⁵ Their brothers, who lived in their villages, came in for seven-day rotations, in turn. ²⁶ But the four leaders of the gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and with the storerooms in the house of God. ²⁷ They would stay overnight in their posts all around the house of God, for they were responsible for guarding it. They would open it each morning.

²⁸ Some of them were in charge of the temple's equipment; they counted the articles when they were brought in and when they were taken out. ²⁹ Some of them also were assigned to take care of the holy things, the equipment, and the supplies, including the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and the spices.

³⁰ Some of the priests' sons mixed the spices. ³¹ Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was in charge of preparing bread for the offerings. ³² Some of their brothers, descendants of the Kohathites, were in charge of the bread of the presence, to prepare it every Sabbath.

³³ The singers and heads of the Levites' clans lived in rooms at the sanctuary when they were free from work, because they had to carry out their assigned tasks day and night. ³⁴ These were leaders of the clans of the Levites, according to the genealogical records, chief men. They lived in Jerusalem.

³⁵ The father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maakah, lived in Gibeon. ³⁶ His firstborn son was Abdon, then his sons Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth.

³⁸ Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They also lived near their brothers in Jerusalem.

³⁹ Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.

⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melek, Tahrea, and Ahaz.

⁴² Ahaz was the father of Jadah. Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza. ⁴³ Moza became the father of Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.

⁴⁴ Azel had six sons, and their names were Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were Azel's sons.

¹Ebiasaph is the same person referred to as Asaph in 1 Chronicles 26:1.

Chapter 10

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel. Every man of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down dead on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines closely pursued Saul and his son. The Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, his sons. ³ The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers overtook him, and they wounded him.

⁴ Then said Saul to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it. Otherwise, these uncircumcised will come and abuse me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell on his sword in the same way and died. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, so all his household members died together.

⁷ When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in them. ⁸ It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹ They stripped him and took his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout Philistia to carry the news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his skull to the temple of Dagon.

¹¹ When all Jabesh Gilead heard of all that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the fighting men went and took away the body of Saul and those of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

¹³ So Saul died for the faithless act with which he acted faithlessly against Yahweh. He did not obey Yahweh's instructions, but asked for advice from someone who talked with the dead. ¹⁴ He did not seek guidance from Yahweh, so Yahweh killed him and turned over the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

Chapter 11

¹ Then all Israel gathered together with David at Hebron and said, "Look, we are your flesh and bone. ² In the recent past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led the Israelite army. Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become a ruler over my people Israel.'" ³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them before Yahweh. They anointed David king over Israel. In this way, the word of Yahweh that had been declared by Samuel came true.

⁴ David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). Now the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. ⁵ The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, "You will not come in here." But David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. ⁶ David had said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first will become chief and commander." So Joab son of Zeruiah attacked first, so he was made the chief.

⁷ Then David began to live in the stronghold. So they called it the city of David. ⁸ He built the city all around from the Millo and back to the surrounding wall. Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David became greater and greater because Yahweh of hosts was with him.

¹⁰ These were the leaders David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, obeying the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. ¹¹ This is a list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, the son of a Hakmonite, was commander of the officers. ¹ He killed three hundred men with his spear on one occasion.

¹² After him was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. ¹³ He was with David at Pas Dammim, and there the Philistines assembled together for battle, where there was a barley field and the army fled from the Philistines. ¹⁴ They stood in the middle of the field. They defended it and cut down the Philistines and Yahweh rescued them with a great victory.

¹⁵ Then three of the thirty leaders went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam. The army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ At that time David was in his stronghold, a cave, while the Philistines had established their camp at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David was longing for water and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well at Bethlehem, the well that is by the gate!"

¹⁸ So these three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, the well at the gate. They took the water and brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to Yahweh. ¹⁹ Then he said, "Far be it for me before God that I should ever do this! Should I drink the blood of these men who have risked their lives?" Because they had put their lives at risk, David refused to drink it. These were the deeds of the three mighty men.

²⁰ Abishai brother of Joab was captain over the Three. He once used his spear against three hundred and killed them. He had a name along with the Three. ²¹ Of the Three, he was given double honor and became their captain, even though he was not one of them.

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior from Kabzeel, who did great deeds. He killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a day when the snow was falling. ²³ He even killed an Egyptian, a man five cubits tall. The Egyptian had a spear like a weaver's beam, but he went down to him with only a staff. He seized the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

²⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada did these feats, and he was named alongside the three mighty men. ²⁵ He was more highly regarded than the thirty soldiers in general, but he was not regarded quite as highly as the three mighty men. Yet David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁶ The mighty warriors were Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁷ Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

²⁸ Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,

²⁹ Sibbekai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,

³⁰ Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,

³¹ Ithai son of Ribai of Gibeah of Benjamin's descendants, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

³² Hurai of the valleys of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,

³³ Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

³⁴ the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,

³⁵ Ahiam son of Sakar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur,

³⁶ Hepher the Mekerathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,

³⁷ Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai son of Ezbai,

³⁸ Joel brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri,

³⁹ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite (the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah),

⁴⁰ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

⁴¹ Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,

⁴² Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite (a chief of the Reubenites) and thirty with him,

⁴³ Hanan son of Maakah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,

⁴⁴ Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

⁴⁵ Jediael son of Shimri, Joha (his brother the Tizite),

⁴⁶ Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite,

⁴⁷ Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

¹The Hebrew could also read, of the thirty, or, of the three .

Chapter 12

¹ These were the men who came to David to Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the soldiers, his helpers in battle. ² They were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow. They were Benjamites, Saul's kinsmen.

³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite. There were Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth. There were also Berakah, Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a soldier among the thirty (and in command of the thirty); Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite,

⁵ Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ the Korahites Elkanah, Ishiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, and ⁷ Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty warriors, men of war, ready for battle, who could handle shield and spear; whose faces were as fierce as the faces of lions. They were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.

⁹ There were Ezer the leader, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,

¹⁰ Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

¹¹ Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

¹² Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

¹³ Jeremiah the tenth, Makbannai the eleventh.

¹⁴ These sons of Gad were leaders of the army. The least led a hundred, and the greatest led a thousand. ¹⁵ They crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it overflowed its banks, and caused all those living in the valleys to flee, both toward the east and toward the west.

¹⁶ Some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷ David went out to meet them and addressed them: "If you have come in peace to me to help me, my heart will be joined with you. But if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, may the God of our ancestors see and rebuke you, since I have done no wrong."

¹⁸ Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, who was chief of the thirty. Amasai said, "We are yours, David. We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace, may peace be to whoever helps you. May peace be to your helpers, for your God is helping you." Then David received them and made them commanders over his men.

¹⁹ Some from Manasseh also deserted to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle. Yet they did not help the Philistines, because the Philistine lords consulted with each other and sent David away. They said, "He will desert to his master Saul at the risk of our lives." ²⁰ When he went to Ziklag, the men of Manasseh who joined him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains over thousands of Manasseh.

²¹ They helped David fight against the roving bands, for they were mighty warriors. Later they became commanders in the army. ²² Day after day, men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.

²³ This is the record of the armed soldiers for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, which carried out Yahweh's word.

²⁴ The men of Judah who carried shield and spear were 6,800, armed for war.

²⁵ From the Simeonites there were 7,100 mighty warriors trained for war.

²⁶ From the Levites there were 4,600 fighting men. ²⁷ Jehoiada was the leader of Aaron's descendants, and with him were 3,700. ²⁸ With Zadok, a young man, a mighty warrior, were twenty-two leaders from his clan.

²⁹ From Benjamin, Saul's kinsmen, were three thousand. Most of them had kept watch over the house of Saul until this time.

³⁰ From the Ephraimites there were 20,800 mighty warriors, men who were famous in their clans.

³¹ From the half tribe of Manasseh there were eighteen thousand famous men who came to make David king.

³² From Issachar, there were two hundred leaders who had understanding of the times and knew what Israel ought to do. All their relatives were under their command.

³³ From Zebulun there were fifty thousand fighting men, prepared for battle, with all the weapons of war, and ready to give undivided loyalty.

³⁴ From Naphtali there were one thousand officers, and with them thirty-seven thousand men with shields and spears.

³⁵ From the Danites there were 28,600 men prepared for battle.

³⁶ From Asher there were forty thousand men of war prepared for battle.

³⁷ From the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons for war.

³⁸ All these soldiers, equipped for battle, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel were in agreement to make David king also. ³⁹ They were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their relatives had sent them with provisions. ⁴⁰ In addition, those who were near to them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, and cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

Chapter 13

¹ David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. ² David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if this comes from Yahweh our God, let us send messengers everywhere to our brothers who remain in all the regions of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are in their cities. Let them be told to come together with us. ³ Let us bring the ark of our God back to ourselves, for we did not seek his will in the days of Saul's reign." ⁴ The whole assembly agreed to do these things, because in the eyes of all the people they seemed to be what was right.

⁵ So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. ⁶ David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, Kiriath Jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by Yahweh's name, Yahweh, who sits enthroned over the cherubim.

⁷ So they set the ark of God on a new cart. They brought it out of Abinadab's house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might. They were singing with harps and lutes, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out with his hand to grab the ark, because the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Uzzah, and Yahweh killed him because Uzzah had reached out with his hand to the ark. He died there before God. ¹¹ David was angry because Yahweh had attacked Uzzah. That place is called Perez Uzzah to this day.

¹² David was afraid of God that day. He said, "How can I bring the ark of God home to me?" ¹³ So David did not move the ark to the city of David, but put it aside in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ The ark of God remained in Obed-Edom's household in his house for three months. So Yahweh blessed his house and all that he possessed.

Chapter 14

¹ Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, carpenters, and masons. They built a house for him. ² David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was exalted on high for the sake of his people Israel.

³ In Jerusalem, David took more wives, and he became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴ These were the names of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

⁸ Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed as king over all Israel, they all went out looking for him. But David heard about it and went out against them. ⁹ Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁰ Then David asked for help from God. He said, "Should I attack the Philistines? Will you give victory over them?" Yahweh said to him, "Attack, for I will certainly give them to you." ¹¹ So they came up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He commented, "God has burst through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood of water." So the name of that place became Baal Perazim. ¹² The Philistines abandoned their gods there, and David gave an order that they should be burned.

¹³ Then the Philistines raided the valley yet again. ¹⁴ So David asked for help from God again. God said to him, "You must not attack their front, but rather circle around behind them and come on them through the balsam woods.

¹⁵ When you hear the sound of marching in the wind blowing through the balsam treetops, then attack with force. Do this because God will have gone out before you to attack the army of the Philistines." ¹⁶ So David did as God had commanded him. He defeated the army of the Philistines from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. ¹⁷ Then David's fame went out into all lands, and Yahweh caused all nations to fear him.

Chapter 15

¹ David built houses for himself in the city of David. He prepared a place for the ark of God and set up a tent for it. ² Then David said, "Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for they had been chosen by Yahweh to carry the ark of Yahweh, and to serve him forever." ³ Then David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh to the place he had prepared for it.

⁴ David gathered together Aaron's descendants and the Levites.

⁵ From the descendants of Kohath, there was Uriel the leader and his relatives, 120 men.

⁶ From the descendants of Merari, there was Asaiah the leader and his relatives, 220 men.

⁷ From the descendants of Gershom, there was Joel the leader and his relatives, 130 men.

⁸ From the descendants of Elizaphan, there was Shemaiah the leader and his relatives, 200 men.

⁹ From the descendants of Hebron, there was Eliel the leader and his relatives, eighty men.

¹⁰ From the descendants of Uzziel, there was Amminadab the leader and his relatives, 112 men.

¹¹ David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹² He said to them, "You are the leaders of the Levite families. Consecrate yourselves, both you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.

¹³ You did not carry it the first time. That is why Yahweh our God broke out against us, for we did not seek him or obey his decree." ¹⁴ So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ So the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded—following the rules given by the word of Yahweh.

¹⁶ David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to assign their brothers as singers who would play loudly on musical instruments, lutes and lyres and loud cymbals, to lift up sounds of joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel and one of his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah. They also appointed kinsmen from Merari's descendants and Ethan son of Kushaiah. ¹⁸ With them were their kinsmen of second rank: Zechariah, ¹ Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.

¹⁹ The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed to play loud bronze cymbals. ²⁰ Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played the lutes, set to Alamoth. ²¹ Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah led the way with harps set to the Sheminith.

²² Kenaniah, leader of the Levites, was the director of the singing because he was a teacher of music. ²³ Berekiah and Elkanah were guards for the ark. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were guards for the ark.

²⁵ So David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of Obed-Edom's house with rejoicing. ²⁶ While God helped the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

²⁷ David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Kenaniah, the leader of the song with the singers. David was wearing a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh with joyful shouting, and with the sound of horns and trumpets, with cymbals, and with lutes and harps.

²⁹ But as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul, looked out the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating. Then she despised him in her heart.

¹Some ancient copies add the name or prefix, "ben," assuming perhaps the name of Zechariah's father was left out.

Chapter 16

¹ They brought in the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent that David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. ² When David had finished offering up the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh. ³ He distributed to every man of Israel, to both men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.

⁴ David appointed certain Levites to serve before the ark of Yahweh, and to celebrate, thank and praise Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁵ These Levites were Asaph the leader, and second to him Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. These were to play with lutes and harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals, sounding loudly. ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly, before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ Then on that day David first appointed Asaph and his brothers to sing this song of thanksgiving to Yahweh.

⁸ Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations.

⁹ Sing to him, sing praises to him;

speak of all his marvelous deeds.

¹⁰ Boast in his holy name;

let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.

¹¹ Seek Yahweh and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

¹² Recall the marvelous things he has done,

his miracles and the decrees from his mouth,

¹³ you descendants of Israel his servant,

you people of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is Yahweh, our God.

His decrees are on all the earth.

¹⁵ Keep his covenant in mind forever,

the word that he commanded for a thousand generations.

¹⁶ He calls to mind the covenant that he made with Abraham,

and his oath to Isaac.

¹⁷ This is what he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

and to Israel as an everlasting covenant.

¹⁸ He said, "I will give you the land of Canaan

as the assigned portion of your inheritance."

¹⁹ When they were only few in number,

so very few, and they were strangers in the land,

²⁰ they wandered from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

²¹ He did not allow anyone to oppress them;

he punished kings for their sakes.

²² He said, "Do not touch my anointed ones,

and do not harm my prophets."

²³ Sing to Yahweh, all the earth;

announce his salvation day after day.

²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all the nations.

²⁵ For Yahweh is great and is to be praised greatly,

and he is to be feared above all other gods.

²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but it is Yahweh who made the heavens.

²⁷ Splendor and majesty are in his presence.

Strength and joy are in his place.

²⁸ Ascribe to Yahweh, you clans of peoples,

ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!

²⁹ Ascribe to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.

Bring an offering and come before him.

Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness.

³⁰ Tremble before him, all the earth.

The world also is established; it cannot be shaken.

³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let them say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns."

³² Let the sea roar, and that which fills it shout with joy.

Let the fields be joyful, and all that is in them.

³³ Then let the trees in the forest shout for joy before Yahweh,

for he is coming to judge the earth.

³⁴ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,

for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

³⁵ Then say, "Save us, God of our salvation.

Gather us together and rescue us from the other nations,

so that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praises."

³⁶ May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised

from everlasting to everlasting.

All the people said, "Amen" and praised Yahweh.

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to serve continually before the ark, as every day's work required. ³⁸ Obed-Edom with those sixty-eight relatives were included. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, along with Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹ Zadok the priest and his fellow workers were to serve before the tabernacle of Yahweh at the high place in Gibeon.

⁴⁰ They were to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar for burnt offerings continually morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of Yahweh, which he gave as a command to Israel. ⁴¹ Heman and Jeduthun were with them, together with the rest who were chosen by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

⁴² Heman and Jeduthun were in charge of those who played trumpets, cymbals, and the other instruments for the sacred music. The sons of Jeduthun guarded the gate. ⁴³ Then all the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.

Chapter 17

¹ It happened that after David had settled in his house, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is staying under a tent." ² Then Nathan said to David, "Go, do what is in your heart, for God is with you."

³ But that same night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ "Go and tell David my servant, 'This is what Yahweh says: You will not build me a house in which to live. ⁵ For I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought up Israel to this present day. Rather, I have been living in a tent, a tabernacle, in various places. ⁶ In all places I have moved among all Israel, did I ever say anything to any of Israel's judges, whom I appointed to shepherd my people, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'"

⁷ "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what Yahweh of hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, so that you would be ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make you a name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.

⁹ I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them there, so that they may live in their own place and be troubled no more. No longer will wicked people oppress them, as they did before, ¹⁰ as they were doing from the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Then I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I tell you that I, Yahweh, will build you a house.

¹¹ It will come about that when your days are fulfilled for you to go to your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, and for one of your own descendants, I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He will build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

¹³ I will be a Father to him, and he will be my son. I will not take my covenant faithfulness away from him, as I took it from Saul, who ruled before you. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.'"

¹⁵ Nathan spoke to David and reported to him all these words, and he told him about the entire vision.

¹⁶ Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh; he said, "Who am I, Yahweh God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this point? ¹⁷ For this was a small thing in your sight, God. You have spoken of your servant's family for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, Yahweh God. ¹⁸ What more can I, David, say to you? You have honored your servant. You have given your servant special recognition.

¹⁹ Yahweh, for your servant's sake, and to fulfill your own purpose, you have done this great thing to reveal all your great deeds. ²⁰ Yahweh, there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, just as we have always heard. ²¹ For what nation on earth is like your people Israel, whom you, God, rescued from Egypt as a people for yourself, to make a name for yourself by great and awesome deeds? You drove out nations from before your people, whom you rescued from Egypt.

²² You made Israel your own people forever, and you, Yahweh, became their God. ²³ So now, Yahweh, may the promise that you made concerning your servant and his family be established forever. Do as you have spoken. ²⁴ May your name be established forever and be great, so the people will say, 'Yahweh of hosts is the God of Israel,' while the house of me, David, your servant is established before you.

²⁵ For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house. That is why I, your servant, have found courage to pray to you. ²⁶ Now, Yahweh, you are God, and have made this good promise to your servant: ²⁷ Now it has pleased you to bless your servant's house, that it may continue forever before you. You, Yahweh, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."

Chapter 18

¹ After this it came about that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its villages out of the Philistines' control. ² Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and paid him tribute.

³ David then defeated Hadadezer, king of Zobah at Hamath, as Hadadezer was traveling to establish his rule by the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁷ David took the golden shields that were on Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tebah and Kun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much bronze. It was with this bronze that Solomon later made the bronze basin called "The Sea," the pillars, and the bronze equipment.

⁹ When Tou, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ Tou sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him. He did this because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, and because Tou had often been at war with Hadadezer. Tou also sent David many different sorts of articles made of gold and silver and bronze. ¹¹ King David set these objects apart to Yahweh, together with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations: Edom, Moab, the people of Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek.

¹² Abishai son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁴ David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and righteousness to all his people. ¹⁵ Joab son of Zeruiah was the commander of the army, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder. ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was scribe. ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites, and David's sons were the chief officials at the hand of the king.

Chapter 19

¹ It came about later that Nahash, king of the people of Ammon, died, and that his son became king in his place. ² David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. David's servants entered the land of the Ammonites and went to Hanun, in order to comfort him. ³ But the Ammonite princes said to Hanun, "Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent men to comfort you? Do not his servants come to you to explore and examine the land in order to overthrow it?"

⁴ So Hanun seized David's servants, shaved them, cut off their robes in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵ When they explained this to David, he sent to meet with them, for the men were deeply ashamed. The king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return."

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire Aramean chariots and horsemen from Naharaim, Maakah, and Zobah. ⁷ They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maakah and his army, who came and encamped before Medeba. Then the Ammonites gathered themselves together from their cities and came out to battle.

⁸ When David heard of it, he sent Joab and his entire host of mighty men. ⁹ The people of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the city gate, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

¹⁰ When Joab saw the battle lines facing him both in front and behind, he chose some of Israel's best fighters and arranged them against the Arameans. ¹¹ As for the rest of the army, he gave it into the command of Abishai his brother, and he put them into battle lines against the army of Ammon.

¹² Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you, Abishai, must rescue me. But if the army of Ammon is too strong for you, then I will come and rescue you. ¹³ Be strong, and let us show ourselves to be strong for our people and for the cities of our God, for Yahweh will do what is good in his eyes."

¹⁴ So Joab and the soldiers of his army advanced to the battle against the Arameans, who were forced to flee before the army of Israel. ¹⁵ When the army of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Joab's brother Abishai and went back into the city. Then Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans saw that they were being defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought back Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer's army. ¹⁷ When David was told this, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and came upon them. He arranged the army for battle against the Arameans, and they fought him.

¹⁸ The Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed seven thousand Aramean charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak, the commander of the army. ¹⁹ When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the people of Aram were no longer willing to rescue the Ammonites.

Chapter 20

¹ It came about in the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally go to war, that Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah. David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and completely destroyed it.

² David took the crown of their king from off his head, and he found that it weighed a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones. The crown was set on David's head, and he brought out the plunder of the city in large quantities. ³ He brought out the people who were in the city and forced them to work with saws and iron picks and axes. David required all the cities of the descendants of Ammon to do this labor. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴ It came about after this that there was a battle at Gezer with the Philistines. Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and the Philistines were subdued. ⁵ It came about again in a battle with the Philistines at Gob, that Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed Lahmi brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

⁶ It came about in another battle at Gath that there was a man of great height who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He also was descended from the Rapha. ⁷ When he mocked the army of Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. ⁸ These were descendants of the Rapha of Gath, and they were killed by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Chapter 21

¹ An adversary arose against Israel and incited David to count Israel. ² David said to Joab and to the commanders of the army, "Go, count the people of Israel from Beersheba to Dan and report back to me, that I may know their number." ³ Joab said, "May Yahweh make his army a hundred times greater than it is. But my master the king, do they not all serve my master? Why does my master want this? Why bring guilt on Israel?"

⁴ But the king's word was enforced against Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel. Then he came back to Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Joab reported the total of the census of the fighting men to David. There were in Israel 1,100,000 men who drew the sword. Judah alone had 470,000 soldiers.

⁶ But Levi and Benjamin were not counted among them, for the king's command had disgusted Joab. ⁷ God was offended by this action, so he attacked Israel. ⁸ David said to God, "I have greatly sinned by doing this. Now take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly."

⁹ Yahweh told Gad, David's prophet, ¹⁰ "Go say to David, 'This is what Yahweh says: I am giving you three choices. Choose one of them.'"

¹¹ So Gad went to David and said to him, "Yahweh says this, 'Choose one of these: ¹² either three years of famine, three months being pursued by your enemies and being caught by their swords, or else three days of Yahweh's sword, that is, a plague in the land, with the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the land of Israel.' Now then, decide what answer I should take to the one who sent me."

¹³ Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress! Let me fall into the hand of Yahweh rather than into the hand of man, for his merciful actions are very great." ¹⁴ So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand people died. ¹⁵ God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy it, Yahweh watched and changed his mind about the harm. He said to the destroying angel, "Enough! Now draw back your hand." At that time the angel of Yahweh was standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand raised over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, lay facedown on the ground. ¹⁷ David said to God, "Is it not I that commanded that the army be numbered? I did this wicked thing. But these sheep, what have they done? Yahweh my God! Let your hand strike me and my clan, but do not let the plague remain on your people."

¹⁸ So the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar for Yahweh at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of Yahweh. ²⁰ While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel. He and his four sons with him hid themselves.

²¹ When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David. He left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, "Sell me this threshing floor, so I can build an altar for Yahweh. I will pay the full price, so that the plague may be removed from the people."

²³ Ornan said to David, "Take it as your own, my master the king. Do with it what is good in your sight. Look, I will give you oxen for burnt offerings, threshing sledges for wood, and wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all to you." ²⁴ King David said to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and offer it as a burnt offering to Yahweh if it costs me nothing."

²⁵ So David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the place. ²⁶ David built an altar for Yahweh there and offered on it burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on Yahweh, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar for burnt offerings. ²⁷ Then Yahweh gave an order to the angel, and the angel put his sword back into its sheath.

²⁸ When David saw that Yahweh had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he performed the sacrifice there at that same time. ²⁹ Now at that time, Yahweh's tabernacle, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar for burnt offerings, were at the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰ However, David could not go there to ask for God's direction, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.

Chapter 22

¹ Then David said, "This is where the house of Yahweh God will be, with the altar for the burnt offerings of Israel."

² So David ordered his servants to gather together the foreigners living in the land of Israel. He assigned them to be stonecutters, to cut stone blocks, in order to build the house of God.

³ David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails for the doors to go in the gateways, and for braces. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed, ⁴ and more cedar trees than could be counted. (The Sidonians and the Tyrians brought too many cedar logs to David to count.) ⁵ David said, "My son Solomon is a young and inexperienced man, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh must be especially magnificent, so that it will be famous and glorious in all other lands. So I will prepare for its building." So David made extensive preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, "My son, it was my intention to build a house myself, for the name of Yahweh my God. ⁸ But Yahweh came to me and said, 'You have shed much blood and have fought many battles. You will not build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.

⁹ However, you will have a son who will be a peaceful man. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. For his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his Father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

¹¹ Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and enable you to succeed. May you build the house of Yahweh your God, as he said you would. ¹² Only may Yahweh give you insight and understanding, so that you may obey the law of Yahweh your God, when he places you in charge over Israel. ¹³ Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the statutes and the decrees that Yahweh gave to Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be discouraged.

¹⁴ Now, see, with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh 100,000 talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in large quantities. I have also provided timber and stone. You must add more to all this.

¹⁵ You have many workmen with you: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and skillful craftsmen without number of every kind, ¹⁶ who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and begin the work, and may Yahweh be with you."

¹⁷ David also ordered all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ "Yahweh your God is with you and has given you peace on every side. He has given the region's inhabitants into my hand. The region is subdued before Yahweh and his people. ¹⁹ Now seek Yahweh your God with all your heart and your soul. Get up and build the holy place of Yahweh God. Then you can bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy things that belong to God into the house built for Yahweh's name."

Chapter 23

¹ When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites. ³ The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted in a census, and they numbered thirty-eight thousand.

⁴ "Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work on the house of Yahweh, and six thousand were officers and judges. ⁵ Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise," David said. ⁶ David divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.

⁸ There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.

⁹ There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.

¹⁰ There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.

¹¹ Jahath was the oldest, and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered as one clan with the same duties.

¹² There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹³ These were Amram's sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was chosen to set apart the most holy things, that he and his descendants would offer incense before Yahweh, to serve him and to give blessings in his name forever. ¹⁴ But as for Moses the man of God, his descendants were counted with the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵ Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.

¹⁶ Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.

¹⁷ Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

¹⁸ Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.

¹⁹ Hebron's descendants were Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁰ Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishiah the second.

²¹ Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.

²² Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. So their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³ Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

²⁴ These were Levi's descendants corresponding to their clans. They were the leaders, counted and listed by name in the census, of the clans that did the work in the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵ For David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in its service."

²⁷ For by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸ Their duty was to assist Aaron's descendants in the service of the house of Yahweh. They were to care for the courtyards, the rooms, the ceremonial purification of all the things that belong to Yahweh, and other work in the service of the house of God. ²⁹ They also took care of the bread of the presence, the fine flour for grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baked offerings, the offerings mixed with oil, and all the measuring of the amounts and sizes of things.

³⁰ They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the evening ³¹ and whenever burnt offerings were offered to Yahweh, on the Sabbath and at the new moon festivals and feast days. A fixed number, assigned by decree, always had to be present before Yahweh.

³² They were in charge of the tent of meeting, the holy place, and helped their kinsmen the descendants of Aaron in the service of the house of Yahweh.

Chapter 24

¹ The work groups based on Aaron's descendants were these: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² Nadab and Abihu died before their father died. They had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³ David, together with Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelek, a descendant of Ithamar, divided them into groups for their labor as priests.

⁴ There were more leading men among Eleazar's descendants than among Ithamar's descendants, so they divided Eleazar's descendants into sixteen groups. They did this by heads of clans and by Ithamar's descendants. These divisions were eight in number, corresponding to their clans. ⁵ They divided them impartially by lot, for there were holy officials and officials of God, from both Eleazar's descendants and Ithamar's descendants.

⁶ Shemaiah son of Nethanel the scribe, a Levite, wrote down their names in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the priestly and Levite families. One clan was drawn by lot from Eleazar's descendants, and then the next would be drawn from Ithamar's descendants.

⁷ The first lot went to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁹ the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shekaniah,

¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹ This was the order of their service, when they came into the house of Yahweh, following the ordinance given to them by Aaron their ancestor, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

²⁰ These were the rest of the descendants of Levi: Of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.

²¹ As for Rehabiah, the sons of Rehabiah: Ishiah the leader.

²² From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

²³ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the leader, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴ The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

²⁵ The brother of Micah: Ishiah. From the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.

²⁶ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; from the son of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷ The sons of Merari from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.

²⁸ From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹ From Kish: The son of Kish: Jerahmeel.

³⁰ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the Levites, listed by their clans. ³¹ These men who were the head of each clan and each of their younger brothers, cast lots in the presence of King David, and Zadok and Ahimelek, along with the leaders of the families of the priests and Levites. They cast lots just as Aaron's descendants had done.

Chapter 25

¹ David and the leaders of the army selected some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with lutes and harps, and with cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:

² From the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, ¹ the sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the king's supervision.

³ From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, ² Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, playing the harp for giving thanks and praising Yahweh.

⁴ From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, ³ Shubael, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman the king's prophet. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters to lift up his horn.

⁶ All these were under the direction of their fathers. They were musicians in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, lutes and lyres, as they served in the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king's supervision. ⁷ They and their brothers who were skilled and trained to make music to Yahweh numbered 288. ⁸ They cast lots for their duties, all alike, the same for the young as well as the old, the teacher as well as the student.

⁹ Now regarding Asaph's sons: The first lot fell to Joseph's family; the second fell to Gedaliah's family, twelve persons in number; ¹⁰ the third fell to Zakkur, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹¹ the fourth fell to Izri, ⁴ his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹² the fifth fell to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number;

¹³ the sixth fell to Bukkiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹⁴ the seventh fell to Jesarelah, ⁵ his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹⁵ the eighth fell to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹⁶ the ninth fell to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number;

¹⁷ the tenth fell to Shimei, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹⁸ the eleventh fell to Azarel, ⁶ his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ¹⁹ the twelfth fell to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²⁰ the thirteenth fell to Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number;

²¹ the fourteenth fell to Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²² the fifteenth fell to Jerimoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²³ the sixteenth fell to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²⁴ the seventeenth fell to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number;

²⁵ the eighteenth fell to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²⁶ the nineteenth fell to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²⁷ the twentieth fell to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ²⁸ the twenty-first fell to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number;

²⁹ the twenty-second fell to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ³⁰ the twenty-third fell to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; ³¹ the twenty-fourth fell to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number.

¹This is the same person referred to in 1 Chronicles 25:14 as Jesarelah.

²This is a variant of the name Izri , which is found in 1 Chronicles 25:11, and refers to the same person.

³Uzziel is the same person referred to in 1 Chronicles 25:18 as Azarel.

⁴This is a variant of Zeri , found in 1 Chronicles 25:3, and refers to the same person.

⁵This is the same person referred to in 1 Chronicles 25:2 as Asharelah.

⁶This is the same person referred to in 1 Chronicles 25:4 as Uzziel.

Chapter 26

¹ Here were the divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites, Meshelemiah son of Kore, a descendant of Asaph ¹ .

² Meshelemiah ² had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

³ Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴ Obed-Edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sakar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth,

⁵ Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth, for God had blessed Obed-Edom.

⁶ To Shemaiah his son were born sons who ruled over their clans; they were men of great ability.

⁷ The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. His relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also men with many abilities. ⁸ All these were descendants of Obed-Edom. They and their sons and relatives were men capable of doing their duties in the tabernacle service. There were sixty-two of them related to Obed-Edom.

⁹ Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, capable men, eighteen in all.

¹⁰ Hosah, a descendant of Merari, had sons: Shimri the leader (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him leader), ¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth. All of Hosah's sons and kinsmen were thirteen in number.

¹² These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their leaders, had responsibilities, like their relatives, to serve in the house of Yahweh. ¹³ They threw lots, both young and old, corresponding to their clans, for every gate. ¹⁴ When the lot was cast for the east gate, it fell to Shelemiah ³ . They then cast lots for Zechariah his son, a prudent advisor, and his lot came out for the north gate.

¹⁵ To Obed-Edom was assigned the south gate, and his sons were assigned the storehouses. ¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate along with the gate of Shalleketh, on the upper road. The guards were very close to each other.

¹⁷ On the east were six Levites, on the north four a day, on the south four a day, and at the storehouses two pairs. ¹⁸ At the pillar to the west there were four stationed at the road and two at the pillar ⁴ ¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were the descendants of Korah and Merari.

²⁰ Among the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the things that belong to Yahweh. ²¹ The descendants of Ladan, who were descendants of the Gershonites through Ladan, who were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli ²² and the sons of Jehieli: Zetham and Joel his brother. They were in charge of the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.

²³ From the clans of Amram, the clans of Izhar, the clans of Hebron, and the clans of Uzziel:

²⁴ Shubael, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was supervisor over the treasuries. ²⁵ His relatives from the clan of Eliezer were his son Rehabiah, Rehabiah's son Jeshaiah, Jeshaiah's son Joram, Joram's son Zikri, and Zikri's son Shelomith.

²⁶ Shelomith and his relatives were over all the treasuries holding the dedicated things that David the king, the family leaders, commanders over thousands and hundreds, and the army commanders had dedicated. ²⁷ They set apart the plunder won in battles for the upkeep of the house of Yahweh. ²⁸ They were also in charge of everything that was set apart to Yahweh by Samuel the prophet, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah. Everything that was set apart to Yahweh was under the guard of Shelomith and his relatives.

²⁹ Of Izhar's descendants, Kenaniah and his sons were in charge of the civil affairs of Israel. They were officers and judges.

³⁰ Of Hebron's descendants, Hashabiah and his brothers, 1,700 capable men, were in charge of Yahweh's work and the king's work. They were on the west side of the Jordan.

³¹ As for the Hebronites, Jeriah was the head of the clans, according to the genealogical records. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they examined the records and found among them men of great ability in Jazer of Gilead. ³² Jeriah had 2,700 relatives, who were capable family leaders. David made them overseers over the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the king's affairs.

¹Asaph is the same person referred to as Ebiasaph in 1 Chronicles 9:19.

²Meshelemiah is the same person referred to as Shelemiah in 1 Chronicles 26:14.

³Shelemiah is the same person referred to as Meshelemiah in 1 Chronicles 26:2.

⁴The Hebrew word translated here as pillar is uncertain. Some translations simply write the Hebrew word as parbar . This word appears only here and in 2 Kings 23:11 in the Old Testament.

Chapter 27

¹ This is the list of the family leaders of the people of Israel, commanders of thousands and hundreds, as well as army officers who served the king in various ways. Each military division served month by month throughout the year. Each division had twenty-four thousand men.

² Over the division for the first month was Jashobeam son of Zabdiel. In his division were twenty-four thousand men. ³ He was among the descendants of Perez and in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴ Over the division for the second month was Dodai, from the clan descended from Ahoah. Mikloth was second in rank. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

⁵ The commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a priest and leader. In his division were twenty-four thousand men. ⁶ This is the Benaiah who was the leader of the thirty, and over the thirty. Ammizabad his son was in his division.

⁷ The commander for the fourth month was Asahel brother of Joab. Zebadiah his son became commander after him. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

⁸ The commander for the fifth month was Shamhuth, a descendant of Izrah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

⁹ The commander for the sixth month was Ira son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹⁰ The commander for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, from the people of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹¹ The commander for the eighth month was Sibbekai the Hushathite, from the clan descended from Zerah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹² The commander for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, from the tribe of Benjamin. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹³ The commander for the tenth month was Maharai from the city of Netophah, from the clan descended from Zerah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹⁴ The commander for the eleventh month was Benaiah from the city of Pirathon, from the tribe of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹⁵ The commander for the twelfth month was Heldai from the city of Netophah, from the clan descended from Othniel. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.

¹⁶ These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel: For the tribe of Reuben, Eliezer son of Zichri was the leader. For the tribe of Simeon, Shephatiah son of Maakah was the leader.

¹⁷ For the tribe of Levi, Hashabiah son of Kemuel was the leader, and Zadok led Aaron's descendants.

¹⁸ For the tribe of Judah, Elihu, one of David's brothers, was the leader. For the tribe of Issachar, Omri son of Michael was the leader.

¹⁹ For the tribe of Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah was the leader. For the tribe of Naphtali, Jerimoth son of Azriel was the leader.

²⁰ For the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azaziah was the leader. For the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of Pedaiah was the leader.

²¹ For the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah was the leader. For the tribe of Benjamin, Jaasiel son of Abner was the leader.

²² For the tribe of Dan, Azarel son of Jeroham was the leader. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ David did not count those twenty years old or younger, because Yahweh had promised to increase Israel like the stars of heaven. ²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men, but did not finish. Wrath fell on Israel for this. This number was not written down in the Chronicles of King David.

²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king's treasuries. Jonathan son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the fortified towers. ²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was over the farmers, those who plowed the land. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the grapes and the wine cellars.

²⁸ Over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands was Baal-Hanan from Geder, and over the storehouses of oil was Joash. ²⁹ Over the herds that were pastured in Sharon was Shitrai from Sharon, and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat son of Adlai.

³⁰ Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite, and over the female donkeys was Jehdeiah from Meronoth. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. ³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these officials were in charge of the property of King David.

³² Jonathan, David's uncle, was an advisor, since he was a wise man and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni cared for the king's sons. ³³ Ahithophel was the king's advisor, and Hushai from the Arkite people was the king's private advisor. ³⁴ Ahithophel's position was taken by Jehoiada son of Benaiah, and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army.

Chapter 28

¹ David assembled all the officials of Israel at Jerusalem: the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king in their scheduled work, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the managers over all the property and possessions of the king and of his sons, and the officers and fighting men, including the most skilled of them.

² Then David the king rose to his feet and said, "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was my intention to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; a footstool for our God, and I have made preparations to build it. ³ But God said to me, 'You will not build a temple for my name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.'

⁴ Yet Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. He has chosen Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my father's house, and from all my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ From the many sons whom Yahweh has given me, he chose Solomon, my son, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh, over Israel.

⁶ He said to me, 'Solomon your son will build my house and my courtyards, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his Father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever, if he remains committed to obey my commandments and decrees, as you are this day.'

⁸ Now then, in the sight of all Israel, this assembly for Yahweh, and in the presence of our God, all of you must keep and try to carry out all the commandments of Yahweh your God. Do this so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants after you forever.

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father, and serve him with your whole heart and a willing spirit. Do this because Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every motivation of everyone's thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Realize that Yahweh has chosen you to build this temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do it."

¹¹ Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the temple portico, the temple buildings, the storerooms, the upper rooms, the inner rooms, and the room with the atonement lid. ¹² He gave him the plans he had drawn for the courtyards of the house of Yahweh, all the surrounding rooms, the storerooms in the house of God, and the treasuries for the things that belong to Yahweh.

¹³ He gave him regulations for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for the assigned responsibilities for the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the objects for the service in the house of Yahweh. ¹⁴ He determined the weight of all the gold vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, ¹⁵ the weight of the gold for all the gold articles, to be lampstands and gold lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand, the weight of silver for each silver lampstand, according to the use of each lampstand in the service.

¹⁶ He gave the weight of the gold for the tables of the bread of the presence, for every table, and the weight of the silver for the silver tables. ¹⁷ He gave the weight of pure gold for the meat forks, basins, and cups. He gave the weight for each of the gold bowls, and the weight of each of the silver bowls.

¹⁸ He gave the weight of refined gold for the incense altar, and of the gold for the design of the chariot, the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. ¹⁹ David said, "I have put all this in writing as Yahweh directed me and gave me to understand regarding the design."

²⁰ David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and brave. Do the work. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you nor abandon you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is finished. ²¹ See, here are the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service in the house of God. They will be with you, together with all willing and skillful men, to assist you in the work and to perform the service. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your commands."

Chapter 29

¹ King David said to the whole assembly, "Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced, and the task is great. For the temple is not for people but for Yahweh God. ² So I have done my best to provide for the temple of my God. I am giving gold for the things to be made of gold, silver for the things to be made of silver, bronze for the things to be made of bronze, iron for the things to be made of iron, and wood for the things to be made of wood. I am also giving onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work of various colors—all kinds of precious stones—and marble stone in abundance.

³ Now, because of my delight in the house of my God, I am giving my personal treasure of gold and silver for it. I am doing this in addition to all that I have prepared for this holy temple: ⁴ three thousand talents of gold from Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, in order to overlay the walls of the buildings. ⁵ I am donating gold for the things to be made of gold, and silver for the things to be made of silver, and things for all kinds of work to be done by craftsmen. Who else wants to make a contribution to Yahweh today and give himself to him?"

⁶ Then freewill offerings were made by the leaders of their ancestors' families, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and by the officials over the king's work. ⁷ They gave for the service 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 100,000 talents of iron.

⁸ Those who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh, under the supervision of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. ⁹ The people rejoiced because of these freewill offerings, because they had contributed wholeheartedly to Yahweh. King David also rejoiced greatly.

¹⁰ David blessed Yahweh in front of all the assembly. He said, "May you be praised, Yahweh, God of Israel our ancestor, forever and ever. ¹¹ Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as ruler over all.

¹² Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all people. In your hand is power and might. You possess the strength and might to make people great and to give strength to anyone. ¹³ Now then, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the ability to offer so willingly these things? Indeed, all things come from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours. ¹⁵ For we are sojourners and tenants before you, as all our ancestors were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope of remaining on earth.

¹⁶ Yahweh our God, all this wealth that we have collected in order to build a temple to honor your holy name—it comes from you and belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know also, my God, that you examine the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things, and now I look with joy as your people who are present here willingly offer gifts to you.

¹⁸ Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—our ancestors—keep this forever in the thoughts of the minds of your people. Direct their hearts toward you. ¹⁹ Give to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep your commandments, your covenant decrees, and your statutes, and to carry out all these plans to build the palace for which I have made provision."

²⁰ David said to all the assembly, "Now bless Yahweh your God." All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed down and showed honor to Yahweh and to the king. ²¹ On the next day, they made sacrifices to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings to him. They offered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

²² On that day, they ate and drank before Yahweh with great joy.

They made Solomon, David's son, king a second time, and anointed him with Yahweh's authority to be ruler. They also anointed Zadok to be priest.

²³ Then Solomon sat on Yahweh's throne as king in place of David his father. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

²⁴ All the leaders, soldiers, and King David's sons gave allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ Yahweh greatly honored Solomon before all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had never been given to any king before him in Israel.

²⁶ David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ David had been king of Israel for forty years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ He died at a good old age, after enjoying a long life, wealth and honor. Solomon his son reigned after him.

²⁹ King David's accomplishments are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of Gad the seer. ³⁰ Recorded there are the deeds of his rule, his power and the events that affected him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the other lands.

2 Chronicles

Chapter 1

¹ Solomon son of David was strengthened in his rule, and Yahweh his God was with him and made him very powerful.

² Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every prince in all Israel, the heads of the fathers' houses. ³ So Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for there was the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of Yahweh, had made in the wilderness. ⁴ But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place that he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ In addition, the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur was there before the tabernacle of Yahweh; Solomon and the assembly went to it. ¹

⁶ Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before Yahweh, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered one thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷ God appeared to Solomon that night and said to him, "Ask! What should I give you?"

⁸ Solomon said to God, "You have shown great covenant faithfulness to David my father, and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Yahweh God, let your promise to David my father be carried out, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people, for who can judge your people, who are so many in number?" ¹¹ God said to Solomon, "Because this was in your heart, and because you have not asked for riches, wealth, or honor, nor for the life of those who hate you, nor for long life for yourself, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you might rule my people, over whom I have made you king, this is what I will do.

¹² I will now give you wisdom and knowledge. I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor, as none of the kings had before you, and none after you will have." ¹³ So Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting; he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴ Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he placed in the chariot cities, and with himself, the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as the stones, and he made cedar wood as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowlands.

¹⁶ As for the importation of horses from Egypt and Kue for Solomon, the king's merchants bought them from Kue at a price. ¹⁷ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150 shekels. They also exported them to the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.

¹Some of the ancient Hebrew copies have, the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, he placed there before the tabernacle of Yahweh , where he refers to David.

Chapter 2

¹ Now Solomon commanded the building of a house for Yahweh's name and the building of a palace for his kingdom. ² Solomon assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, and eighty thousand men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 men to supervise them. ³ Solomon sent a message to Hiram, the king of Tyre, saying, "As you did with David my father, sending him cedar logs to build a house to live in, do the same with me.

⁴ See, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to set it apart to him, to burn incense of sweet spices before him, to set out the bread of the presence, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and on the new moons, and on the appointed feasts for Yahweh our God. This is forever, for Israel. ⁵ The house that I will build will be very large, for our God is greater than all other gods.

⁶ But who is able to build God a house, since the entire universe and even heaven itself cannot contain him? Who am I to build him a house, except to burn sacrifices before him? ⁷ So send me a man who is skilled at work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue wool, a man who knows how to make all kinds of engraved wood. He will be with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

⁸ Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. See, my servants will be with your servants, ⁹ in order to prepare for me timber in abundance, for the house which I am about to build will be great and marvelous. ¹⁰ See, I will give to your servants, the men who will cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil." ¹

¹¹ Then Hiram, the king of Tyre, answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon: "Because Yahweh loves his people, he has made you king over them."

¹² In addition, Hiram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, gifted with prudence and understanding, who will build a house for Yahweh and a royal palace for himself.

¹³ Now I have sent a skillful man, Huram-Abi, who is gifted with understanding. ¹⁴ He is the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan. His father was a man from Tyre. He is skilled at work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and in timber, and in purple, blue, and crimson wool, and fine linen. He is also skilled in making any kind of engraving and in making any kind of design. Let a place be made for him among your skilled workers, and with those of my master, David, your father.

¹⁵ Now then, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, of which my master has spoken, let him send these things to his servants. ¹⁶ We will cut wood from Lebanon, as much wood as you need. We will take it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem."

¹⁷ Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, following the method that David, his father, had counted them. They were found to be 153,600. ¹⁸ He assigned seventy thousand of them to carry loads, eighty thousand to be stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 to be supervisors to put the people to work.

¹Some translations compare this section with 1 Kings 5:11 where the Hebrew reads: twenty thousand cors of wheat as food .

Chapter 3

¹ Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to David his father. He prepared the place that David had planned for it, at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. ³ Now these are the dimensions of the foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God. Using the old style cubit, the length was sixty cubits, and the width was twenty cubits.

⁴ The length of the portico at the front of the house was twenty cubits, matching the building's width. Its height was also twenty cubits, and Solomon overlaid its interior with pure gold. ⁵ He fashioned the ceiling of the main hall with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold, and which he carved with palm trees and chains.

⁶ He decorated the house with precious stones; the gold was gold from Parvaim. ⁷ He also overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold; he carved cherubim on its walls.

⁸ He built the most holy place. Its length matched the house's width, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid its high surfaces with gold.

¹⁰ He made two images of cherubim for the most holy place; craftsmen overlaid them with gold. ¹ ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long all together; the wing of one cherub was five cubits long, reaching to the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other cherub was also five cubits, reaching to the wall of the room; its other wing was also five cubits, touching the wing of the first cherub.

¹³ The wings of these cherubim spread a total of twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, with their faces toward the main hall. ¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson wool and fine linen, and he fashioned cherubim on it.

¹⁵ Solomon also made two pillars, each thirty-five cubits high, for in front of the house; the capitals that were on the top of them were five cubits high. ¹⁶ He made chains for the pillars and put them on top of them; he also made one hundred pomegranates and joined them to the chains. ¹⁷ He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; he named the pillar on the right Jakin, and the pillar on the left Boaz.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew texts can be rendered in two ways. Some translate as: two forged metal images of cherubim ; and another as: two carved wooden images of cherubim.

Chapter 4

¹ Moreover he made an altar of bronze; its length was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits. Its height was ten cubits. ² He also made the round sea of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim. Its height was five cubits, and the sea was thirty cubits in circumference. ³ Under the brim encircling the sea were bulls, ten to each cubit, cast in one piece with the sea when the sea itself was cast.

⁴ The large basin known as "The Sea" was set upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east. "The Sea" was set on top of them, and all their hindquarters were toward the inside. ⁵ "The Sea" was as thick as the width of a hand, and its brim was forged like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. "The Sea" held three thousand baths of water. ⁶ He made also ten basins for washing things; he put five on the south side, and five on the north; items used in performing the burnt offering were to be washed in them. The large basin known as "The Sea" was used by the priests for them to wash.

⁷ He made the ten lampstands of gold that were made from the instructions for their design; he placed them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. ⁸ He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold.

⁹ Furthermore he made the courtyard of the priests, and the great court and the doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He placed the basin known as "The Sea" on the east side of the temple, facing toward the south.

¹¹ Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God:

¹² the two pillars, the bowl-like capitals that were on top of the two pillars, and the two sets of decorative latticework to cover the two bowl-like capitals that were on top of the pillars.

¹³ He had made the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of decorative latticework: two rows of pomegranates for each set of latticework to cover the two bowl-like capitals that were on the pillars.

¹⁴ He also made the stands and the basins to go on the stands;

¹⁵ one sea and the twelve bulls under it,

¹⁶ also the pots, shovels, meat forks, and all the other implements that Huram-Abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of Yahweh. ¹

¹⁷ The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Sukkoth and Zarethan. ¹⁸ Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; indeed, the weight of the bronze could not be known.

¹⁹ Solomon made all the furnishings that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables on which the bread of the presence was to be placed;

²⁰ the lampstands with their lamps, that were designed to burn before the inner room—these were made of pure gold;

²¹ and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold, pure gold.

²² Also the lamp trimmers, basins, spoons, and incense burners were all made of pure gold. As for the entrance into the house, its inner doors into the most holy place and the doors of the house, that is, of the temple, were made of gold.

¹Instead of meat forks , some modern translations have bowls , which follows 1 Kings 7:45.

Chapter 5

¹ When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was completed, Solomon brought in the things that David, his father, had set apart for this purpose, including the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—he placed them into the treasuries of the house of God.

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion. ³ All the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

⁴ All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵ They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tent. The priests who were of the tribe of Levi brought these things up. ⁶ King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel came together before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted.

⁷ The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner room of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and they covered the ark and the poles by which it was carried.

⁹ The poles that extended from the ark were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ It came about that the priests came out of the holy place. All the priests who were present had consecrated themselves to Yahweh, regardless of their divisions. ¹² Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen and playing cymbals, lutes and harps, stood at the east end of the altar. With them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.

¹³ It came about that the trumpeters and singers made music together, making one sound to be heard for praising and thanking Yahweh. They raised their voices with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments, and they praised Yahweh. They sang, "For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever." Then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud. ¹⁴ The priests could not stand in order to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled his house.

Chapter 6

¹ Then Solomon said, "Yahweh has said that he would live in thick darkness, ² but I have built you a lofty residence, a place for you to live in forever." ³ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

⁴ He said, "May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised, who spoke to David my father, and has fulfilled it with his own hands, saying, ⁵ 'Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, in order for my name to be there. Neither did I choose any man to be prince over my people Israel. ⁶ However, I have chosen Jerusalem, so that my name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.'

⁷ Now it was in the heart of David my father, to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁸ But Yahweh said to David my father, 'In that it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well for it to be in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless, you are not to build the house; instead, your son, one who will come from your loins, will build the house for my name.'

¹⁰ Yahweh has carried out the word that he had said, for I have arisen in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹¹ I have placed the ark there, in which is Yahweh's covenant, which he made with the people of Israel."

¹² Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands. ¹³ For he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. He had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it and knelt down before all the assembly of Israel, and then he spread out his hands toward the heavens.

¹⁴ He said, "Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the heavens or on the earth, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart; ¹⁵ you who have kept with your servant David my father, what you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is today.

¹⁶ Now then, Yahweh, God of Israel, carry out what you have promised to your servant David my father, when you said, 'You will not fail to have a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful to walk in my law, as you have walked before me.' ¹⁷ Now then, Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.

¹⁸ But will God actually live with mankind on the earth? Look, the entire universe and heaven itself cannot contain you—how much less can this temple that I have built! ¹⁹ Yet please respect this prayer of your servant and his plea, Yahweh my God; listen to the cry and prayer that your servant prays before you. ²⁰ May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, the place where you promised to put your name. May you listen to the prayer your servant prays toward this place.

²¹ So listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, listen from the place where you live, from the heavens; and when you listen, forgive.

²² If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to swear an oath, and if he comes and swears an oath before your altar in this house, ²³ listen from the heavens and act. Judge your servants, condemning the wicked and bringing what he has done upon his own head. Declare the innocent not guilty and give to him according to his righteousness.

²⁴ When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, if they turn back to you, confess your name, pray, and seek favor before you in this temple— ²⁵ then please listen from the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel; bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their ancestors.

²⁶ When the skies are shut up and there is no rain because the people have sinned against you—if they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin when you have afflicted them— ²⁷ then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel, when you direct them to the good way in which they should walk. Send rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

²⁸ Suppose there is famine in the land, or suppose that there is disease, blight or mildew, locusts or caterpillars; or suppose that its enemies attack the city gates in their land, or that there is any plague or sickness— ²⁹ and suppose then that prayers and pleas are made by a person or by all your people Israel—each knowing the plague and sorrow in his own heart as he spreads out his hands toward this temple. ³⁰ Then listen from heaven, the place where you live; forgive, and reward every person for all his ways; you know his heart, because you and you only know the hearts of human beings. ³¹ Do this so that they may fear you, so that they may walk in your ways all the days that they live on the land that you gave to our ancestors.

³² As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel, but who—because of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—comes and prays toward this house, ³³ then please listen from heaven, the place where you live, and do all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and that they might know that this house I have built is called by your name.

³⁴ Suppose that your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you may send them, and suppose that they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen, and toward the house that I have built for your name. ³⁵ Then listen from the heavens to their prayer, their request, and help their cause.

³⁶ Suppose they sin against you—since there is no one who does not sin—and suppose that you are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that the enemy carries them away and takes them as captives to their land, whether distant or near. ³⁷ Then suppose they realize they are in the land where they have been exiled, and suppose that they repent and seek favor from you in the land of their captivity. Suppose that they say, 'We have acted perversely and sinned. We have behaved wickedly.' ³⁸ Suppose that they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they took them as captives, and suppose that they pray toward their land, which you gave to their ancestors, and toward the city that you chose, and toward the house that I have built for your name. ³⁹ Then listen from the heavens, the place where you live, to their prayer and to their pleas, and help their cause. Forgive your people, who have sinned against you.

⁴⁰ Now, my God, I beg you, let your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

⁴¹ Now then arise, Yahweh God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength. Let your priests, Yahweh God, be clothed with salvation, and let your faithful ones rejoice in your goodness. ⁴² Yahweh God, do not turn the face of your anointed away from you. Keep in mind your acts of covenant loyalty for David, your servant."

Chapter 7

¹ Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the house. ² The priests could not enter the house of Yahweh, because his glory filled his house. ³ When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh over the house, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the stone pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to Yahweh. They said, "For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever."

⁴ So the king and all the people offered sacrifices to Yahweh. ⁵ King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ The priests stood, each standing where they serve; the Levites also with instruments of music of Yahweh, which David the king had made to give thanks to Yahweh in the song, "For his covenant faithfulness endures for ever." All the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

⁷ Solomon set apart the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of Yahweh. There he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that he had made was not able to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.

⁸ So Solomon held the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo Hamath to the brook of Egypt. ⁹ On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they kept the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their tents with glad and joyful hearts because of the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David, Solomon, and Israel, his people.

¹¹ Thus Solomon finished the house of Yahweh and the king's house. Everything that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Yahweh and in his own house, he successfully carried out. ¹² Yahweh appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

¹³ Suppose that I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send plague among my people, ¹⁴ then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers that are made in this place.

¹⁶ For I have now chosen and set apart this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there every day. ¹⁷ As for you, if you walk before me as David your father walked, obeying all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my decrees, ¹⁸ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I said in a covenant with David your father, when I said, 'A descendant of yours will never fail to be ruler in Israel.'

¹⁹ But if you turn away, and abandon my statutes and my commandments that I have placed before you, and if you go worship other gods and bow down to them, ²⁰ then I will uproot them from out of my ground that I have given them. This house that I have set apart for my name, I will cast away from before me, and I will make it a proverb and a joke among all the peoples.

²¹ Even though this temple is so lofty now, everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will hiss. They will ask, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?' ²² Others will answer, 'Because they abandoned Yahweh, their God, who had brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and bowed down to them and worshiped them. That is why Yahweh has brought all this disaster on them.'"

Chapter 8

¹ It came about at the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house, ² that Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given to him, and he settled the people of Israel in them.

³ Solomon attacked Hamath Zobah and defeated it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.

⁵ Also he built Beth Horon the Upper and Beth Horon the Lower, cities fortified with walls, gates, and bars. ⁶ Solomon built Baalath and all the storage cities that he possessed, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever he wished to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the lands under his rule.

⁷ As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who did not belong to Israel, ⁸ their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—Solomon made them into forced laborers, which they are to this day.

⁹ However, Solomon did not makes slaves of the people of Israel for his work. Instead, they were soldiers, commanders of his officers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen. ¹⁰ These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who belonged to King Solomon, 250 of them, who ruled over the people who did the work.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because wherever the ark of Yahweh has come is holy."

¹² Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on his altar that he had built in front of the portico. ¹³ He offered sacrifices just as the daily schedule required; he offered them, following the directions found in the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbath days, the new moons, and on the set festivals three times every year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.

¹⁴ In keeping with the decrees of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests to their work, and the Levites to their positions, in order to praise God and to serve before the priests, as the daily schedule required. He also appointed the gatekeepers by their divisions to every gate, for David, the man of God, had also commanded this. ¹⁵ These people did not deviate from the commands of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the storerooms.

¹⁶ All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid until it was finished. The house of Yahweh was completed.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and then to Elath on the coast, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men who knew the sea, and with the servants of Solomon they went to Ophir and they took from there 450 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

Chapter 9

¹ When the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She came with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she had come to Solomon, she told him all that was in her heart. ² Solomon answered her all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon; there was no question that he did not answer.

³ When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon's wisdom and the palace that he had built, ⁴ the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers and their clothing, and the burnt offerings he made at ¹ the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her.

⁵ She said to the king, "It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom. ⁶ I did not believe what I heard until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me about the greatness of your wisdom and wealth! You have exceeded the report that I heard.

⁷ How blessed are your men, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear your wisdom. ² ⁸ Blessed be Yahweh your God, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God. Because your God loved Israel, in order to establish them forever, he had made you king over them, for you to do justice and righteousness!"

⁹ She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been such spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ With the algum wood, the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and for his house, as well as harps and lutes for the musicians. No wood like this had been seen before in the land of Judah. ¹² King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything she desired and whatever she asked for; he gave her more than what she had brought to the king. So she left and went back to her own land, she and her servants.

¹³ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴ besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one. ¹⁶ He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ There were six steps to the throne, and a footstool of gold was attached to the throne. On each side of the throne there were armrests with two lions standing beside each of them.

¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days. ²¹ The king had at sea a fleet of ships of Tarshish, along with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.

²² So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom. ²³ All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, clothes, weapons, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

²⁷ The king had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands. ²⁸ They brought horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands.

²⁹ As for the other matters concerning Solomon, first and last, are they not written in The History of Nathan the Prophet, in The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in The Visions of Iddo the Seer (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat)? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ He lay down with his ancestors and the people buried him in the city of David his father. Rehoboam, his son, became king in his place.

¹Some scholars suggest an alternative reading of the phrase the burnt offerings he made at to say, the ascent by which he went up to .

²Some translations have: How blessed are your wives , following 1 Kings 10:8. The spelling of "men" and "wives" is very close in Hebrew.

Chapter 10

¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel was coming to Shechem to make him king. ² When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard this (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.

³ So they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all Israel came; they spoke to Rehoboam and said, ⁴ "Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore, make your father's hard work easier, and lighten the heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you." ⁵ Rehoboam said to them, "Come again to me after three days." So the people left.

⁶ King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was alive; he said, "How would you advise me to bring an answer to these people?" ⁷ They spoke to him and said, "If you are good to this people and please them, and say good words to them, then they will always be your servants."

⁸ But Rehoboam ignored the advice of the old men that they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. ⁹ He said to them, "What advice do you give me, so that we may answer the people who spoke to me and said, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?"

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with Rehoboam spoke to him, saying, "This is how you should speak to the people who told you that your father Solomon made their yoke heavy, but that you must make it lighter. This is what you should say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. ¹¹ So now, although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.'"

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king said, "Come back to me on the third day." ¹³ King Rehoboam spoke to them harshly, ignoring the advice of the old men. ¹⁴ He spoke to them following the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions."

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn in events brought about by God, that Yahweh might carry out his word that Ahijah the Shilonite had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered him and said, "What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Each of you should go back to his tent, Israel. Now see to your own house, David." So all Israel returned to their tents.

¹⁷ But as for the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the forced laborers, but the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam fled quickly in his chariot to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Chapter 11

¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were soldiers, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

² But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³ "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ 'Yahweh says this, "You must not attack or make war against your brothers. Everyone must return to his own house, for I have caused this to happen."'" So they obeyed the words of Yahweh and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities in Judah for defense. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These are fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

¹¹ He fortified the fortresses and put commanders in them, with stores of food, oil, and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

¹³ The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel went over to him from within their borders. ¹⁴ For the Levites left their pasturelands and property in order to come to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had driven them away, so that they could no longer act as the priests of Yahweh. ¹⁵ Jeroboam appointed for himself priests for the high places and the goat and calf idols he had made.

¹⁶ People from all the tribes of Israel came after them, those who set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel; they came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam son of Solomon strong during three years, and they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

¹⁸ Rehoboam took a wife for himself: Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, David's son, and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰ After Mahalath, Rehoboam took Maakah, Absalom's daughter; she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maakah, Absalom's daughter, more than all his other wives and his concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters).

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah to be chief, a leader among his brothers; he had the thought of making him king. ²³ Rehoboam ruled wisely; he scattered all his sons throughout all the land of Judah and Benjamin to every fortified city. He also gave them food in abundance and looked for many wives for them.

Chapter 12

¹ It came about, when Rehoboam's reign was established and he was strong, that he abandoned the law of Yahweh—and all Israel with him.

² It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, because the people had been unfaithful to Yahweh. ³ He came with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. Soldiers without number came with him from Egypt: Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. ⁴ He captured the fortified cities that belonged to Judah and came to Jerusalem.

⁵ Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, "This is what Yahweh says: You have abandoned me, so I have also given you over into Shishak's hand." ⁶ Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "Yahweh is righteous."

⁷ When Yahweh saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves. I will not ruin them; I will deliver them to some extent, and my anger will not pour out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak's hand. ⁸ Nevertheless, they will be his servants, so that they may understand what it is to serve me and to serve the rulers of the other countries."

⁹ So Shishak, king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures in the house of Yahweh, and the treasures in the king's house. He took everything away; he also took the shields of gold that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and entrusted them into the hands of the commanders of the guard, who guarded the doors to the king's house.

¹¹ It happened that whenever the king entered the house of Yahweh, the guards would carry them; then they would bring them back into the guards' room. ¹² When Rehoboam humbled himself, Yahweh's anger turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; besides, there was still some good to be found in Judah.

¹³ So King Rehoboam made his kingship strong in Jerusalem, and thus he reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes of Israel so that he might put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman. ¹⁴ He did what was evil, because he did not fix his heart to seek Yahweh.

¹⁵ As for the other matters concerning Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the writings of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, which also have records of genealogies and the constant wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam? ¹⁶ Rehoboam lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David; Abijah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 13

¹ In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Macaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went into battle with an army of strong, courageous warriors, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam placed battle lines against him with 800,000 chosen men, mighty warriors.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Do you not know that Yahweh the God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?

⁶ Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. ⁷ Worthless men, base fellows, gathered to him. They came against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and timid at heart, and they were too strong for him.

⁸ So now you plan to resist the kingdom of Yahweh that is held within the hand of the descendants of David, because you are a large army, and you have the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. ⁹ But did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the descendants of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own in the same way as the people of other lands do? Whoever comes to serve as a priest, sacrificing a young bull and seven rams, he becomes a priest of what are not gods.

¹⁰ But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have priests, descendants of Aaron, serving Yahweh, and the Levites, who are at their work. ¹¹ Every morning and evening they burn for Yahweh burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also arrange the bread of the presence on the pure table; they also tend the lampstand of gold with its lamps, for them to burn every evening. We keep the commandments of Yahweh, our God, but you have abandoned him.

¹² See, God is with us at our head, and his priests are here with the trumpets to sound an alarm against you. Sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."

¹³ But Jeroboam prepared an ambush behind them; his army was in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah looked back, behold, the fighting was both in front of them and behind them. They cried out to Yahweh, and the priests blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah gave a shout; as they shouted, it came about that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶ The people of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into the hand of Judah. ¹⁷ Abijah and his army killed them with great slaughter; 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell dead. ¹⁸ In this way, the people of Israel were subdued at that time; the people of Judah won because they relied on Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam; he took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam never recovered power again during the days of Abijah; Yahweh struck him, and he died. ²¹ But Abijah became powerful; he took fourteen wives for himself and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of Abijah's deeds, his behavior, and words are written in the history of the prophet Iddo.

Chapter 14

¹ Abijah lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Asa, his son, became king in his place. In his days the land was quiet ten years. ² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, ³ for he took away the foreign altars and the high places. He broke down the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. ⁴ He commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and to carry out the law and the commandments.

⁵ Also he took away the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under him. ⁶ He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him peace.

⁷ For Asa said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is still ours because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and succeeded. ⁸ Asa had an army that carried shields and spears; from Judah he had 300,000 men, and from Benjamin, 280,000 men who carried shields and drew bows. All of these were mighty warriors.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million soldiers and three hundred chariots; he came to Mareshah. ¹⁰ Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle lines in order in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Asa cried to Yahweh, his God, and said, "Yahweh, there is no one but you to help one who has no strength when he is facing many. Help us, Yahweh our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast number. Yahweh, you are our God; do not let man defeat you."

¹² So Yahweh struck the Cushites before Asa and Judah; the Cushites fled. ¹³ Asa and the soldiers with him pursued them to Gerar. So many Cushites fell that they could not recover, for they were completely destroyed before Yahweh and his army. The army carried away very much plunder.

¹⁴ The army destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for terror of Yahweh had come on the inhabitants. The army plundered all the villages, and there was much booty in them. ¹⁵ The army also destroyed the tents of those who owned livestock; they carried away sheep in abundance, as well as camels, and then they returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 15

¹ The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

³ Now for a long period, Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without the law. ⁴ But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, for there were great disturbances on all the inhabitants of the lands.

⁶ They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city, for God troubled them with all kinds of suffering. ⁷ But be strong, and do not let your hands be weak, for your work will be rewarded."

⁸ When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and drove away the disgusting figures from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured from the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt Yahweh's altar, which was in front of the portico of the house of Yahweh. ⁹ He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who stayed with them—people from Ephraim and Manasseh, and from Simeon. For they came from Israel to him in great numbers, when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.

¹⁰ So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. ¹¹ They sacrificed to Yahweh in that day some of the plunder that they had brought: seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats.

¹² They entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul. ¹³ They agreed that whoever refused to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether the person was small or great, whether man or woman.

¹⁴ They swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and rams' horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and they sought God with their whole desire, and he was found by them. Yahweh gave them peace all around them.

¹⁶ King Asa also removed Maakah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made a disgusting figure out of an Asherah pole. He cut down the disgusting figure, crushed it to dust, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. ¹⁷ But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was completely devoted all his days.

¹⁸ He brought into the house of God his father's sacred gifts and his own sacred gifts, silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

Chapter 16

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Baasha, king of Israel, acted aggressively against Judah and built up Ramah, so that he might not allow anyone to leave or enter into the land of Asa, king of Judah.

² Then Asa brought the silver and gold out of the storerooms in the house of Yahweh and of the king's house, and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. He said, ³ "Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent to you silver and gold. Break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he may leave me alone."

⁴ Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim ¹ , and all the storage cities of Naphtali. ⁵ It came about that when Baasha heard this, he stopped building up Ramah and let his work cease. ⁶ Then Asa the king took all Judah with him. They carried away the stones and timbers of Ramah with which Baasha had been building up the city. Then King Asa used that building material to build up Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer went to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, "Because you have relied on the king of Aram, and have not relied on Yahweh your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he gave you victory over them.

⁹ For the eyes of Yahweh run everywhere throughout the whole earth, so that he might show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward him. But you have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, you will have war." ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer; he put him into prison, for he was enraged with him over this matter. At the same time, Asa oppressed some of the people.

¹¹ Behold, the deeds of Asa, from first to last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was very severe, he did not seek help from Yahweh, but only from the healers.

¹³ So Asa lay down with his ancestors, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb, which he had dug out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that was filled with sweet odors and various kinds of spices prepared by skilled perfumers. Then they made a very great fire in his honor.

¹The place named Abel Maim is the same as Abel Beth Maakah. See 2 Samuel 20:14-15.

Chapter 17

¹ Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king in his place. Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel. ² He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had captured.

³ Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David, and did not seek the Baals. ¹ ⁴ Instead, he relied on the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, not according to the practices of Israel.

⁵ So Yahweh established the rule in his hand; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat. He had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶ His heart was committed to Yahweh's ways. He also removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ With them were Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; and with them were the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of Yahweh with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰ Terror of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver as tribute. Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams, and 7,700 goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat became very powerful. He built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. ¹³ He had many supplies in the cities of Judah, and soldiers—mighty warriors—in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ These were their divisions listed by the name of their fathers' houses: From Judah, the commanders of thousands; Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty warriors;

¹⁵ next to him Jehohanan the commander, and with him 280,000 men;

¹⁶ next to him Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve Yahweh; and with him 200,000 mighty warriors.

¹⁷ From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty warrior, and with him 200,000 armed with bows and shields;

¹⁸ next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 ready prepared for war.

¹⁹ These were those who served the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

¹Some ancient copies do not have David , therefore, some modern translations leave it out.

Chapter 18

¹ Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; he allied himself with Ahab by having one of his family marry his daughter. ² After some years, he went down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab killed many sheep and cattle for him and the people who were with him. Ahab also persuaded him to attack Ramoth Gilead with him. ³ Ahab, king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered him, "I am like you, and my people are like your people. We will be with you in the war."

⁴ Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please first seek the word of Yahweh for your answer." ⁵ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Should we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I not?" They said, "Attack, for God will give it into the hand of the king."

⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here still another prophet of Yahweh with whom we might seek advice?" ⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may seek the advice of Yahweh, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil." But Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say that." ⁸ Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, "Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah."

⁹ Now Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on a throne, clothed in their robes, on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, "Yahweh says this: With these you will push the Arameans until they are consumed." ¹¹ All the prophets prophesied the same, saying, "Attack Ramoth Gilead and win, for Yahweh has given it into the hand of the king."

¹² The messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets with one mouth are favorable to the king. Let your words agree with theirs, and speak favorably." ¹³ Micaiah replied, "As Yahweh lives, it is what God says that I will say." ¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or not?" Micaiah answered him, "Attack and be victorious! For it will be a great victory."

¹⁵ Then the king said to him, "How many times must I require you to swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?" ¹⁶ So Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep who have no shepherd, and Yahweh said, 'These have no shepherd. Let every man return to his house in peace.'"

¹⁷ So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?" ¹⁸ Then Micaiah said, "Therefore all of you should hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven were standing on his right hand and on his left.

¹⁹ Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab, king of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One said this and another that.

²⁰ Then a spirit came forward and it stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?' ²¹ The spirit replied, 'I will go out and I will become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Yahweh replied, 'You will entice him, and you will also be successful. Go now and do so.'

²² Now see, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has decreed disaster for you."

²³ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, came up, slapped Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh take to go from me to speak to you?" ²⁴ Micaiah said, "Look, you will know that on that day, when you run into some inner room to hide."

²⁵ The king of Israel said to some servants, "You people seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, my son. ²⁶ You people will say to him, 'The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him with only a little bread and only a little water, until I return safely.'" ²⁷ Then Micaiah said, "If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me." Then he added, "Listen to this, all you people."

²⁸ So Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up against Ramoth Gilead. ²⁹ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle. ³⁰ Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel."

³¹ It came about that when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat they said, "That is the king of Israel." They turned around to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him. God turned them away from him. ³² It came about that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³ But a certain man drew his bow at random and shot the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Then Ahab said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded." ³⁴ The battle grew worse that day, and the king of Israel was held up in his chariot facing the Arameans until the evening. About the time that the sun was going down, he died.

Chapter 19

¹ Jehoshaphat the king of Judah safely returned to his house in Jerusalem. ² Then Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you be helping the wicked? Should you be loving those who hate Yahweh? For this deed, anger from Yahweh is on you. ³ However, there is some good to be found in you, in that you have taken the Asherah poles out of the land, and you have fixed your heart to seek God."

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. ⁵ He placed judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.

⁶ He said to the judges, "Consider what you should do, because you are not judging for man, but for Yahweh; he is with you in the act of judging. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you. Be careful when you judge, for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor is there any favoritism or bribe taking."

⁸ Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and the priests, and some of the heads of the families of Israel, for carrying out judgment for Yahweh, and for the sake of disputes. They lived in Jerusalem. ⁹ He instructed them, saying, "You must serve in reverence for Yahweh, faithfully, and with your whole heart.

¹⁰ Whenever any dispute comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, whether concerning bloodshed, whether about laws and commands, statutes or decrees, you must warn them, so they do not become guilty before Yahweh, or anger will come toward you and toward your brothers. If you do this, you will not be guilty.

¹¹ See, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all the matters of Yahweh. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the house of Judah, is in charge of all the matters of the king. Also, the Levites will be officers serving you. Be strong and obey your instructions, and may Yahweh be with those who are good."

Chapter 20

¹ It came about after this, that the people of Moab and Ammon, and with them some Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to do battle. ¹ ² Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A large multitude is coming against you from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom. See, they are in Hazezon Tamar," that is, En Gedi. ²

³ Jehoshaphat became afraid and set himself to seek Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ Judah gathered together to seek Yahweh; they came to seek Yahweh from all the cities of Judah.

⁵ Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, at the house of Yahweh, in front of the new courtyard. ⁶ He said, "Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so no one is able to resist you. ⁷ Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham?

⁸ They lived in it and built you a holy place in it for your name, saying, ⁹ 'If disaster comes on us—the sword, judgment, or plague, or famine—we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and we will cry to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.' ³

¹⁰ See now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; so, Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are rewarding us; they are coming to drive us out of your land that you have given us to inherit.

¹² Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great army that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

¹³ All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, wives, and children.

¹⁴ Then in the middle of the assembly the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph. ¹⁵ Jahaziel said, "Listen, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what Yahweh says to you, 'Do not fear; do not be discouraged because of this great army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.

¹⁶ You must go down against them tomorrow. See, they are coming up by way of the pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand in your positions, stand still, and see the rescue of Yahweh with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear nor be discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh is with you.'"

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping him. ¹⁹ The Levites, those of the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they arose and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in Yahweh your God, and you will be supported. Trust in his prophets, and you will succeed." ²¹ After he consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to Yahweh and who praised him for his majestic splendor as they went out before the army, saying, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever."

²² When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set men in ambush against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were coming against Judah. They were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab rose to fight the inhabitants of Mount Seir, in order to completely kill them and destroy them. When they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they all helped to destroy each other.

²⁴ When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked out on the army. Behold, they were dead, fallen to the ground; none had escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take plunder from them, they found among them abundant goods, clothing, and valuable articles, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away. It took them three days to carry off the plunder, there was so much of it. ⁴ ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised Yahweh, so the name of that place is the "Valley of Berakah" to this day.

²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in their lead, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh had made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem and to the house of Yahweh with lutes and harps and trumpets.

²⁹ The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the nations when they heard that Yahweh had fought against Israel's enemies. ³⁰ So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him peace all around him.

³¹ Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the ways of Asa, his father; he did not turn away from them; he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. ³³ However, the high places were not taken away. The people still had not directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ As for the other matters concerning Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu son of Hanani, which is recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ After this Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who committed much wickedness. ³⁶ He allied himself with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. They built the ships at Ezion Geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat; he said, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works." The ships were wrecked so that they could not go to Tarshish.

¹The reading Meunites represents a correction to the Hebrew text, as was suggested by the ancient Greek translation. The ancient Hebrew copies read: Ammonites . Most modern translations agree that Meunites was original.

²Instead of Edom , the ancient Greek and Latin translations and some modern translations read Aram .

³Instead of judgment , some ancient and modern translations read flood .

⁴Instead of among them , some ancient and modern translations read cattle . Instead of clothing , some ancient and modern translations read dead bodies .

Chapter 21

¹ Jehoshaphat lay down with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David; Jehoram, his son, became king in his place. ² Jehoram had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. ³ Their father had given them large gifts of silver, gold, and other precious things, and also fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram.

⁴ Now when Jehoram had risen up over his father's kingdom and had firmly established himself as king, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also various other leaders of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶ He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab was doing, for he had Ahab's daughter as his wife, and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ⁷ However, Yahweh did not wish to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David; he had promised that he would always give a lamp to him and his descendants.

⁸ In Jehoram's days, Edom rebelled against the control of Judah, and they set a king to reign over themselves. ⁹ Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. It was night when he rose up and fought against the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom has been in rebellion from the control of Judah to this present day. Libnah also revolted at the same time from his control, because Jehoram had abandoned Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.

¹¹ In addition, Jehoram had also built high places in the mountains of Judah and he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to live like prostitutes, and he led Judah astray.

¹² A letter from the prophet Elijah came to Jehoram. It said, "This is what Yahweh, the God of David, your ancestor, says: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, your father, nor in the ways of Asa, king of Judah, ¹³ but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to act like a prostitute, as the house of Ahab did—and because you have also killed your brothers in your father's house, men who were better than yourself— ¹⁴ see, Yahweh will strike your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow. ¹⁵ You yourself will have much sickness with a disease in your intestines, until the disease causes your intestines to come out, and this will continue day after day."

¹⁶ Yahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who were near the Cushites. ¹⁷ They attacked Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the wealth that was found in the king's house. They also carried away his sons and his wives. No son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

¹⁸ After all this, Yahweh struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ It came about in due time, at the end of two years, that his intestines fell out because of his sickness, and that he died of severe disease. His people made no fire in his honor as they had done for his ancestors. ²⁰ He had begun to reign when he was thirty-two years old; he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years, and when he departed no one mourned him. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the royal tombs.

Chapter 22

¹ The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, king in his place, for the marauding band that came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all his older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king. ² Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was the daughter of Omri. ³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab for his mother was his advisor in doing wicked things.

⁴ Ahaziah did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab was doing, for they were his advisors after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵ He also followed their advice; he went with Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram.

⁶ Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael, king of Aram. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.

⁷ Now the destruction of Ahaziah was brought about by God through Ahaziah's visit to Joram. When he had arrived, he went with Jehoram to attack Jehu son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. ⁸ It came about, when Jehu was carrying out God's judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the leaders of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers serving Ahaziah. Jehu killed them.

⁹ Jehu looked for Ahaziah; they caught him hiding in Samaria, brought him to Jehu, and killed him. Then they buried him, for they said, "He is a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with all his heart." So the house of Ahaziah had no more power to rule the kingdom.

¹⁰ Now when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and killed all the royal children in the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehosheba, ¹ a daughter of the king, secretly took Joash son of Ahaziah away from the king's sons who were about to be killed. She put him and his nurse into a bedroom. So Jehosheba, a daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that Athaliah did not kill him. ¹² He was with them, hidden in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

¹Jehosheba may be spelled differently in other translations, as: Jehoshaba .

Chapter 23

¹ In the seventh year, Jehoiada showed his strength and entered into a covenant with the commanders of hundreds, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. ² They went about in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³ All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada said to them, "See, the king's son will reign, as Yahweh has said concerning the descendants of David.

⁴ This is what you must do: A third of you priests and Levites who come to serve on the Sabbath will be guards at the doors. ⁵ Another third will be at the king's house, and the other third will be at the Foundation Gate. All the people will be in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh.

⁶ Allow no one to come into the house of Yahweh, except for the priests and the Levites who are serving. They may enter because they are consecrated. But all the other people must obey the commands of Yahweh. ⁷ The Levites must surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be killed. Stay with the king when he comes in and when he goes out."

⁸ So the Levites and all Judah served in every way in the manner in which Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each one took his men, those who were to come in to serve on the Sabbath, and those who were to leave off serving on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of their divisions. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest brought to the commanders spears and small and large shields that had been King David's that were in the house of God.

¹⁰ Jehoiada placed all the soldiers, each 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 the temple, surrounding the king. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant decrees. Then they made him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. Then they said, "Long live the king."

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the house of Yahweh, ¹³ and she looked, and, behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the commanders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers were playing musical instruments and leading the singing of praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and shouted, "Treason! Treason!"

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of hundreds who were over the army and said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks; anyone who follows her, let him be killed with the sword." For the priest had said, "Do not kill her in the house of Yahweh." ¹⁵ So they seized her as she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king's house, and there they killed her.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, all the people, and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people. ¹⁷ So all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They smashed Baal's altars and his images to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of those altars.

¹⁸ Jehoiada appointed officers for the house of Yahweh under the hand of the priests, who were Levites, whom David had assigned to the house of Yahweh, to offer the burnt offerings to Yahweh, as it was written in the law of Moses, together with rejoicing and singing, as David had given direction. ¹⁹ Jehoiada set guards at the gates of the house of Yahweh, so that no one that was unclean in any way should enter.

²⁰ Jehoiada took with him the commanders of hundreds, the noblemen, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land. He brought down the king from the house of Yahweh; the people came through the Upper Gate to the king's house and sat the king on the throne of the kingdom. ¹ ²¹ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. As for Athaliah, they had killed her with the sword.

¹Some modern translations have, they brought down the king .

Chapter 24

¹ Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba. ² Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada, the priest. ³ Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴ It came about after this, that Joash decided to restore the house of Yahweh. ⁵ He gathered together the priests and the Levites, and he said to them, "Go out every year to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God. Make sure that you start right away." The Levites did nothing at first.

⁶ So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses the servant of Yahweh and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant decrees?" ⁷ For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God and had given all the holy things of the house of Yahweh to the Baals.

⁸ So the king commanded, and they made a chest and placed it outside at the entrance to the house of Yahweh. ⁹ Then they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, for the people to bring in for Yahweh the tax that Moses the servant of God levied on Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰ All the leaders and all the people rejoiced and brought money in and put it into the chest until they finished filling it.

¹¹ It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king's officials by the hand of the Levites, and whenever they saw that there was much money in it, the king's scribe and the high priest's official would come, empty the chest, and take it and carry it back to its place. They did this day after day, gathering large amounts of money. ¹² The king and Jehoiada gave the money to those who did the work of serving in the house of Yahweh. These men hired stonemasons and carpenters to restore the house of Yahweh, and also those who worked in iron and bronze.

¹³ So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands; they set up the house of God in its original design and strengthened it. ¹⁴ When they finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. This money was used to make furnishings for the house of Yahweh, utensils with which to serve and make offerings—spoons and utensils of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh continually for all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵ Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and then he died; he was 130 years old when he died. ¹⁶ They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, toward God, and to the house of God.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and did honor to the king. Then the king listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah gods and the idols. God's anger came on Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. ¹⁹ Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again to himself, Yahweh; the prophets testified against the people, but they refused to listen.

²⁰ The Spirit of God clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada, the priest; Zechariah stood above the people and said to them, "God says this: Why do you transgress the commandments of Yahweh, so that you cannot prosper? Since you have abandoned Yahweh, he has also abandoned you." ²¹ But they plotted against him; at the king's command, they stoned him with stones in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. ²² Joash the king, did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had done to him, and so he killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah was dying, he said, "May Yahweh see this and call you to account."

²³ It came about at the end of the year, that the army of Aram came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem; they destroyed all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder from them to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Although the army of the Arameans had come with only a few soldiers, Yahweh gave them victory over a very great army, because Judah had abandoned Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. In this way the Arameans brought judgment on Joash.

²⁵ By the time that the Arameans had gone, Joash had been severely wounded. His own servants plotted against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada, the priest. They killed him in his bed, and he died; they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶ These were the persons who plotted against him: Zabad son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman; and Jehozabad son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.

²⁷ Now the accounts about his sons, the important prophecies that were spoken about him, and the rebuilding of the house of God, see, they are written in the commentary on the book of the kings. Amaziah his son became king in his place.

Chapter 25

¹ Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, but not with a whole heart.

³ It came about that as soon as his rule was well established, he killed the servants who had murdered his father, the king. ⁴ But he did not put their children to death, according to what was written in the law, in the book of Moses, as Yahweh had commanded, "The fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers. But, each one must die for his own sin."

⁵ Moreover, Amaziah gathered Judah together, and registered them by their ancestors' houses, under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—all of Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them to be 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. ⁶ He hired also 100,000 mighty warriors from Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, "King, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Yahweh is not with Israel—none of the people of Ephraim. ⁸ But even if you do go and are courageous and strong in battle, God will throw you down before the enemy, for God has power to help, and power to throw down."

⁹ Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what will we do about the one hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "Yahweh is able to give you much more than that." ¹⁰ So Amaziah separated the army that had come to him from Ephraim; he sent them home again. So their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.

¹¹ Amaziah took courage and led his people to go out to the Valley of Salt; there he defeated ten thousand men of Seir. ¹² The army of Judah carried away alive another ten thousand. They took them to the top of the cliff and threw them down from there, so that they were all broken in pieces.

¹³ But the men of the army which Amaziah sent back, so that they should not go with him to battle, attacked the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They struck down three thousand of the people and took much plunder.

¹⁴ Now it came about, after that Amaziah had returned from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, and set them up to be his own gods. He bowed down before them and burned incense to them. ¹⁵ So Yahweh's anger was kindled against Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why have you sought after the gods of a people who did not even save their own people from your hand?"

¹⁶ It came about that as the prophet was speaking with him, the king said to him, "Have we made you an advisor to the king? Stop! Why should you be killed?" Then the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done this deed and have not listened to my advice."

¹⁷ Then Amaziah king of Judah consulted with advisors and sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us meet each other face to face in battle."

¹⁸ But Jehoash the king of Israel sent messengers back to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "A thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' but a wild beast in Lebanon walked by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁹ You have said, 'See, I have struck down Edom,' and your heart has lifted you up. Take pride in your victory, but stay at home, for why should you cause yourself trouble and fall, both you and Judah with you?"

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, because this event was from God, so he might put the people of Judah into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought advice from the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Jehoash, king of Israel, attacked; he and Amaziah, king of Judah, met each other face to face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ²² Judah was struck down before Israel, and every man fled to his tent.

²³ Jehoash, king of Israel, captured Amaziah son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, at Beth Shemesh. He brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits in distance. ²⁴ He took all the gold and silver, all the objects that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the valuable things in the king's house, with hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵ Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. ²⁶ As for the other matters concerning Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷ Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following Yahweh, they began to make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. He fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. ²⁸ They brought him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.

Chapter 26

¹ All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² It was he who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah. After that the king lay down with his ancestors. ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign. He reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem.

⁴ He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who taught him to honor God. ¹ As long as he sought Yahweh, God made him prosper.

⁶ Uzziah went out and fought against the Philistines. He broke down the city walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod; he built cities in the country of Ashdod and among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread, even to the entrance of Egypt, because he was becoming more powerful.

⁹ In addition, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. ¹⁰ He built watchtowers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had many herds in the lowlands and in the plains. He had farmers and vine growers in the hill country and in the fruitful fields, for he loved the soil.

¹¹ In addition, Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war in groups which were organized by their number that were counted by Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the officer, under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. ¹² The whole number of the leaders of the families who led the mighty warriors was 2,600. ¹³ Under their hand was an army of 307,500 men that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy.

¹⁴ Uzziah prepared for them—for all the army—shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for slinging. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he built machines that were designed by skillful men to be on the towers and on the battlements to shoot arrows and large stones. His fame spread to distant lands, for he was greatly helped and so he became very powerful.

¹⁶ But when Uzziah had become powerful, his heart was lifted up so that he acted corruptly; he acted faithlessly against Yahweh, his God, for he went into the temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ Azariah, the priest, went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were brave men. ¹⁸ They confronted Uzziah the king, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the holy place, for you have been unfaithful and you will not be honored by Yahweh God."

¹⁹ Then Uzziah became angry. He was holding a censer in his hand to burn incense. While he was enraged against the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of Yahweh, beside the altar of incense. ²⁰ Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and, behold, he had become leprous on his forehead. They quickly drove him out of there. Indeed, he hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck him.

²¹ Uzziah, the king, was a leper to the day of his death and lived in a separate house since he was a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. Jotham, his son, was over the king's house and ruled the people of the land.

²² The other matters concerning Uzziah, from first to last, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ²³ So Uzziah lay down with his ancestors; they buried him with his ancestors in a burial ground that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." Jotham, his son, became king in his place.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text can be read either, to honor God , or in the fear of God or in seeing God . Scholars are divided.

Chapter 27

¹ Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah; she was the daughter of Zadok. ² He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Uzziah had done. He also refrained from going into the temple of Yahweh. But the people were still behaving corruptly.

³ He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and on the hill of Ophel he built much. ⁴ Moreover he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers.

⁵ He fought also with the king of the people of Ammon and defeated them. In that same year, the people of Ammon gave him one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand measures of barley. The people of Ammon gave him the same in the second and third years.

⁶ So Jotham became powerful because he walked firmly before Yahweh his God. ⁷ As for the other matters concerning Jotham, all his wars, and his ways, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸ He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ Jotham lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Ahaz, his son, became king in his place.

Chapter 28

¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as David his ancestor had done. ² Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made cast metal figures for the Baals.

³ In addition, he burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and he caused his children to pass through the fire, according to the idolatrous practices of the people that Yahweh forced out of their land before the people of Israel. ⁴ He sacrificed and burned incense at the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Therefore Yahweh the God of Ahaz gave him into the hand of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and carried away from him a great crowd of captives, bringing them to Damascus. Ahaz was also given into the hand of the king of Israel who defeated him in a great slaughter. ⁶ For Pekah son of Remaliah in one day killed 120,000 soldiers in Judah and all of them were powerful men, because they had abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors.

⁷ Zikri, a powerful man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, Azrikam, the official over the palace, and Elkanah, who was next to the king. ⁸ The army of Israel took captive from their relatives 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also took much plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.

⁹ But a prophet of Yahweh was there, his name was Oded. He went out to meet the army coming into Samaria. He said to them, "Because Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you, people of Judah and Jerusalem, intend to make them your male slaves and female slaves. But are you not guilty of sins of your own against Yahweh your God? ¹¹ Now then, listen to me: Send the captives back, those whom you have captured of your own brothers, for Yahweh's burning anger is on you."

¹² Then certain leaders of the people of Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came back from the war. ¹³ They said to them, "You must not bring the captives here, for you intend something that will bring on us sin against Yahweh, to add to our sins and trespasses, for our trespass is great, and there is burning anger against Israel."

¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the leaders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ The men who were assigned by name got up and took the captives, and clothed all who were naked among them with the plunder. They clothed them and gave them sandals. They gave them food to eat and drink. They anointed them and put the weak ones on donkeys. They took them back to their families in Jericho, (called the City of Palms). Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent messengers to the kings of Assyria to ask them to help him. ¹⁷ For once again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah, carrying captives away. ¹⁸ The Philistines also invaded the cities of the lowlands and of the Negev of Judah. They took Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soko with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and also Gimzo with its villages. They went to live in those places.

¹⁹ For Yahweh humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel; for he had acted wickedly in Judah and had been very faithless against Yahweh. ²⁰ Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came to him and troubled him instead of strengthening him. ²¹ For Ahaz plundered the house of Yahweh and the houses of the king and the leaders, to give the valuable things to the kings of Assyria. But doing this did not benefit him.

²² This same King Ahaz became even more faithless against Yahweh in his time of suffering. ²³ For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, gods that had defeated him. He said, "Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them, so that they might help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

²⁴ Ahaz gathered together the furnishings of the house of God and cut them to pieces. He shut the doors of the house of Yahweh and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to burn sacrifices to other gods. He provoked Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, to anger.

²⁶ Now the rest of his deeds, and all his ways, first and last, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Hezekiah, his son, became king in his place.

Chapter 29

¹ Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah; she was the daughter of Zechariah. ² He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as David his father had done.

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, Hezekiah opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and repaired them. ⁴ He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the courtyard on the east side. ⁵ He said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, and carry away the filthiness from the holy place.

⁶ For our ancestors were faithless and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God; they abandoned him, turned away their faces from the place where Yahweh lives, and turned their backs on it. ⁷ Also they shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps; they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

⁸ Therefore the wrath of Yahweh had fallen on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them to be an object of terror, of horror, and of scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹ This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this.

¹⁰ Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his burning anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be lazy now, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to worship him, and that you should be his servants and burn incense."

¹² Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the people of the Kohathites; and of the people of Merari, Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah;

¹³ of the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴ of the descendants of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ They gathered their brothers, they consecrated themselves, and they went in, as the king commanded, following the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶ The priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh to cleanse it; they brought out everything unclean that they found in the temple of Yahweh into the courtyard of the house. The Levites took it to carry it out to the Kidron Brook. ¹⁷ Now they began the consecration on the first day of the first month. By the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of Yahweh. Then for eight more days they consecrated the house of Yahweh. On the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

¹⁸ Then they went to Hezekiah, the king, inside the palace and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh, the altar for burnt offerings with all its implements, and the table of the bread of the presence, with all its implements. ¹⁹ So we have prepared and we have consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed when he acted unfaithfully during his reign. See, they are in front of the altar of Yahweh."

²⁰ Then Hezekiah the king rose early in the morning and gathered the leaders of the city; he went up to the house of Yahweh. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. He commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh.

²² So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Then they killed the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; and they also killed the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar. ²³ They brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; they laid their hands on them. ²⁴ The priests killed them, and they made a sin offering with their blood on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king had commanded that a burnt offering and a sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵ Hezekiah placed the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, lutes and harps, arranging them by the command of David, Gad, the king's seer, and Nathan, the prophet, for the command was from Yahweh by means of his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

²⁷ Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began also, with the trumpets, together with the instruments of David, king of Israel. ²⁸ All the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters played; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹ When they had finished the offerings, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. ³⁰ Moreover, Hezekiah, the king, and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David and of Asaph, the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh. Come here and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of Yahweh." The assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who had a willing heart brought burnt offerings.

³² The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred male lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to Yahweh. ³³ The consecrated offerings were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

³⁴ But the priests were too few to skin all the burnt offerings, so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was done, and until the priests could consecrate themselves, for the Levites had been more careful to consecrate themselves than the priests.

³⁵ In addition, there were very many burnt offerings; they were performed with the fat of the fellowship offerings, and there were drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of Yahweh was set in order. ³⁶ Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people also, because of what God had prepared for the people, for the work had been done quickly.

Chapter 30

¹ Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ² For the king, his leaders, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had consulted together, deciding to celebrate the Passover in the second month. ³ They could not celebrate at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves for the celebration and the people had not gathered together in Jerusalem.

⁴ This proposal seemed right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly. ⁵ So they agreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it with large numbers of people according to what was written. ⁶ So couriers went with the letters from the king and his leaders throughout all Israel and Judah, by the command of the king. They said, "You people of Israel, turn back to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

⁷ Do not be like your ancestors or your brothers, who were faithless against Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. ⁸ Now do not stiffen your necks, as your ancestors did; instead, give yourselves to Yahweh and come into his holy place, which he has consecrated forever, and worship Yahweh your God, so that his burning anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For if you turn back to Yahweh, your brothers and children will find compassion before those who led them away as prisoners, and they will come back into this land. For Yahweh your God, is gracious and merciful, and will not turn his face away from you, if you return to him."

¹⁰ So the couriers passed from city to city throughout the regions of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the way to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and mocked them. ¹¹ However, certain men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God also came on Judah, to give them one heart, to carry out the command of the king and leaders by the word of Yahweh.

¹³ Many people, a very great assembly, gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They rose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense; they threw them into the Kidron Brook. ¹⁵ Then they killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh.

¹⁶ They stood in their place by their divisions, following the directions given in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites slaughtered the Passover lambs for everyone who was not purified and could not consecrate their sacrifice to Yahweh.

¹⁸ For a great many of the people, many of them from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover meal, against the written instructions. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, "May the good Yahweh pardon everyone ¹⁹ who sets his heart to seek God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though he is not purified by the purification standards of the holy place." ²⁰ So Yahweh listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ The people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and the priests praised Yahweh day after day, singing with loud instruments to Yahweh. ²² Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who understood the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the festival for the seven days, offering sacrifices of fellowship offerings, and making confession to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

²³ The whole assembly then decided to celebrate for another seven days, and they did so with joy. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep as an offering; and the leaders gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A large number of priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵ All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the people who came together from Israel, as well as the foreigners who came from the land of Israel and those who lived in Judah—they all rejoiced. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had not been anything like it in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites, rose and blessed the people. Their voice was heard, and their prayer went up to heaven, the holy place where God lives.

Chapter 31

¹ Now when all this was finished, all the people of Israel who were there went out to the cities of Judah and broke to pieces the stone pillars and they cut down the Asherah poles, and they broke down the high places and the altars in all of Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned, every one to his own possession and his own city.

² Hezekiah assigned the divisions of the priests and the Levites organized by their divisions, each man assigned to his work, both the priests and the Levites. He assigned them to make the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise at the gates of the house of Yahweh. ³ He also assigned the king's portion for the burnt offerings from his own possessions, that is, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbath days, the new moons, and the fixed festivals, as it was written in the law of Yahweh.

⁴ Moreover, he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion for the priests and the Levites, so that they might concentrate on obeying the law of Yahweh. ⁵ As soon as the command was sent out, the people of Israel generously gave the firstfruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and from all their harvest of the field. They brought in a tithe of everything, which was a great quantity.

⁶ The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the holy things that were set apart to Yahweh their God, and they piled them up in heaps. ⁷ It was in the third month when they began piling up their contribution in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel.

⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. ¹⁰ Azariah, the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and had enough, and have plenty left over, for Yahweh has blessed his people. What was left over is this large amount here."

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded storerooms to be prepared in the house of Yahweh, and they prepared them. ¹² Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes and the things that belonged to Yahweh. Konaniah the Levite was the manager in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second to him. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were managers under the hand of Konaniah and Shimei his brother, by appointment of Hezekiah, the king, and Azariah, the official over the house of God.

¹⁴ Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, in charge of distributing the offerings to Yahweh and the most holy offerings. ¹⁵ Under him were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shekaniah, in the cities of the priests. They filled offices of trust, in order to give these offerings to their brothers division by division, to both the important and the unimportant.

¹⁶ They also gave to those males three years old and up, who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors who entered the house of Yahweh, as required by the daily schedule, to do the work in their offices and their divisions. ¹

¹⁷ They distributed to the priests who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors, and the same to the Levites twenty years old and more, according to their offices and their divisions. ¹⁸ They recorded in the genealogy all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, through the whole community, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. ¹⁹ For the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who were in the fields of the villages belonging to their cities, or in every city, there were men assigned by name to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors as being among the Levites.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He accomplished what was good, right, and faithful before Yahweh, his God. ²¹ In every work that he began in the service of the house of God, the law, and the commandments, to seek his God, he performed it with all his heart, and he succeeded.

¹Instead of males three years old and up , some modern translations have males thirty years old and up .

Chapter 32

¹ After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered Judah. He camped to attack the fortified cities, which he intended to capture for himself.

² When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to fight against Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his leaders and his powerful men to stop up the waters of the springs that were outside the city; they helped him do so. ⁴ So many people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that was flowing through the middle of the land. They said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find a lot of water?"

⁵ Hezekiah took courage and built up all the wall that was broken down. He built the towers higher, and also the other wall outside. He also strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and he made large amounts of weapons and shields. ¹

⁶ He placed military commanders over the people. He gathered them together to him in the broad place at the city gate and spoke to their hearts. He said, ⁷ "Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria and all the army that is with him, for someone is with us who is greater than those with him. ⁸ With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is Yahweh, our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." Then the people comforted themselves with the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

⁹ After this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem (now he was in front of Lachish, and all his army was with him), to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and to all of Judah who were in Jerusalem. He said, ¹⁰ "This is what Sennacherib, king of Assyria, says: What are you trusting in so you can endure a siege in Jerusalem?

¹¹ Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, 'Yahweh our God will rescue us from the hand of the king of Assyria'? ¹² Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, 'On one altar you must worship, and on it you must burn your sacrifices'?

¹³ Do you not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of the peoples of the surrounding lands able in any way to rescue their land from my power? ¹⁴ Among all the gods of those nations that my ancestors completely destroyed, was there any god who could rescue his people out of my hand? Why should your God be able to rescue you from my power? ¹⁵ Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you in this way. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people out of my hand, or out of the hand of my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my hand?"

¹⁶ Sennacherib's servants spoke even more against Yahweh God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ Sennacherib also wrote letters in order to mock Yahweh, the God of Israel, and to speak against him. He said, "As the gods of the nations of the lands have not rescued their people out of my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not rescue his people out of my hand."

¹⁸ They cried out in the language of the Jews to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, in order that they might capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken of the gods of the other peoples of the earth, which are merely the work of men's hands.

²⁰ Hezekiah, the king, and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed because of this matter and he cried out to heaven. ²¹ Yahweh sent an angel, who killed the mighty warriors, the commanders, and the officers of the king of Assyria in the camp. So Sennacherib returned to his own land with shame on his face. When he had gone into the house of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.

²² In this way, Yahweh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and gave them rest on every side. ² ²³ Many were bringing offerings to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and precious gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was lifted up in the eyes of all nations from that time forward.

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah was sick to the point of dying. He prayed to Yahweh, who spoke to him and gave him a sign that he would be healed. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did not pay back Yahweh for the help given to him, for his heart was lifted up. So anger came on him, and on Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Nevertheless, Hezekiah later humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that Yahweh's anger did not come on them during Hezekiah's days.

²⁷ Hezekiah had very many riches and much honor. He provided himself with storerooms for silver, gold, precious stones, and for spices, as well as for shields and for all kinds of valuable objects. ²⁸ He also had storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil, and stalls for various kinds of livestock. He also had flocks in their pens. ²⁹ In addition, he provided himself with cities and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very much wealth. ³

³⁰ It was this same Hezekiah who also stopped up the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and who brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in all his works. ³¹ However, in the matter of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to ask questions of those who knew, about the miraculous sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him, and to know all that was in his heart.

³² As for the other matters concerning Hezekiah, including his actions of covenant loyalty, you can see that they are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ Hezekiah lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him on the hill of the tombs of the descendants of David. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Manasseh his son became king in his place.

¹Instead of He built the towers higher , some ancient and modern translations have, he built towers on it , that is, on the wall.

²Instead of gave them rest on every side , some ancient and modern translations have guided them on every side . The original reading is uncertain.

³Instead of cities , some modern translations have donkeys , and some other modern translations leave out the word entirely.

Chapter 33

¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the disgusting things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel. ³ For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars for the Baals, he made Asherah poles, and he bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshiped them.

⁴ Manasseh built altars in the house of Yahweh, although Yahweh had commanded, "It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever." ⁵ He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh. ⁶ In the Valley of Ben Hinnom he caused his sons to pass through the fire. He practiced sorcery, divination and he read omens, and he consulted with sorcerers and spiritists. Manasseh did much evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he provoked him to anger.

⁷ The carved figure he had made, he placed it in the house of God. It was about this house that God had spoken to David and Solomon his son; he had said, "It is in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that I will put my name forever. ⁸ I will not move the people of Israel any more out of the land that I assigned to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to keep all that I have commanded them, following all the law, statutes, and decrees which I gave them through Moses." ⁹ Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil even more than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed before the people of Israel.

¹⁰ Yahweh spoke to Manasseh, and to his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹ So Yahweh brought on them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and took him off to Babylon.

¹² When Manasseh was in distress, he implored Yahweh, his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. ¹³ He prayed to him; and God was moved by his plea, and God heard his humble request and brought him back to Jerusalem, into his kingship. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

¹⁴ After this, Manasseh built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, to the entrance at the Fish Gate. He surrounded the hill of Ophel with it and raised the wall up to a very great height. He put courageous commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He took away the foreign gods, the idol out of the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city.

¹⁶ He rebuilt the altar of Yahweh and offered on it sacrifices of fellowship offerings and thank offerings; he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahweh, their God.

¹⁸ As to the other matters concerning Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the deeds of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ In that account there is history of his prayer, and how God was moved by his plea. There is also an account of all his sin and his trespasses, and the places where he had built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the carved figures, before he humbled himself—they are written about in the Chronicles of the Seers. ¹ ²⁰ So Manasseh lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in his own house. Amon, his son, became king in his place.

²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh, his father, had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved figures that Manasseh his father had made, and he worshiped them. ²³ He did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. Instead, Amon trespassed more and more.

²⁴ His servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made Josiah, his son, king in his place.

¹Some modern translations have the Chronicles of Hozai , which is the reading of the original text. But many modern translations correct it to read the Chronicles of the Seers . Also, a few modern translations have the Chronicles of his seers .

Chapter 34

¹ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked in the ways of David his ancestor, and did not turn away either to the right or to the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek after the God of David, his ancestor. In the twelfth year, he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, and the carved figures and the cast metal figures.

⁴ The people broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut apart the incense altars that were above them. He broke the Asherah poles and the carved figures. He crushed the cast metal figures to dust and scattered the dust on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of their priests on their altars. In this way, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶ He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, all the way to Naphtali, and in the ruins that surrounded them. ⁷ He broke down the altars, crushed the Asherah poles and the carved images into powder, and cut apart all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

⁸ Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, after Josiah had cleansed the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. ⁹ They went to Hilkiah, the high priest, and entrusted to him the money that had been brought into the house of God, that the Levites, the guards of the doors, had gathered from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ They entrusted the money to the men who supervised the work on the temple of Yahweh. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. ¹¹ They paid it to the carpenters and builders to buy cut stone and timber for braces, and to make beams for the structures that some kings of Judah had allowed to become ruined.

¹² The men did the work faithfully. Their supervisors Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, from the sons of the Kohathites. Other Levites, all of whom were very good musicians, closely directed the workmen. ¹³ These Levites supervised those who carried building material and all other men who worked in any way. There were also Levites who were secretaries, administrators, and gate guards.

¹⁴ When they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh that had been given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh." Hilkiah brought the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported to him, saying, "Your servants are doing everything that has been entrusted to them.

¹⁷ They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Yahweh, and they gave it into the hand of the supervisors and to the workmen." ¹⁸ Shaphan the scribe told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." Then Shaphan read in it to the king. ¹⁹ It came about that when the king had heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

²⁰ The king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, his own servant, saying, ²¹ "Go and ask Yahweh's will for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, because of the words of the book that has been found. For it is great, the anger of Yahweh that has been poured out on us. ¹ It is great, because our ancestors have not listened to the words of this book so as to obey all that was written in it."

²² So Hilkiah, and those whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second District), and they spoke with her in this way.

²³ She said to them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ 'This is what Yahweh says: See, I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that have been written in the book that they have read before the king of Judah. ²⁵ This will happen because they have abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger by all the works of their hands. Therefore, my anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be extinguished.'

²⁶ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask Yahweh what he should do, this is what you will say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of Israel says this: About the words that you heard, ²⁷ because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have listened to you—this is Yahweh's declaration— ²⁸ see, I will gather you to your ancestors. You will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.'" The men took this message back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king sent messengers and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ Then the king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, Levites, and all the people, from great to small. He then read in their hearing all the words of the book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of Yahweh.

³¹ The king stood in his place and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his regulations, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to obey the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² He caused all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand by the covenant. The inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in obedience to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ Josiah took away all the disgusting things from the lands that belonged to the people of Israel. He made everyone in Israel worship Yahweh, their God. For all of his days, they did not turn away from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

¹Instead of that has been poured out on us , which is followed by most modern translations, some translations follow another rendering of the Hebrew, to read: that has been kindled against us .

Chapter 35

¹ Josiah kept a Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and they killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He placed the priests in their positions and encouraged them in the service of the house of Yahweh.

³ He said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were set apart to Yahweh, "Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel built. It will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now worship Yahweh your God, and serve his people Israel. ⁴ Organize yourselves by your clans and your divisions, following the written instructions of David, king of Israel, and those of Solomon, his son.

⁵ Stand in the holy place, taking your position with your divisions within the clans of your brothers, the descendants of the people, and taking your places with your divisions within the clans of the Levites. ⁶ Kill the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, prepare the lambs for your brothers, to do according to the word of Yahweh that was given by the hand of Moses."

⁷ Josiah gave thirty thousand lambs and kids from flocks for the Passover offerings to all the people who were present, and he also gave three thousand head of cattle—all of these were from the king's own possessions. ⁸ His leaders gave a freewill offering to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials in charge of the house of God, gave to the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and three hundred head of cattle. ⁹ Also Konaniah, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave five thousand Passover offerings to the Levites and five hundred head of cattle.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, with the Levites by their divisions, in response to the king's command. ¹¹ They killed the Passover lambs, and the priests sprinkled the blood that they received from the Levites' hand, and the Levites skinned the lambs. ¹² They removed the burnt offerings, in order to distribute them to the divisions of the clans of the people, to offer them to Yahweh, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.

¹³ They roasted the Passover lambs with fire following the instructions. As for the consecrated offerings, they boiled them in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and they quickly carried them to all the people. ¹⁴ They later prepared offerings for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were occupied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat until nightfall, so the Levites prepared the offerings for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹⁵ The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were in their place, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer, and the guards were at every gate. They did not have to leave their labors because their brothers the Levites made preparations for them.

¹⁶ So, at that time the entire service of Yahweh was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, as King Josiah commanded. ¹⁷ The people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and then the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸ Such a Passover celebration had never been held in Israel from the days of the prophet Samuel, nor had any of the other kings of Israel ever celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did, along with the priests, Levites, and all the people of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

²⁰ After all this, after Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho, king of Egypt, went up to fight against Carchemish at the Euphrates River, and Josiah went to fight against him. ²¹ But Necho sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am making war. God has commanded me to hurry, so refrain from interfering with God, who is with me, or he might destroy you."

²² However, Josiah refused to turn away from him. He disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Necho that had come from the mouth of God; so he went to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

²³ Archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded." ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in his extra chariot. They took him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵ Jeremiah lamented for Josiah; all the male and female singers lament about Josiah to this day. These songs became customary in Israel; behold, they are written in the songs of lament.

²⁶ As for the other matters concerning Josiah, and his good deeds done in obedience to what is written in the law of Yahweh— ²⁷ his deeds, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

Chapter 36

¹ Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. ² Jehoahaz ¹ was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

³ The king of Egypt removed him at Jerusalem, and forced him to pay a fine on the land of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made Eliakim, who was the brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem (and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim). Then Necho took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.

⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. ⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked him and bound him in chains to lead him away to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the objects in the house of Yahweh to Babylon, and put them in his palace at Babylon.

⁸ As for the other matters concerning Jehoiakim, the disgusting things that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then Jehoiachin, his son, became king in his place.

⁹ Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. ¹⁰ In the spring of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable things from the house of Yahweh, and made Zedekiah, his relative, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh.

¹³ Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear loyalty to him by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover, all the leaders of the priests and the people were extremely unfaithful, and they followed the disgusting practices of the nations. They polluted the house of Yahweh which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them by his messengers again and again, because he had compassion on his people and on the place where he lives. ¹⁶ But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no help for it.

¹⁷ So God brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and had no compassion on young men or virgins, old men or the gray-haired. God gave them all into his hand.

¹⁸ All the furnishings of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and his officials—all these he took to Babylon. ¹⁹ They burned down the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all the valuable things in it.

²⁰ The king carried away to Babylon those who had escaped the sword. They became servants for him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia. ²¹ This happened to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land should have enjoyed its Sabbath rests. It observed its Sabbath for all the time of its desolation so that it might pass seventy years in this way.

²² Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be carried out, Yahweh motivated the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing. He said,

²³ "This is what Cyrus, king of Persia, says: Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you from all his people, may Yahweh your God, be with you. Let him go up to the land."

¹Jehoahaz is written in Hebrew as Joahaz, but refers to the same person.

¹There are some textual issues here regarding the phrase the sons of Judah or the descendants of Hodaviah and other matters.

²Some modern English translations read, Erech .

¹The name Bani was missing in the ancient Hebrew copies, but was restored from the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew copies.

¹Instead of the second occurrence of Malkijah , some modern translations substitute Hashabiah .

²Instead of Bani , some modern translations have Bigvai .

³Instead of Among the descendants of Binnui: Shimei , some modern translations have Bani, Binnui, Shimei .

⁴Instead of Maknadebai , some modern translations have Among the descendants of Zaccai .

⁵Instead of and had children with some of them , some modern translations have but sent them away with their children .

Nehemiah

Chapter 1

¹ The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

Now it happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the fortress of Susa,

² that one of my brothers, Hanani, and some men from Judah came, and I asked them about the Jews, the escaped remnant, those who had escaped from the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

³ They said to me, "Those in the province who survived the captivity are in great trouble and disgrace because the wall of Jerusalem has been broken open, and its gates have been set on fire."

⁴ As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and for days I continued grieving and fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said, "Please, I beg you, Yahweh, God of heaven, the God who is great and awesome, who keeps the covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

⁶ may your eyes be open and may your ear be attentive so you may hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants. I am confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my father's house have sinned. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly against you, and we have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules you commanded your servant Moses.

⁸ Please call to mind the word you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the peoples, ⁹ but if you return to me and follow my commandments and do them, though your people were scattered under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to that place where I have chosen to make my name remain.'

¹⁰ Now they are your servants and your people, whom you have rescued by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹ Please, I beg you, Lord, may your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to honor your name. Now give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."

I served as cupbearer to the king.

Chapter 2

¹ In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, he selected wine, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never before been sad in his presence. ² But the king said to me, "Why is your face so sad? You do not appear to be ill. This must be sadness of heart." Then I became very much afraid.

³ I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad? The city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire."

⁴ Then the king said to me, "What do you want me to do?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ I replied to the king, "If it seems good to the king, and if your servant has done well in your sight, you could send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." ⁶ The king replied to me (and the queen was also sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone and when will you return?" The king was glad to send me when I gave him an appointed time.

⁷ Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors in the Province Beyond the River so that they may permit me to pass through their territories on my way to Judah. ⁸ May there also be a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, so that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress next to the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house in which I will live."

So because the good hand of God was on me, the king granted me my requests.

⁹ I came to the governors in the Province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me commanders of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were greatly displeased that someone had come who was seeking to help the people of Israel.

¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me, other than the one I was riding.

¹³ I went out by night by the Valley Gate, toward the Jackal's Well and to the Dung Gate, and inspected the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken open, and the wooden gates were destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool. The place was too narrow for the animal I was riding to pass through.

¹⁵ So I went up that night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶ The rulers did not know where I went or what I did, and I had not yet informed the Jews, nor the priests, nor the nobles, nor the rulers, nor the rest who did the work.

¹⁷ I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so we will no longer be in disgrace." ¹⁸ I told them that the good hand of my God was on me and also about the king's words that he had spoken to me. They said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian heard about it, they mocked and showed us contempt, and they said, "What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" ²⁰ Then I answered them, "The God of heaven will give us success. We are his servants and we will arise and build. But you have no share, no right, and no historic claim in Jerusalem."

Chapter 3

¹ Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brother priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors in place. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel. ² Next to him the men of Jericho worked, and next to them Zakkur son of Imri worked.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They made beams for it, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ Meremoth repaired the next section. He is the son of Uriah son of Hakkoz. Next to them Meshullam repaired. He is the son of Berekiah son of Meshezabel. Next to them Zadok repaired. He is the son of Baana. ⁵ Next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles refused to do the labor ordered by their supervisors.

⁶ Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They made beams for it, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ Next to them were men from Gibeon and Mizpah—Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—the throne of the governor of the Province Beyond the River.

⁸ Next to him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired, and next to him was Hananiah, a maker of perfumes. They rebuilt Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur repaired. He was the official over half the district of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired next to his house. Next to him Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired.

¹¹ Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section along with the Tower of the Furnaces. ¹² Next to them Shallum son of Hallohesh, the official over half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, along with his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They repaired a thousand cubits as far as the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malkijah son of Rekab, the official over the district of Beth Hakkerem, repaired the Dung Gate. He built it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, the official over the district of Mizpah, rebuilt the Fountain Gate. He built it, and put a cover on it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam by the king's garden, as far as the stairs leading down from the city of David.

¹⁶ Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the official over half the district of Beth Zur, repaired to the place across from the tombs of David, to the man-made pool, and to the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired, including Rehum son of Bani and next to him, Hashabiah, the official over half the district of Keilah, for his district.

¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired, including Binnui son of Henadad, the official over half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, the official over Mizpah, repaired another section that faced the ascent to the armory at the corner of the wall.

²⁰ After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the corner of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²² Next to him the priests, the men from the area around Jerusalem, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their own house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah repaired next to his own house. ²⁴ After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the corner of the wall.

²⁵ Palal son of Uzai repaired over against the corner of the wall and the tower that extends upward from the upper house of the king at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh repaired. ²⁶ Now the temple servants living in Ophel repaired to the point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him the Tekoites repaired another section that was opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ The priests repaired above the Horse Gate, each opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok son of Immer repaired the section opposite his own house. Then after him Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired opposite his living chambers.

³¹ After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired to the house of the temple servants and the merchants that was opposite the Appointment Gate and the upper living chambers on the corner. ³² The goldsmiths and the merchants repaired between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate.

Chapter 4

¹ Now when Sanballat heard we were building the wall, anger burned within him, and he was furiously angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² In the presence of his brothers and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore the city for themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish the work in a day? Will they bring to life the stones from the piles of rubble after they were burned? ³ Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said, "If only a fox went up on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall!"

⁴ Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunts on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover over their iniquity and let their sin not be blotted out from before you, for they have provoked the builders to anger.

⁶ So we built the wall and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a desire to work.

⁷ But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the work of repairing the walls of Jerusalem was going forward, and that the broken places in the wall were being closed up, a great anger burned within them. ⁸ They all conspired together, and they came to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹ But we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night because of their threat.

¹⁰ Then the people of Judah said, "The strength of those who carry the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble, and we are not able to rebuild the wall."

¹¹ Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until we come among them and kill them, and stop the work."

¹² At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and spoke to us ten times, warning us about the schemes they were making against us. ¹³ So I positioned people in the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I positioned each family with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ Then I looked, and stood up, and I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Call to mind the Lord, who is great and awesome. Fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

¹⁵ It came about when our enemies heard that their plans were known to us, and God had frustrated their plans, all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ So from that time half of my servants worked only on rebuilding the wall, and half of them held spears, shields, bows, and wore armor, while the leaders stood behind all the people of Judah

¹⁷ and those who were building the wall. Those who carried burdens carried their loads such that each did his work with one hand, and with the other hand he held his weapon. ¹⁸ Every builder wore his sword girded at his side, and that is how he worked. The one who sounded the ram's horn stayed beside me.

¹⁹ I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. ²⁰ You must rush to the place where you hear the ram's horn sound and assemble there. Our God will fight for us."

²¹ So we were doing the work. Half of them were holding spears from the rising of the dawn until the coming out of the stars. ²² I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant spend the night in the middle of Jerusalem, so they may be for us a guard during the night and a worker in the day." ²³ So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us changed our clothes, and each of us carried his weapon, even if he went for water.

Chapter 5

¹ Then the people and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. ² For there were some who said, "With our sons and daughters we are many. So let us get grain that we may eat and stay alive." ³ There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain during the famine."

⁴ Some also said, "We have borrowed money to pay the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ Yet now our flesh and blood is the same as our brothers, and our children are the same as their children. We are forced to sell our sons and our daughters to become slaves. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved. But it is not in our power to help it because other men now own our fields and our vineyards."

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ Then I thought about this, and earnestly appealed to the nobles and officials. I said to them, "You are exacting interest, each from his own brother." I held a great assembly against them ⁸ and said to them, "As for us, we have, according to our ability, bought back from slavery our Jewish brothers who had been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold back to us!" They were silent and never found a word to say.

⁹ Also I said, "What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations that are our enemies? ¹⁰ I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. But we must stop charging interest on these loans. ¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses and the percentage of the money, the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you exacted from them."

¹² Then they said, "We will return what we took from them, and will require nothing from them. We will do as you say." Then I called the priests, and made them swear to do as they had promised. ¹³ I shook out the fold of my robe and said, "So may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep his promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied."

All the assembly said, "Amen," and they praised Yahweh and the people did as they had promised.

¹⁴ So from the time I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food provided for the governor. ¹⁵ But the former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people, and took from them forty shekels of silver for their daily food and wine. Even their servants were lords over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

¹⁶ I also continued to work on the wall, and we bought no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ At my table were the Jews and the officials, 150 men, besides those who came to us from among the nations who were around us.

¹⁸ Now what was prepared each day was one ox, six choice sheep, and also birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance, yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the labor was heavy on this people.

¹⁹ Call me to mind, my God, for good, because of all that I have done for this people.

Chapter 6

¹ Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there were no longer any sections left broken open, although I had not yet set up the doors in the gates, ² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono." But they intended to do harm to me.

³ I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" ⁴ They sent me the same message four times, and I answered them the same way each time.

⁵ Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written,

⁷ You have also appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem, saying, 'There is a king in Judah!' You can be sure the king will hear these reports. Therefore come, let us discuss the matter with one another."

⁸ Then I sent word to him saying, "No such things have occurred as you say, for within your heart you invented them." ⁹ For they all wanted to make us afraid, thinking, "Their hands will drop from the work, and the work will not be done." But now, God, please strengthen my hands.

¹⁰ I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel, who was confined in his home. He said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. At night they are coming to kill you." ¹¹ I replied, "Would a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple just so he could save his own life? I will not go in!"

¹² I realized that it was not God who sent him, but that he had prophesied against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ They hired him to make me afraid, so that I might do what he said and sin, so they could give me a bad name in order to humiliate me.

¹⁴ Call to mind Tobiah and Sanballat, my God according to their deeds. Also call to mind the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who tried to make me be afraid.

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, after fifty-two days. ¹⁶ When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us, they became afraid and they fell greatly in their own eyes. For they knew the work was done with the help of our God.

¹⁷ At this time the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. ¹⁸ For there were many in Judah who were bound by an oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shekaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. ¹⁹ They also spoke to me about his good deeds and reported my words back to him.

Letters were sent to me from Tobiah to frighten me.

Chapter 7

¹ When the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in place, and the gatekeepers and singers and Levites had been appointed, ² I put my brother Hanani in charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, the overseer of the fortress, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

³ I said to them, "Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are on guard, you may shut the doors and bar them. Appoint guards from those who live in Jerusalem, some at the place of their guard station, and some in front of their own homes." ⁴ Now the city was wide and large, but there were few people within it, and no houses had yet been rebuilt.

⁵ My God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, the officials, and the people to enroll them by families. I found the book of the genealogy of those who returned at the first and found the following written in it.

⁶ "These are the people of the province who went up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city. ⁷ They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel included the following.

⁸ The descendants of Parosh, 2,172. ⁹ The descendants of Shephatiah, 372. ¹⁰ The descendants of Arah, 652.

¹¹ The descendants of Pahath-Moab, through the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. ¹² The descendants of Elam, 1,254. ¹³ The descendants of Zattu, 845. ¹⁴ The descendants of Zakkai, 760.

¹⁵ The descendants of Binnui, 648. ¹⁶ The descendants of Bebai, 628. ¹⁷ The descendants of Azgad, 2,322. ¹⁸ The descendants of Adonikam, 667.

¹⁹ The descendants of Bigvai, 2,067. ²⁰ The descendants of Adin, 655. ²¹ The descendants of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98. ²² The descendants of Hashum, 328.

²³ The descendants of Bezai, 324. ²⁴ The descendants of Hariph, 112. ²⁵ The descendants of Gibeon, 95. ²⁶ The men from Bethlehem and Netophah, 188.

²⁷ The men from Anathoth, 128. ²⁸ The men of Beth Azmaveth, 42. ²⁹ The men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743. ³⁰ The men of Ramah and Geba, 621.

³¹ The men of Mikmash, 122. ³² The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. ³³ The men of the other Nebo, 52. ³⁴ The people of the other Elam, 1,254.

³⁵ The men of Harim, 320. ³⁶ The men of Jericho, 345. ³⁷ The men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. ³⁸ The men of Senaah, 3,930.

³⁹ The priests: The descendants of Jedaiah (of the house of Jeshua), 973. ⁴⁰ The descendants of Immer, 1,052. ⁴¹ The descendants of Pashhur, 1,247. ⁴² The descendants of Harim, 1,017.

⁴³ The Levites: The descendants of Jeshua, through the descendants of Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah, 74.

⁴⁴ The singers: The descendants of Asaph, 148.

⁴⁵ The gatekeepers of the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, the descendants of Shobai, 138.

⁴⁶ The temple servants: The descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷ the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon, ⁴⁸ the descendants of Lebana, the descendants of Hagaba, the descendants of Shalmai, ⁴⁹ the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar.

⁵⁰ The descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, ⁵¹ the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah, ⁵² the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephusim.

⁵³ The descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, ⁵⁴ the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, ⁵⁵ the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah, ⁵⁶ the descendants of Neziah, the descendants of Hatipha.

⁵⁷ The descendants of Solomon's servants: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida, ⁵⁸ the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, ⁵⁹ the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim, the descendants of Amon. ⁶⁰ All the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants, were 392.

⁶¹ These were the people who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. But they could not prove that they or their ancestors' families were descendants from Israel: ⁶² the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642.

⁶³ Those who were from the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who took his wife from the daughters of Barzillai of Gilead and was called by their name).

⁶⁴ These sought their records among those enrolled by their families, but they could not be found, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ⁶⁵ Then the governor said to them that they should not be allowed to eat the priests' share of food from the sacrifices until there rose up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was 42,360, ⁶⁷ besides their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337. They had 245 singing men and women.

⁶⁸ Their horses were 736 in number, their mules, 245, ⁶⁹ their camels, 435, and their donkeys, 6,720.

⁷⁰ Some from among the heads of ancestors' families gave gifts for the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, 50 basins, and 530 priestly garments. ¹ ⁷¹ Some of the heads of ancestors' families gave into the treasury for the work twenty thousand darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. ⁷² The rest of the people gave twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly garments.

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel lived in their cities.

By the seventh month the people of Israel were settled in their cities."

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text has thirty priestly garments , but it is difficult to understand. Most modern translations have 530 priestly garments . However, some recommend reading thirty priestly garments and five hundred minas of silver .

Chapter 8

¹ All the people gathered as one man in the open area in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel. ² On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear and understand. ³ He faced the open area in front of the Water Gate, and he read from it from early morning until midday, before men and women, and any who could understand, and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

⁴ Then Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform which the people had made for the purpose. Standing beside him were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right side; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam were standing on his left side. ⁵ Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above the people, and when he opened it all the people stood up.

⁶ Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah—the Levites—helped the people understand the law, while the people remained in their place. ¹ ⁸ They read in the book, The Law of God, making it clear with interpretation and giving the meaning so the people understood the reading.

⁹ Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting to the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then Nehemiah said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and have something sweet to drink, and send some of it to one who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength."

¹¹ So the Levites made the people be quiet, saying, "Hush! for this day is holy. Do not be grieved." ¹² Then all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to share food and to celebrate with great joy because they had understood the words that were made known to them.

¹³ On the second day the leaders of the ancestors' families from all the people, the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe to gain insight from the words of the law. ¹⁴ They found written in the law how Yahweh had commanded through Moses that the people of Israel should live in shelters during the festival of the seventh month. ¹⁵ They should make a proclamation in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out into the hill country, and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtle, palms and shade trees, to make shelters, as it is written."

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought the branches back and made themselves shelters, each on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, in the open area in front of the Water Gate, and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ All the assembly of those who had returned from captivity made shelters and lived in them. For since the days of Joshua son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not celebrated this festival, and so their joy was very great.

¹⁸ Also day by day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. They kept the festival for seven days and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, in obedience to the decree.

¹Most modern translations identify as Levites all the persons named in this verse. However, some modern translations put the Levites in the same list as the individuals first named.

Chapter 9

¹ Now on the twenty-fourth day of the same month the people of Israel were assembled and they were fasting, and they were wearing sackcloth, and they put dust on their heads. ² The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners. They stood and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.

³ They stood up in their places, and for one-fourth of the day they read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God. For another fourth of the day they were confessing and bowing down before Yahweh their God. ⁴ The Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani, stood on the stairs and they called out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Stand up and give praise to Yahweh your God forever and ever."

"May they bless your glorious name, and may it be exalted above every blessing and praise.

⁶ You are Yahweh. You alone. You have made heaven, the highest heavens, with all their host, and the earth and everything on it, and the seas and all that is in them. You give life to them all, and the host of heaven worship you.

⁷ You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham. ⁸ You found his heart was faithful before you, and you made with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.

⁹ You saw the affliction of our forefathers in Egypt and you heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds. ¹⁰ You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and on all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians acted with arrogance against them. But you made a name for yourself which stands to this day.

¹¹ Then you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and threw those who pursued them into the depths, as a stone into deep waters.

¹² You led them by a pillar of cloud during the day, and by a pillar of fire during the night to light the way for them to go. ¹³ On Mount Sinai you came down and you spoke with them from heaven and gave to them righteous decrees and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴ You made your holy Sabbath known to them, and you gave them commandments and statutes and a law through Moses your servant. ¹⁵ You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and water from a rock for their thirst, and you said to them to go in to possess the land you swore on oath to give them.

¹⁶ But they and our ancestors acted arrogantly, and they stiffened their necks and did not listen to your commandments. ¹⁷ They refused to listen, and they did not think about the wonders that you had done among them, but they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their slavery. But you are a God who is full of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. You did not abandon them.

¹⁸ Even when they had cast a calf out of molten metal and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹ you, in your compassion, did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them on the way did not leave them during day, neither did the pillar of fire by night to light the way for them to go.

²⁰ Your good Spirit you gave them to instruct them, and your manna you did not withhold from their mouths, and water you gave them for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you provided for them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

²² You gave them kingdoms and peoples, assigning to them every corner of the land. Then they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.

²³ You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you told their ancestors to go in and possess. ²⁴ So the people went in and possessed the land and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites. You gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that Israel might do with them as they pleased.

²⁵ They captured the fortified cities and a productive land, and they took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already cut out, vineyards and olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in your great goodness.

²⁶ Then they became disobedient and they rebelled against you. They threw your law behind their backs. They murdered your prophets who had warned them to turn back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷ So you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. In the time of their suffering, they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven, and because of your great mercies you sent them rescuers who rescued them out of the hand of their enemies.

²⁸ But after they had rest, they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so their enemies ruled over them. Yet when they returned and cried out to you, you heard from heaven, and many times because of your compassion you rescued them. ²⁹ You warned them so they might turn back to your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commands. They sinned against your decrees which give life to anyone who obeys them. They gave the stubborn shoulder-blade and stiffened their neck and refused to listen.

³⁰ For many years you put up with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ But in your great mercies you did not destroy them completely or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

³² Now therefore, our God—you great, mighty, and awesome God who keep your covenant and steadfast love—do not let all this hardship seem little to you that has come on us, on our kings, on our leaders, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our ancestors, and on all your people from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. ³³ You are just in everything that has come on us, for you have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law, nor paid attention to your commandments or your laws by which you warned them.

³⁵ Even in their own kingdom, while they enjoyed your great goodness to them, in the large and productive land you set before them, they did not serve you or turn away from their evil deeds.

³⁶ Now we are slaves in the land you gave our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, and behold, we are slaves in it! ³⁷ The rich produce of our land goes to the kings you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

³⁸ Because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing. On the sealed document are the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests."

Chapter 10

¹ On the sealed documents were Nehemiah, the governor, son of Hakaliah and Zedekiah, ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,

⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,

⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.

⁹ The Levites were: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the family of Henadad, Kadmiel,

¹⁰ and their fellow Levites, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹ Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹² Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³ Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

¹⁴ The leaders of the people were: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

¹⁸ Hodiah, 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 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

²⁷ Malluk, Harim, and Baanah.

²⁸ As for the rest of the people, who were priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands and pledged themselves to the law of God, including their wives, their sons and their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, ²⁹ they joined together with their brothers, their nobles, and bound themselves with both a curse and an oath to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and obey all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his decrees and his statutes.

³⁰ We promised that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ³¹ We also promised that if the people of the land bring goods or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will let our fields rest, and we will cancel all debts.

³² We accepted the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God, ³³ to provide for the bread of the presence, and for the regular grain offering, the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals and appointed feasts, and for the holy offerings, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, as well as for all the work of the house of our God.

³⁴ We—the priests, the Levites, and the people—cast lots for the wood offering. The lots would select which of our families would bring wood into the house of our God at the appointed times each year, to be burned on the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law. ³⁵ We promised to bring to the house of Yahweh the firstfruits grown from our soil, and each year the firstfruits from each tree. ³⁶ The firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle—according to what is written in the law—and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks we will bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God.

³⁷ We will bring the first of our dough and our grain offerings, and the fruit of every tree and new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God. We will bring to the Levites the tithes from our soil because the Levites collect the tithes in all the towns where we labor. ³⁸ A priest, a descendant of Aaron, must be with the Levites when they receive the tithes. The Levites must bring a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God to the rooms of the storehouse.

³⁹ For the people of Israel and the descendants of Levi are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who are serving, and the gatekeepers, and the singers stay.

We will not neglect the house of our God.

Chapter 11

¹ The leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, and the other nine remained in other towns. ² Then the people blessed all those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the provincial officials who lived in Jerusalem. However, in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his own property, including some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants. ⁴ In Jerusalem lived some of the descendants of Judah and some of the descendants of Benjamin.

The people from Judah included: Athaiah son of Uzziah son of Zechariah son of Amariah son of Shephatiah son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez.

⁵ There was Maaseiah son of Baruch son of Kol-Hozeh son of Hazaiah son of Adaiah son of Joiarib son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah. ⁶ All the descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468. They were outstanding men.

⁷ These are the descendants of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam son of Joed son of Pedaiah son of Kolaiah son of Maaseiah son of Ithiel son of Jeshaiah, ⁸ and those following him, Gabbai and Sallai, 928 men. ¹ ⁹ Joel son of Zikri was their overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

¹⁰ From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jakin, ¹¹ Seraiah son of Hilkiah son of Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God, ¹² and their associates who did the work for the house, 822 men, along with Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pelaliah son of Amzi son of Zechariah son of Pashhur son of Malkijah.

¹³ His brothers were heads of clans, 242 men; and Amashsai son of Azarel son of Ahzai son of Meshillemoth son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their brothers, 128 valiant warriors; their overseer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

¹⁵ From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah son of Bunni, ¹⁶ and Shabbethai and Jozabad, who were from the leaders of the Levites and were in charge of the outside work of the house of God.

¹⁷ There was Mattaniah son of Mika son of Zabdi, a descendant of Asaph, who was the director who began the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers, and Abda son of Shammua son of Galal son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in the holy city numbered 284.

¹⁹ The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, 172 men.

²⁰ The remainder of Israel and of the priests and the Levites were in all the towns of Judah. Everyone lived on his own inherited property. ²¹ The temple workers lived in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.

²² The chief officer over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani son of Hashabiah son of Mattaniah son of Mika, of the descendants of Asaph, singers over the work in the house of God. ²³ They were under orders from the king, and firm orders were given for the singers as every day required. ²⁴ Then Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, was at the king's side in all matters concerning the people.

²⁵ As for the villages and their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath Arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ and in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, ²⁷ Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages.

²⁸ Some of the people of Judah lived in Ziklag, Mekonah and its villages, ²⁹ En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, and in Lachish its fields and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

³¹ The descendants of the Benjamites settled in Geba, Mikmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, ³² Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, Ono, and Ge Harashim. ² ³⁶ Some of the Levites who lived in Judah were assigned to the people of Benjamin.

¹Instead of those following him , some scholars suggest his brothers because that construction appears in Nehemiah 11:13, 14, 17, and 19 .

²Some modern English translations read, Lod, Ono, and the Valley of the Craftsmen . Others read, Lod and Ono, the valley of the craftsmen .

Chapter 12

¹ These were the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

² Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,

³ Shekaniah, Rehum, and Meremoth.

⁴ There were Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

⁵ Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,

⁶ Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,

⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was in charge of the thanksgiving songs, along with his associates. ⁹ Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood opposite them during the service.

¹⁰ Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, ¹¹ Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim these were the priests, the leaders of the families: Meraiah was the leader of Seraiah, Hananiah was the leader of Jeremiah,

¹³ Meshullam was the leader of Ezra, Jehohanan was the leader of Amariah,

¹⁴ Jonathan was the leader of Malluk, and Joseph was the leader of Shebaniah. ¹

¹⁵ Adna was the leader of Harim, Helkai the leader of Meremoth,

¹⁶ Zechariah was the leader of Iddo, Meshullam was the leader of Ginnethon, and

¹⁷ Zikri was the leader of Abijah; Piltai was the leader of Miniamin and Moadiah.

¹⁸ Shammua was the leader of Bilgah, Jehonathan was the leader of Shemaiah,

¹⁹ Mattenai was the leader of Joiarib, Uzzi was the leader of Jedaiah,

²⁰ Kallai was the leader of Sallu, Eber was the leader of Amok,

²¹ Hashabiah was the leader of Hilkiah, and Nethanel was the leader of Jedaiah.

²² In the days of Eliashib, the Levites Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were recorded as the heads of families, and the priests were recorded during the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The descendants of Levi, their leaders of families were recorded in the book of the annals up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib.

²⁴ The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their associates, who stood opposite them to give praise and to give thanks, responding section by section, in obedience to the command of David, the man of God. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storerooms by the gates. ²⁶ They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

²⁷ At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the people sought out the Levites wherever they lived, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with joy, with thanksgivings and singing with cymbals, lutes, and harps. ²⁸ The fellowship of singers gathered together from the district around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites.

²⁹ They also came from Beth Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰ The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

³¹ Then I had the leaders of Judah go up to the top of the wall, and I appointed two large choirs who gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate.

³² Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them, ³³ and after them went Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and some of the priests' sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zakkur son of Asaph.

³⁶ There also were Zechariah's relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe was in front of them. ³⁷ By the Fountain Gate they went straight up on the stairs of the city of David, by the stairway to the wall above David's palace, to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸ The other choir of those who gave thanks went in the other direction. I followed them on the wall with half the people, above the Tower of Ovens, to the Broad Wall, ³⁹ and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate, and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

⁴⁰ So both choirs of those who gave thanks took their place in the house of God, and I also took my place with half of the officials with me. ⁴¹ Then the priests took their place: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the trumpets, ⁴² and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer, and the singers made themselves heard and Jezrahiah was their leader.

⁴³ They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. Also the women and the children rejoiced. So the joy of Jerusalem could be heard far away.

⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites. Each was assigned to work the fields near the towns. For Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who were standing before them. ⁴⁵ They performed the service of their God, and the service of purification, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, in keeping with the command of David and of Solomon his son.

⁴⁶ For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors of singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷ In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set aside the consecrated portion that was for the Levites, and the Levites set aside the consecrated portion for the descendants of Aaron.

¹Many modern translations have Malluk as a correction for Malluki in the Hebrew text. The correct form of this name appears in Neh. 12:2.

Chapter 13

¹ On that day they read in the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. It was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should come into the assembly of God, forever. ² This was because they had not come to the people of Israel with bread and with water, but they had hired Balaam to curse Israel. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ As soon as they heard the law, they separated out from Israel every foreign person.

⁴ Now before this Eliashib the priest was appointed over the storerooms of the house of our God. He was related to Tobiah. ⁵ Eliashib prepared for Tobiah a large storeroom, where previously they kept the grain offering, the incense, the articles, and the tithes of the grain, new wine, and the oil, which were commanded to be for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

⁶ But in all this time I was not in Jerusalem. For in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. After some time I asked the king for permission to leave, ⁷ and I returned to Jerusalem. I understood the evil that Eliashib had done by giving Tobiah a storeroom in the courts of the house of God.

⁸ This was very displeasing to me and I threw all Tobiah's household articles out of the storeroom. ⁹ I ordered that they purify the storerooms, and I put back in them the articles of the house of God, the grain offerings, and the incense.

¹⁰ I learned that the Levites' portions had not been given to them, and they had run away, each to his own field, the Levites and the singers who did the work. ¹¹ So I confronted the officials and said, "Why is the house of God neglected?" I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts.

¹² Then all Judah brought in the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the storehouses. ¹³ I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and from the Levites, Pedaiah. Next to them was Hanan son of Zakkur son of Mattaniah, for they were counted as trustworthy. Their duties were to distribute the supplies to their associates.

¹⁴ Call me to mind, my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out the good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and its services.

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of heavy loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I warned them against selling food on that day.

¹⁶ Men from Tyre living in Jerusalem brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and they sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah and in the city! ¹⁷ Then I confronted the nobles of Judah, "What is this evil thing you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? ¹⁸ Did not your fathers do this? Did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."

¹⁹ As soon as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. I stationed some of my servants at the gates so no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ The merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice.

²¹ But I warned them, "Why do you camp outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. ²² Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves, and come and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.

Call me to mind for this also, my God, and have mercy on me because of the covenant loyalty you have toward me.

²³ In those days I also saw Jews that had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. None of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but only the language of one of the other peoples.

²⁵ I confronted them, and I cursed them, and I hit some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God, saying, "You will not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. ²⁶ Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of these women? Among many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, his foreign wives caused him to sin. ²⁷ Should we then listen to you and do all this great evil, and act unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"

²⁸ One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I caused him to flee from my presence.

²⁹ Call them to mind, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

³⁰ Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and established the duties of the priests and the Levites, each to his own task. ³¹ I provided for the wood offering at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.

Call me to mind, my God, for good.

Job

Chapter 1

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned from evil. ² There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³ He possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred donkeys and a great many servants. He was the man who was the greatest of all the people of the East.

⁴ On each son's assigned day, he would give a feast in his house. They would send and call for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When the days of the feast were over, Job would send for them and he would consecrate them. He would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for each of his children, for he would say, "It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Job always did this.

⁶ Then it was the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh. Satan also came with them. ⁷ Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From wandering on the earth, from going back and forth on it." ⁸ Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil."

⁹ Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Is it for no reason that Job fears God? ¹⁰ Have you not put a barrier around him, around his house, and around all that is his from every side? You have blessed the deeds of his hands, and his livestock have spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he does not curse you to your face." ¹² Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do not stretch out your hand." Then Satan went away from the presence of Yahweh.

¹³ It came about that on a certain day, his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. ¹⁴ A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them. ¹⁵ Then the Sabeans fell on them and took them away. As for the servants, they have struck them with the edge of the sword. I alone have escaped to make it known to you."

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants. I alone have escaped to make it known to you." ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three groups, made a raid on the camels, and have taken them away. As for the servants, they have struck them with the edge of the sword. I alone have escaped to make it known to you."

¹⁸ While he was yet speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. ¹⁹ A strong wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people, and they died. I alone have escaped to make it known to you."

²⁰ Then Job rose, tore his robe, shaved his head, lay facedown on the ground, and worshiped God. ²¹ He said, "I was naked when I came out of my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I will return there. It is Yahweh who gave, and it is Yahweh who has taken away. May the name of Yahweh be blessed."

²² In all this matter, Job did not sin, nor did he accuse God of wrongdoing.

Chapter 2

¹ Then it was the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh. Satan also came with them to present himself before Yahweh. ² Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From wandering on the earth, from going back and forth on it."

³ Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. He still holds fast to his integrity, although you misled me against him, to destroy him without cause."

⁴ Satan answered Yahweh and said, "Skin for skin, indeed; a man will give all he has for his life. ⁵ But stretch out your hand now and touch his bones and his flesh, and see if he does not curse you to your face."

⁶ Yahweh said to Satan, "See, he is in your hand; it is only his life that you must spare."

⁷ Then Satan went away from the presence of Yahweh. He struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his feet to his head. ⁸ Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself with, and he sat down in the middle of ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die." ¹⁰ But he said to her, "You talk as a foolish woman talks. Should we receive the good from God and not receive the bad?" In all this matter, Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹ Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, each of them came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They set a time to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

¹² When they lifted up their eyes at a distance, they did not recognize him. They raised their voices and wept; each tore his robe and threw dust into the air and upon his own head. ¹³ Then they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights. No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.

Chapter 3

¹ After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. ² He said,

³ "May the day on which I was born perish,

the night that said, 'A boy has been conceived.'

⁴ May that day be dark!

May God not care about it,

nor light shine on it.

⁵ May darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own.

May a cloud live over it;

may everything that makes the day black truly terrify it.

⁶ As for that night, may thick darkness seize it.

May it not rejoice among the days of the year;

may it not come into the number of the months.

⁷ See, may that night be barren;

may no joyful voice come into it.

⁸ Those who curse the day–may they curse it,

those who know how to wake up Leviathan.

⁹ May the stars of that day's dawn be dark.

May that day look for light, but find none;

neither may it see the eyelids of the dawn,

¹⁰ because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb,

and because it did not hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ Why did I not die when I came out from the womb?

Why did I not perish when my mother bore me?

¹² Why did her knees welcome me?

Why did her breasts receive me so that I should suck?

¹³ For now I would have been lying down quietly.

I would have slept and been at rest

¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth,

who built up tombs for themselves that are now in ruins.

¹⁵ Or I would have been lying down with princes who once had gold,

who had filled their houses with silver.

¹⁶ Or perhaps I would have been stillborn,

like infants that never see the light.

¹⁷ There the wicked cease from trouble;

there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸ There the prisoners are at ease together;

they do not hear the voice of the slave driver.

¹⁹ Both small and great people are there;

the servant is free from his master there.

²⁰ Why is light given to him who suffers?

Why is life given to the one who is bitter in soul,

²¹ to one who longs for death without it coming;

to one who digs for it more than for hidden treasure?

²² Why is light given to one who rejoices very much

and is glad when he finds the grave?

²³ Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,

a man whom God has hedged in?

²⁴ For my sighing happens instead of eating;

my groaning is poured out like water.

²⁵ For the thing that I feared has come upon me;

what I was afraid of has come to me.

²⁶ I am not at ease, I am not quiet, and I have no rest;

trouble comes instead."

Chapter 4

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

² If anyone tries to speak with you, will you be impatient?

But who can stop himself from speaking?

³ See, you have instructed many;

you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴ Your words have supported him who was falling;

you have made feeble knees strong.

⁵ But now trouble has come to you, and you are weary;

it touches you, and you are troubled.

⁶ Is not your fear your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷ Think about this, please: Who has ever perished when innocent?

Or when were the upright people ever cut off?

⁸ According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity

and sow trouble reap it.

⁹ By the breath of God they perish;

by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

¹⁰ The roaring of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,

the teeth of the young lions—they are broken.

¹¹ The old lion perishes for lack of victims;

the cubs of the lioness are scattered everywhere.

¹² Now a certain matter was secretly brought to me,

and my ear received a whisper about it.

¹³ Then came thoughts from visions in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people.

¹⁴ It was at night when fear and trembling came upon me,

and all my bones shook.

¹⁵ Then a spirit passed before my face,

and the hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶ The spirit stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, and I heard a voice that said,

¹⁷ "Can a mortal man be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸ See, if God puts no trust in his servants;

if he accuses his angels of folly,

¹⁹ how much more is this true of those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed sooner than a moth?

²⁰ Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

they perish forever without anyone noticing them.

²¹ Are not their tent cords plucked up among them?

They die; they die without wisdom.

Chapter 5

¹ Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

² For anger kills the foolish;

jealousy causes the death of the silly.

³ I have seen a foolish person taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his home.

⁴ His children are far from safety;

they are crushed in the city gate.

There is no one to rescue them.

⁵ The hungry eat up their harvest;

they even take it from among the thorns.

The thirsty pant for their wealth.

⁶ For difficulties do not come out from the soil;

neither does trouble sprout from the ground.

⁷ Yet, mankind is born for trouble,

just as sparks fly upward.

⁸ But as for me, I would turn to God himself;

to him I would commit my cause—

⁹ he who does great and unsearchable things,

marvelous things without number.

¹⁰ He gives rain on the earth,

and sends water on the fields.

¹¹ He does this in order to set up on high those who are low;

to raise to safety those who mourn.

¹² He breaks the plans of crafty people,

so that their hands cannot achieve success.

¹³ He traps wise people in their own crafty actions;

the plans of twisted people are hurried to their end.

¹⁴ They encounter darkness in the daytime,

and grope at noonday as if it were night.

¹⁵ But he saves the poor person from the sword in their mouths

and the needy person from the hand of mighty people.

¹⁶ So the poor person has hope,

and injustice shuts her own mouth.

¹⁷ See, blessed is the man whom God corrects;

therefore, do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸ For he inflicts pain and then binds up;

he wounds and then his hands heal.

¹⁹ He will rescue you out of six troubles;

indeed, in seven troubles, no evil will touch you.

²⁰ In famine he will ransom you from death,

and in war from the hands of the sword.

²¹ You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue;

and you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²² You will laugh at destruction and famine,

and you will not be afraid of beasts of the earth.

²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones in your field,

and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴ You will know that your tent is in safety;

you will visit your sheepfold and you will not miss anything.

²⁵ You will also know that your seed will be great,

that your descendants will be like the grass on the ground.

²⁶ You will come to your grave at a full age,

like a stack of grain bundles that goes up at its time.

²⁷ See, we have examined this matter; it is like this;

listen to it, and know it for yourself."

Chapter 6

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "Oh, if only my anguish were weighed;

if only all my calamity were laid in the balance!

³ For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas.

That is why my words were reckless.

⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty are in me,

my spirit drinks up the poison;

the terrors of God have arranged themselves in array against me.

⁵ Does the wild donkey bray in despair when he has grass?

Or does the ox low in hunger when it has fodder?

⁶ Can that which has no taste be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷ I refuse to touch them;

they are like disgusting food to me.

⁸ Oh, that I might have my request;

oh, that God would grant me the thing I long for:

⁹ that it would please God to crush me once,

that he would set his hand free and cut me off from this life!

¹⁰ May this still be my consolation—

even if I rejoice in pain that does not lessen:

that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ What is my strength, that I should continue to hope?

What is my end, that I should prolong my life?

¹² Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh made of bronze?

¹³ Is it not true that I have no help in myself,

and that wisdom has been driven out of me?

¹⁴ To the person who is about to faint, faithfulness should be shown by his friend;

even to him who abandons the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ But my brothers have acted as deceitfully to me as a desert streambed,

as channels of water that pass away to nothing,

¹⁶ which are darkened because of ice over them,

and because of the snow that hides itself in them.

¹⁷ When they thaw out, they vanish;

when it is hot, they melt out of their place.

¹⁸ The caravans that travel by their way turn aside for water;

they wander into wasteland and then perish.

¹⁹ Caravans from Tema looked there,

while companies of Sheba hoped in them.

²⁰ They were disappointed because they had been confident of finding water.

They went there, but they were put to shame.

²¹ For now you friends are nothing to me;

you see my dreadful situation and are afraid.

²² Did I say to you, 'Give something to me'

or, 'Offer me a bribe from your wealth'

²³ or, 'Save me from my adversary's hand'

or, 'Ransom me from the hand of oppressors'?

²⁴ Teach me, and I will hold my peace;

make me understand where I have been wrong.

²⁵ How painful are upright words!

But your arguments, how do they actually rebuke me?

²⁶ Do you plan to ignore my words,

treating the words of a desperate man like the wind?

²⁷ Indeed, you cast lots for a fatherless child,

and haggle over your friend like merchandise.

²⁸ Now, therefore, please look at me,

for surely I would not lie to your face.

²⁹ Relent, I beg you; let there be no injustice with you;

Indeed, relent, for my cause is just.

³⁰ Is there evil on my tongue?

Cannot my mouth detect destructive things?

Chapter 7

¹ Does not man have hard labor on earth?

Are not his days like the days of a hired man?

² Like a slave earnestly desires the shadows of evening,

like a hired man looks for his wages—

³ so I have been assigned months of emptiness;

I have been given trouble-filled nights.

⁴ When I lie down, I say to myself,

'When will I get up and when will the night be gone?'

I am full of tossing to and fro until the day's dawning.

⁵ My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;

the sores in my skin harden up and then dissolve and run afresh.

⁶ My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;

they pass without hope.

⁷ God, call to mind that my life is only a breath;

my eye will no more see good.

⁸ The eye of God, who sees me, will see me no more;

God's eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.

⁹ As a cloud is consumed and vanishes away,

so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more.

¹⁰ He will return no more to his house;

neither will his place know him again.

¹¹ Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹² Am I the sea or a sea monster

that you place a guard over me?

¹³ When I say, 'My bed will comfort me,

and my couch will ease my complaint,'

¹⁴ then you frighten me with dreams

and terrify me through visions,

¹⁵ so that my soul would choose strangling

and death rather than preserving these bones of mine.

¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not wish to always be alive;

let me alone, for my days are useless.

¹⁷ What is man that you should pay attention to him,

that you should set your mind on him,

¹⁸ that you should observe him every morning

and test him every moment?

¹⁹ How long will it be before you look away from me,

before you let me alone long enough for me to swallow down my own saliva?

²⁰ Even if I have sinned, what would that do to you,

you who watch men?

Why have you made a target of me,

so that I am a burden for you?

²¹ Why do you not pardon my transgression

and take away my iniquity?

For now will I lie down in the dust;

you will seek me carefully, but I will not exist."

Chapter 8

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

² "How long will you say these things?

How long will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

³ Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert righteousness?

⁴ Your children have sinned against him;

we know this, for he gave them into the hand of their sins.

⁵ But suppose you diligently sought God

and sought the favor of the Almighty.

⁶ If you are pure and upright,

then he would surely stir himself on your behalf

and restore you to your rightful place.

⁷ Even though your beginning was small,

still your final condition would be much greater.

⁸ Please ask the former generations,

and give your attention to what our ancestors learned.

⁹ (We were only born yesterday and know nothing

because our days on earth are a shadow.)

¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you?

Will they not speak words from their hearts?

¹¹ Can papyrus grow without a marsh?

Can reeds grow without water?

¹² While they are still green and not cut down,

they wither before any other plant.

¹³ So also are the paths of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless will perish.

¹⁴ His confidence will break apart,

and his trust is as weak as a spider's web.

¹⁵ He leans on his house, but it will not support him;

he takes hold of it, but it does not stand.

¹⁶ Under the sun he is green,

and his shoots go out over his entire garden.

¹⁷ His roots are wrapped about the heaps of stone;

they look for good places among the rocks.

¹⁸ But if this person is destroyed out of his place,

then that place will deny him and say, 'I never saw you.'

¹⁹ See, this is the "joy" of such a person's behavior;

other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place.

²⁰ See, God will not reject an innocent man;

neither will he take the hand of evildoers.

²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

your lips with shouting.

²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame;

the tent of the wicked will be no more."

Chapter 9

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "I truly know that this is so.

But how can a person be in the right with God?

³ If he wants to argue with God,

he cannot answer him once in a thousand times.

⁴ God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;

who has ever hardened himself against him and succeeded?—

⁵ he who removes the mountains without warning anyone

when he overturns them in his anger—

⁶ he who shakes the earth out of its place

and sets its pillars trembling.

⁷ It is the same God who tells the sun not to rise, and it does not,

and who covers up the stars,

⁸ who by himself stretches out the heavens

and tramples down the waves of the sea,

⁹ who makes the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades,

and the constellations of the south.

¹⁰ He does great and unsearchable things,

and wonderful things that cannot be counted.

¹¹ See, he goes by me, and I do not see him;

he passes on, but I do not understand him.

¹² If he takes something away, who can stop him?

Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'

¹³ God will not withdraw his anger;

the helpers of Rahab bow beneath him.

¹⁴ How much less could I answer him,

could I choose words to reason with him?

¹⁵ Even if I were righteous, I could not answer him;

I could only plead for mercy with my judge.

¹⁶ Even if I called and he answered me,

I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

¹⁷ For he breaks me with a tempest

and multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸ He does not allow me to regain my breath;

but he fills me with bitterness.

¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, behold, he is mighty!

If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?

²⁰ Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;

and though I am blameless, my words would prove me to be guilty.

²¹ I am blameless, but I do not care any more about myself;

I despise my own life.

²² It makes no difference, which is why I say

that he destroys blameless people and wicked people together.

²³ When a whip suddenly kills,

he mocks the despair of the innocent.

²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of wicked people;

God covers the faces of its judges.

If it is not he who does it, then who is it?

²⁵ My days are swifter than a running messenger;

my days flee away; they see no good anywhere.

²⁶ They are as fast as papyrus reed boats,

and as fast as the eagle that swoops down on its victim.

²⁷ If I said that I would forget about my complaints,

that I would take off my sad face and be happy,

²⁸ I would be afraid of all my sorrows

because I know that you will not consider me innocent.

²⁹ I will be condemned;

why, then, should I try in vain?

³⁰ If I washed myself with snow water

and made my hands ever so clean,

³¹ God would plunge me in a ditch,

and my own clothes would be disgusted with me.

³² For God is not a man, as I am, that I could answer him,

that we could come together in court.

³³ There is no judge between us

who might lay his hand upon us both.

³⁴ There is no other judge who could take God's rod off me,

who could keep his terror from frightening me.

³⁵ Then would I speak up and not fear him.

But as things are now, I cannot do that.

Chapter 10

¹ I am weary of my life;

I will give free expression to my complaint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

² I will say to God, 'Do not merely condemn me;

show me why you accuse me.

³ Is it good to you that you should oppress me,

to despise the labor of your hands

while you smile on the plans of the wicked?

⁴ Do you have eyes of flesh?

Do you see like a man sees?

⁵ Are your days like the days of mankind

or your years like the years of people,

⁶ that you inquire after my iniquity

and search after my sin,

⁷ although you know I am not guilty

and there is no one who can rescue me from your hand?

⁸ Your hands have framed and fashioned me

together round about, yet you are destroying me.

⁹ Call to mind, I beg you, that you have fashioned me like clay;

will you bring me into dust again?

¹⁰ Have you not poured me out like milk

and curdled me like cheese?

¹¹ You have clothed me with skin and flesh

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

¹² You have granted me life and covenant faithfulness;

your care has guarded my spirit.

¹³ Yet these things you hid in your heart—

I know that this is what you were thinking:

¹⁴ that if I sinned, you would notice it;

you would not acquit me of my iniquity.

¹⁵ If I have acted wickedly, woe to me;

and even if I acted righteously,

I could not lift up my head,

since I am filled with disgrace—

see my affliction!

¹⁶ If my head were lifted up,

you would stalk me like a lion;

and again you would show yourself with marvellous acts of power against me.

¹⁷ You bring new witnesses against me

and increase your anger against me;

you attack me with fresh armies.

¹⁸ Why, then, have you brought me out of the womb?

I wish I had died and that no eye had ever seen me.

¹⁹ I would have been as though I had never existed;

I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰ Are not my days only a few? Stop then,

let me alone, so that I may have a little rest

²¹ before I go from where I will not return,

to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death,

²² the land that is as dark as darkness,

the land of the shadow of death, without any order,

where the light is like darkness.'"

Chapter 11

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

² "Should not such a multitude of words be answered?

Should this man, so full of talk, be acquitted?

³ Should your boasting make others remain silent?

When you mock, will no one make you feel ashamed?

⁴ For you say to God, 'My beliefs are pure,

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 sound wisdom has two sides.

Know then that God demands from you less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷ Can you understand God by searching for him?

Can you comprehend the Almighty perfectly?

⁸ The matter is as high as heaven; what can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth,

and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ If he passes through and shuts anyone up,

if he calls an assembly, then who can stop him?

¹¹ For he knows deceitful people;

when he sees iniquity, does he not notice it?

¹² But foolish people will gain understanding

when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.

¹³ But suppose that you set your heart right

and reach out with your hands toward God;

¹⁴ suppose that iniquity is in your hand,

but that you put it far away from you,

and do not let unrighteousness live in your tents.

¹⁵ Then you will certainly lift up your face without a sign of shame;

indeed, you will be steadfast and will not fear.

¹⁶ You will forget your trouble;

you will remember it only like waters that have flowed away.

¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than the noonday;

though there be darkness, it will become like the morning.

¹⁸ You will be secure because there is hope;

indeed, you will find safety about you and will take your rest in safety.

¹⁹ Also you will lie down in rest, and none will make you afraid;

indeed, many will seek your favor.

²⁰ But the eyes of wicked people will fail;

they will have no refuge;

their only hope will be a last gasp of life."

Chapter 12

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "No doubt you are the people;

wisdom will die with you.

³ But I have understanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ I am something for my neighbor to laugh at—

I, one who called on God and who was answered by him!

I, a just and blameless man—I am now something to laugh at.

⁵ In the thought of someone who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune;

he thinks in a way that brings more misfortune to those whose foot is slipping.

⁶ The tents of robbers prosper,

and those who provoke God feel secure;

their own hands are their gods.

⁷ But now ask the animals, and they will teach you;

ask the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you.

⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

the fish of the sea will declare to you.

⁹ Which animal among all these does not know

that the hand of Yahweh has done this?

¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

¹¹ Does not the ear test words

just as the palate tastes its food?

¹² With aged men is wisdom;

in length of days is understanding.

¹³ With God are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴ See, he breaks things down, and they cannot be built again;

if he imprisons someone, there can be no release.

¹⁵ See, if he withholds the waters, they dry up;

and if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶ With him are strength and wisdom;

people who are deceived and the deceiver are both in his power.

¹⁷ He leads counselors away barefoot in sorrow;

he turns judges into fools.

¹⁸ He removes the bond of kings;

he wraps a cloth about their waists.

¹⁹ He leads priests away barefoot in sorrow

and overthrows mighty people.

²⁰ He removes the speech of those who had been trusted

and takes away the understanding of the elders.

²¹ He pours contempt upon princes

and unfastens the belt of the strong.

²² He reveals the deep things of darkness

and brings utter darkness into the light.

²³ He makes nations strong, and he also destroys them;

He enlarges nations, and he also leads them along as prisoners.

²⁴ He takes away understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth;

he causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no path.

²⁵ They grope in the dark without light;

he makes them stagger like a drunk man.

Chapter 13

¹ See, my eye has seen all this;

my ear has heard and understood it.

² What you know, the same I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

³ However, I would rather speak with the Almighty;

I wish to reason with God.

⁴ But you whitewash the truth with lies;

you are all worthless healers.

⁵ Oh, that you would altogether hold your peace!

That would be your wisdom.

⁶ Hear now my own reasoning;

listen to the pleading of my own lips.

⁷ Will you speak unrighteousness for God,

and will you talk deceitfully for him?

⁸ Will you show him partiality?

Will you argue the case for God?

⁹ Will it be good for you when he examines you?

Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?

¹⁰ He would surely reprove you

if in secret you showed partiality.

¹¹ Will not his majesty terrify you,

and the dread of him fall upon you?

¹² Your memorable sayings are proverbs made of ashes;

your defenses are defenses made of clay.

¹³ Hold your peace, let me alone, so that I may speak,

let come what may on me.

¹⁴ I will take my own flesh in my teeth;

I will take my life in my hands.

¹⁵ See, if he kills me, I will have no hope left;

nevertheless, I will defend my ways before him.

¹⁶ This will be the reason for my deliverance,

for no godless person would come before him.

¹⁷ God, listen carefully to my speech;

let my declaration come to your ears.

¹⁸ See now, I have set my defense in order;

I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁹ Who is the one who would argue against me in court?

If you came to do so, and if I were proved wrong, then I would be silent and die.

²⁰ God, do only two things for me,

and then I will not hide myself from your face:

²¹ withdraw your oppressive hand from me,

and do not let your terrors make me afraid.

²² Then call me, and I will answer;

or let me speak to you, and you answer me.

²³ How many are my iniquities and sins?

Let me know my transgression and my sin.

²⁴ Why do you hide your face from me

and treat me like your enemy?

²⁵ Will you cause a driven leaf to tremble?

Will you pursue dry stubble?

²⁶ For you write down bitter things against me;

you make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷ You also put my feet in the stocks;

you closely watch all my paths;

you examine the ground where the soles of my feet have walked

²⁸ although I am like a rotten thing that wastes away,

like a garment that moths have eaten.

Chapter 14

¹ Man, who is born of woman,

lives only a few days and is full of trouble.

² He sprouts from the ground like a flower and is cut down;

he flees like a shadow and does not last.

³ Do you look at any of these?

Do you bring me into judgment with you?

⁴ Who can bring something clean out of something unclean?

No one.

⁵ Man's days are determined.

The number of his months is with you;

you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.

⁶ Look away from him that he may rest,

so that he may enjoy his day like a hired man if he can do so.

⁷ There can be hope for a tree;

if it is cut down, it might sprout again,

so that its tender stalk does not disappear.

⁸ Though its root grows old in the earth,

and its stump dies in the ground,

⁹ yet even if it only smells water, it will bud

and send out branches like a plant.

¹⁰ But man dies; he becomes weak;

indeed, man stops breathing, and then where is he?

¹¹ As water disappears from a lake,

and as a river becomes dry and dries up,

¹² so people lie down and do not rise again.

Until the heavens are no more, they will not awake

nor be roused out of their sleep.

¹³ Oh, that you would hide me away in Sheol away from troubles,

and that you would keep me in private until your wrath is over,

that you would set me a fixed time to stay there and then call me to mind!

¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?

All my time of service there I will wait

until my release should come.

¹⁵ You would call, and I would answer you.

You would have a desire for the work of your hands.

¹⁶ You would number and care for my footsteps;

you would not keep track of my sin.

¹⁷ My transgression would be sealed up in a bag;

you would cover up my iniquity.

¹⁸ But even mountains fall and crumble to nothing;

even rocks are moved out of their place;

¹⁹ the waters wear down the stones;

their flooding washes away the dust of the earth.

Like this, you destroy the hope of man.

²⁰ You forever defeat him, and he passes away;

you change his face and send him away to die.

²¹ If his sons are honored, he does not know it;

and if they are brought low, he does not see it.

²² He feels only the pain of his own body,

and he mourns for himself.

Chapter 15

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

² "Should a wise man answer with useless knowledge

and fill himself with the east wind?

³ Should he reason with unprofitable talk

or with speeches with which he can do no good?

⁴ Indeed, you diminish respect for God;

you obstruct meditation before him,

⁵ for your iniquity teaches your mouth;

you choose to have the tongue of the crafty.

⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;

indeed, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ Are you the first man that was born?

Were you brought into existence before the hills?

⁸ Have you heard the secret knowledge of God?

Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹ What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not also in us?

¹⁰ With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men

who are much older than your father.

¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you,

the words that are gentle toward you?

¹² Why does your heart carry you away?

Why do your eyes flash,

¹³ so that you turn your spirit against God

and bring out such words from your mouth?

¹⁴ What is man that he should be clean?

What is he who is born of a woman that he should be righteous?

¹⁵ See, God puts no trust even in his holy ones;

indeed, the heavens are not clean in his sight;

¹⁶ how much less clean is one who is abhorrent and corrupt,

a man who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷ I will show you; listen to me;

I will announce to you the things I have seen,

¹⁸ the things that wise men have passed down from their fathers,

the things that their ancestors did not hide.

¹⁹ These were their ancestors, to whom alone the land was given,

and among whom no stranger ever passed.

²⁰ The wicked man twists in pain all his days,

the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor to suffer.

²¹ A sound of terrors is in his ears;

while he is in prosperity, the destroyer will come upon him.

²² He does not think that he will return out of darkness;

he has been marked out for the sword.

²³ He goes to various places for bread, saying, 'Where is it?'

He knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

²⁴ Distress and anguish make him afraid;

they prevail against him, as a king ready for battle.

²⁵ Because he has reached out with his hand against God

and has behaved proudly against the Almighty,

²⁶ this wicked man runs at God with a stiff neck,

with a thick shield.

²⁷ This is true, even though he has covered his face with his fat

and gathered fat on his loins,

²⁸ and has lived in desolate cities;

in houses which no man inhabits now

and which were ready to become heaps.

²⁹ He will not be rich; his wealth will not last

and his possessions will not spread over the land.

³⁰ He will not depart out of darkness; ¹

a flame will dry up his stalks;

at the breath of God's mouth he will go away. ²

³¹ Let him not trust in useless things, deceiving himself;

for uselessness will be his reward.

³² It will happen before his time should come to die;

his palm branch will not be green.

³³ He will drop his unripe grapes like a grapevine;

he will cast off his flowers like the olive tree.

³⁴ For the company of godless people will be barren;

fire will consume their tents of bribery.

³⁵ They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity;

their womb conceives deceit."

¹Many modern translations leave out He will not depart out of darkness , because they believe that this expression was mistakenly copied from 15:22.

²The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have He will go away by the breath of his mouth , which some modern translations interpret as meaning the breath of God's mouth . However, other modern translations follow the ancient Greek translation of the ancient Hebrew copies, which reads, his flower will fall with the wind .

Chapter 16

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "I have heard many such things;

you are all troublesome comforters.

³ Will useless words ever have an end?

What is wrong with you that you answer like this?

⁴ I also could speak as you do,

if you were in my place;

I could collect and join words together against you

and shake my head at you in mockery.

⁵ I would strengthen you with my mouth,

and the quivering of my lips will bring you relief!

⁶ If I speak, my grief is not lessened;

if I keep from speaking, how am I helped?

⁷ But now, God, you have made me weary;

you have made all my family desolate.

⁸ You have made me dry up,

which itself is a witness against me;

the leanness of my body rises up against me,

and it testifies against my face.

⁹ God has torn me in his wrath and persecuted me;

He grinds his teeth in rage;

my enemy fastens his eyes on me as he tears me apart.

¹⁰ People have gaped with open mouth at me;

they have hit me on the cheek with contempt;

they have gathered together against me.

¹¹ God hands me over to ungodly people,

and throws me into the hands of wicked people.

¹² I was at ease, and he broke me apart.

Indeed, he has taken me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;

he has also set me up as his target.

¹³ His archers surround me all around;

God pierces my kidneys and does not spare me;

he pours out my bile on the ground.

¹⁴ He smashes through my wall again and again;

he runs upon me like a warrior.

¹⁵ I have sewn sackcloth on my skin;

I have thrust my horn into the ground.

¹⁶ My face is red with weeping;

on my eyelids is utter darkness,

¹⁷ although there is no violence in my hands,

and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ Earth, do not cover up my blood;

let my cry have no resting place.

¹⁹ Even now, see, my witness is in heaven;

he who vouches for me is on high.

²⁰ My friends scoff at me,

but my eye pours out tears to God.

²¹ I ask for that witness in heaven to argue for this man with God

as a man does with his neighbor!

²² For when a few years have passed,

I will go to a place from where I will not return.

Chapter 17

¹ My spirit is broken, and my days are over;

the grave is ready for me.

² Surely there are mockers with me;

my eye must always see their provocation.

³ Give now a pledge, be a guarantee for me with yourself;

who else is there who will help me?

⁴ For you, God, have kept their hearts from understanding;

therefore, you will not exalt them over me.

⁵ He who denounces his friends for a reward,

the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶ But he has made me a byword of the people;

they spit in my face.

⁷ My eye is also dim because of sorrow;

all my members are as thin as shadows.

⁸ Upright men will be appalled by this;

the innocent man will stir himself up against godless men.

⁹ The righteous man will keep to his way;

he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ But as for you all, come on now;

I will not find a wise man among you.

¹¹ My days are past; my plans are shattered,

and so are the desires of my heart. ¹

¹² These people, these mockers, change the night into day;

light is near to darkness.

¹³ If the only home I hope for is Sheol;

and if I have spread my couch in the darkness;

¹⁴ and if I have said to the pit, 'You are my father,'

and to the worm, 'You are my mother or my sister,'

¹⁵ where then is my hope?

As for my hope, who can see any?

¹⁶ Will hope go down with me to the gates of Sheol

when we descend to the dust?"

¹Some modern translations have My days are past, as are my plans. The wishes of my heart are finished or ... the strings of my heart have been broken . Some translations have My days are past; my plans are over, as are the wishes of my heart.

Chapter 18

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

² "When will you stop your talk?

Consider, and afterwards we will speak.

³ Why are we regarded as cattle,

stupid in your sight?

⁴ You who tear at yourself in your anger,

should the earth be abandoned for you

or should the rocks be removed out of their places?

⁵ Indeed, the light of the wicked person will be put out;

the spark of his fire will not shine.

⁶ The light will be dark in his tent;

his lamp above him will be put out.

⁷ The steps of his strength will be made short;

his own plans will cast him down.

⁸ For he will be thrown into a net by his own feet;

he will walk into a pitfall.

⁹ A trap will take him by the heel;

a snare will lay hold on him.

¹⁰ A noose is hidden for him on the ground;

and a trap for him in the way.

¹¹ Terrors will make him afraid on every side;

they will chase him at every step.

¹² His wealth will turn into hunger,

and calamity will be ready at his side.

¹³ The parts of his body will be devoured;

indeed, the firstborn of death will devour his parts.

¹⁴ He is torn from the safety of his tent

and marched off to the king of terrors.

¹⁵ People not his own will live in his tent

after they see that sulfur is scattered within his home.

¹⁶ His roots will be dried up beneath;

above will his branch be cut off.

¹⁷ His memory will perish from the earth;

he will have no name in the street.

¹⁸ He will be driven from light into darkness

and be chased out of this world.

¹⁹ He has no offspring or descendants among his people,

no survivor where he once lived.

²⁰ Those who live in the west are appalled at what happens to him one day,

and horror seizes those who live in the east.

²¹ Surely such are the homes of unrighteous people,

the places of those who do not know God."

Chapter 19

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "How long will you torment me

and crush me with words?

³ These ten times you have insulted me;

you are not ashamed that you have treated me harshly.

⁴ If it is indeed true that I have erred,

my error remains my own concern.

⁵ If indeed you will exalt yourselves above me

and use my humiliation against me,

⁶ then you should know that God has done wrong to me

and has caught me in his net.

⁷ See, I cry out, "Violence!" but I get no answer.

I call out for help, but there is no justice.

⁸ He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,

and he has set darkness in my path.

⁹ He has stripped me of my glory,

and he has taken the crown from my head.

¹⁰ He has broken me down on every side, and I am gone;

he has pulled up my hope like a tree.

¹¹ He has also kindled his wrath against me;

he regards me as one of his adversaries.

¹² His troops come on together;

they cast up siege mounds against me

and encamp around my tent.

¹³ He has put my brothers far from me;

my acquaintances are wholly alienated from me.

¹⁴ My kinsfolk have failed me;

my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵ Those who once stayed as guests in my house and my female servants regard me as a stranger;

I am an alien in their sight.

¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer

although I seek his favor with my mouth.

¹⁷ My breath is offensive to my wife;

I am even detestable to those who were born from my mother's womb.

¹⁸ Even young children despise me;

if I rise to speak, they speak against me.

¹⁹ All my familiar friends abhor me;

those whom I love have turned against me.

²⁰ My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh;

I survive only by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, my friends,

for the hand of God has touched me.

²² Why do you pursue me like God does?

Will you ever be satisfied with my flesh?

²³ Oh, that my words were now written down!

Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!

²⁴ Oh, that with an iron pen and lead

they were engraved in the rock forever!

²⁵ But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at last he will stand on the earth;

²⁶ after my skin, that is, this body, is destroyed,

then in my flesh I will see God.

²⁷ I will see him with my own eyes—I, and not someone else.

My heart fails within me.

²⁸ If you say, 'How we will persecute him!

The root of his troubles lies in him,'

²⁹ then be afraid of the sword,

because wrath brings the punishment of the sword,

so that you may know there is a judgment."

Chapter 20

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

² "My thoughts make me answer quickly

because of the worry that is in me.

³ I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,

but a spirit from my understanding answers me.

⁴ Do you not know this fact from ancient times,

when God placed man on earth:

⁵ the triumph of a wicked man is short,

and the joy of a godless man lasts only for a moment?

⁶ Though his height reaches up to the heavens,

and his head reaches to the clouds,

⁷ yet such a person will perish forever like his own dung;

those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'

⁸ He will fly away like a dream and will not be found;

indeed, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.

⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more;

his place will see him no longer.

¹⁰ His children will apologize to poor people;

his hands will have to give back his wealth.

¹¹ His bones are full of youthful strength,

but it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² Although wickedness is sweet in his mouth,

although he hides it under his tongue,

¹³ although he holds it there and does not let it go

but keeps it still in his mouth—

¹⁴ the food in his intestines turns bitter;

it becomes the poison of asps inside him.

¹⁵ He swallows down riches, but he will vomit them up again;

God will cast them out of his stomach.

¹⁶ He will suck the poison of asps;

the viper's tongue will kill him.

¹⁷ He will not enjoy the streams,

the torrents of honey and butter.

¹⁸ He will give back the fruit of his labor and will not be able to swallow it;

he will not enjoy the wealth earned by his commerce.

¹⁹ For he has oppressed and neglected poor people;

he has violently taken away houses that he did not build.

²⁰ Because he has known no satisfaction in his belly,

he will not be able to save anything in which he takes pleasure.

²¹ There is nothing left that he did not devour;

therefore his prosperity will not be permanent.

²² In the fullness of his abundance he will fall into trouble;

the hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,

God will throw the fierceness of his wrath on him;

God will rain it down on him while he is eating.

²⁴ Although that man will flee from the iron weapon,

a bow of bronze will shoot him.

²⁵ He pulls it out of his back

and the gleaming point comes out of his liver.

Terrors come over him.

²⁶ Complete darkness is reserved for his treasures;

a fire not fanned will devour him;

it will consume what is left in his tent.

²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,

and the earth will rise up against him as a witness.

²⁸ The wealth of his house will vanish;

his goods will flow away on the day of God's wrath.

²⁹ This is the wicked man's portion from God,

the heritage decreed for him by God."

Chapter 21

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "Listen carefully to my words,

and let this be the comfort you offer to me.

³ Put up with me, and I also will speak;

after I have spoken, mock on.

⁴ As for me, is my complaint to a person?

Why should I not be impatient?

⁵ Look at me and be appalled,

and lay your hand upon your mouth.

⁶ When I think about my sufferings, I am terrified,

and trembling seizes my body.

⁷ Why do wicked people continue to live,

become old, and grow mighty in power?

⁸ Their descendants are established with them in their sight,

and their offspring are established before their eyes.

⁹ Their houses are safe from fear;

neither is the rod of God on them.

¹⁰ Their bull breeds; it does not fail to do so;

their cow gives birth and does not lose her calf prematurely.

¹¹ They send out their little ones like a flock,

and their children dance.

¹² They sing to the tambourine and harp

and rejoice with the music of the flute.

¹³ They spend their days in prosperity,

and they go down quietly to Sheol.

¹⁴ They say to God, 'Depart from us

for we do not wish any knowledge of your ways.

¹⁵ What is the Almighty, that we should worship him?

What profit would we get if we prayed to him?'

¹⁶ See, is not their prosperity in their own hands?

I have nothing to do with the advice of wicked people.

¹⁷ How often is it that the lamp of wicked people is put out,

or that their calamity comes upon them?

How often does it happen that God distributes sorrows to them in his anger?

¹⁸ How often is it that they become like stubble before the wind

or like chaff that the storm carries away?

¹⁹ You say, 'God lays up one's iniquity for his children.'

Let him pay it himself, so that he might know it.

²⁰ Let his eyes see his own destruction,

and let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹ For what does he care about his family after him

when the number of his months is cut off?

²² Can anyone teach God knowledge,

since he judges even those who are high?

²³ One man dies in his full strength,

being completely quiet and at ease.

²⁴ His body is full of milk,

and the marrow of his bones is moist.

²⁵ Another man dies in bitterness of soul,

one who has never experienced anything good.

²⁶ They lie down alike in the dust;

the worms cover them both.

²⁷ See, I know your thoughts,

and your schemes to do violence to me.

²⁸ For you say, 'Where now is the house of the prince?

Where is the tent in which the wicked man once lived?'

²⁹ Have you never asked traveling people?

Do you not know the evidence they can tell,

³⁰ that the wicked man is kept from the day of calamity,

and that he is led away from the day of wrath?

³¹ Who will condemn the wicked man's way to his face?

Who will repay him for what he has done?

³² Yet he will be borne to the grave;

men will keep watch over his tomb.

³³ The clods of the valley will be sweet to him;

all people will follow after him,

as there were innumerable people before him.

³⁴ How then do you comfort me with nonsense,

since in your answers there is nothing but falsehood?"

Chapter 22

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

² "Can a man be useful to God?

Can a wise man be useful to him?

³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous?

Is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?

⁴ Is it because of your reverence for him that he rebukes you

and takes you to judgment?

⁵ Is not your wickedness great?

Is there no end to your iniquities?

⁶ For you have demanded guarantee of a loan from your brother for no reason,

and you have stripped away clothing from the naked.

⁷ You have not given water to weary people to drink;

you have withheld bread from hungry people

⁸ although you, a mighty man, possessed the earth,

although you, an honored man, lived in it.

⁹ You have sent widows away empty;

the arms of the fatherless have been crushed.

¹⁰ Therefore, snares are all around you,

and sudden fear troubles you.

¹¹ There is darkness, so that you cannot see;

an abundance of waters covers you.

¹² Is not God in the heights of heaven?

Look at the height of the stars, how high they are!

¹³ You say, 'What does God know?

Can he judge through the thick darkness?

¹⁴ Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he does not see us;

he walks on the vault of heaven.'

¹⁵ Will you keep the old way

that wicked men have walked—

¹⁶ those who were snatched away before their time,

those whose foundations have washed away like a river,

¹⁷ those who said to God, 'Depart from us';

those who said, 'What can the Almighty do to us?'

¹⁸ Yet he filled their houses with good things;

the plans of wicked people are far from me.

¹⁹ Righteous people see their fate and are glad;

innocent people mock them.

²⁰ They say, 'Surely those who rose up against us are cut off;

fire has consumed their possessions.'

²¹ Now agree with God and be at peace with him;

in that way, good will come to you.

²² Receive, I beg you, instruction from his mouth;

store up his words in your heart.

²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up,

if you put unrighteousness far away from your tents.

²⁴ Lay your treasure down in the dust,

the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

²⁵ and the Almighty will be your treasure,

precious silver to you.

²⁶ For then you will take pleasure in the Almighty;

you will lift up your face to God.

²⁷ You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you;

you will pay your vows to him.

²⁸ You will also decree anything, and it will be confirmed for you;

light will shine on your paths.

²⁹ God humbles a proud man,

and he saves the one with humble eyes.

³⁰ He will rescue even the man who is not innocent;

who will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands."

Chapter 23

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "Even today my complaint is rebellion; ¹

my hand ² is heavy because of my groaning.

³ Oh, that I knew where I might find him!

Oh, that I might come to his place!

⁴ I would lay my case in order before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵ I would learn the words with which he would answer me

and would understand what he would say to me.

⁶ Would he argue against me in the greatness of his power?

No, he would pay attention to me.

⁷ There the upright person might argue with him.

In this way I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

⁸ See, I go eastward, but he is not there,

and westward, but I cannot find him.

⁹ To the north, where he is at work, but I cannot see him,

and to the south, where he hides himself so that I cannot see him.

¹⁰ But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come out like gold.

¹¹ My foot has held fast to his steps;

I have kept to his way and turned not aside.

¹² I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

¹³ But he is one of a kind, who can turn him back?

What he desires, he does.

¹⁴ For he carries out his decree against me;

there are many like them.

¹⁵ Therefore, I am terrified in his presence;

when I think about him, I am afraid of him.

¹⁶ For God has made my heart weak;

the Almighty has terrified me.

¹⁷ I have not been brought to an end by darkness,

because of the thick darkness that covers the gloom of my face.

¹Some ancient translations and many English translations have: bitter .

²Some copies have: his hand .

Chapter 24

¹ Why are times for judging wicked people not set by the Almighty?

Why do not those who are faithful to God see his days of judgment come?

² There are wicked people who remove boundary markers;

there are wicked people who take away flocks by force

and put them in their own pastures.

³ They drive away the donkey of those without fathers;

they take the widow's ox as a pledge.

⁴ They force needy people out of their path;

poor people of the earth all hide themselves from them.

⁵ See, these poor people go out to their work

like wild donkeys in the wilderness, looking carefully for food;

perhaps the Arabah will provide them food for their children.

⁶ They reap fodder in the field;

they glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷ They lie naked all night without clothing;

they have no covering in the cold.

⁸ They are wet with the showers of the mountains;

they lie next to large rocks because they have no shelter.

⁹ The fatherless is seized from the breast,

and they take a pledge against the poor.

¹⁰ But the poor people go about naked without clothing;

although they go hungry,

they carry bundles of grain belonging to other people.

¹¹ The poor people make oil within the walls of those wicked men;

they tread the wicked men's winepresses,

but they themselves suffer thirst.

¹² From out of the city the dying groan,

and the throat of the wounded cries out for help.

But God does not charge anyone with wrongdoing.

¹³ Some of these wicked people rebel against the light;

they know not its ways,

nor do they stay in its paths.

¹⁴ Before daylight the murderer rises

and he kills the poor and the needy;

in the night he is like a thief.

¹⁵ Also, the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight;

he says, 'No eye will see me.'

He disguises his face.

¹⁶ In the darkness they dig into houses;

but they shut themselves up in the daytime;

they do not care for the light.

¹⁷ For all of them, thick darkness is like the morning;

for they are friends with the terrors of thick darkness.

¹⁸ Swiftly they pass away, however, like foam on the surface of the waters;

their portion of the land is cursed;

no one goes to work in their vineyards.

¹⁹ As drought and heat melt away the snow into waters,

so Sheol takes away those who have sinned.

²⁰ The womb that bore him will forget him;

the worm will feed sweetly on him;

he will be remembered no more;

in this way, wickedness will be broken like a tree.

²¹ The wicked one devours the barren women who have not borne children;

he does no good to the widow.

²² Yet God drags away the mighty by his power;

he rises up and does not strengthen him in life.

²³ God gives him what he needs for security, and he is supported,

but his eyes are on his ways.

²⁴ These people are exalted; still, in only a little while, they will be gone;

indeed, they will be brought low; they will be gathered up like all the others;

they will be cut off like the tops of ears of grain.

²⁵ If it is not so, who can prove me to be a liar;

who can make my speech worth nothing?"

Chapter 25

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

² "Dominion and fear are with him;

he makes order in his high places of heaven.

³ Is there any end to the number of his armies?

Upon whom does his light not shine?

⁴ How then can man be righteous with God?

How can he who is born of a woman be clean, acceptable to him?

⁵ See, even the moon has no brightness to him;

the stars are not pure in his sight.

⁶ How much less man, who is a worm—

a son of man, who is a worm!"

Chapter 26

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "How you have helped one who has no power!

How you have saved the arm that has no strength!

³ How you have advised one who has no wisdom

and announced to him sound wisdom!

⁴ With whose help have you spoken these words?

Whose spirit was it that came out from you?

⁵ The dead are made to tremble,

those who are beneath the waters

and all who dwell in them.

⁶ Sheol is naked before God;

destruction itself has no covering against him.

⁷ He stretches out the northern skies

over the empty space,

and he hangs the earth over nothing.

⁸ He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,

but the clouds are not torn under them.

⁹ He covers the surface of the moon

and spreads his clouds on it.

¹⁰ He has engraved a circular boundary on the surface of the waters

as the line between light and darkness.

¹¹ The pillars of heaven tremble

and are astonished at his rebuke.

¹² He calmed the sea with his power;

by his understanding he shattered Rahab.

¹³ By his breath he made the skies clear;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

¹⁴ See, these are but the fringes of his ways;

how small a whisper do we hear of him!

Who can understand the thunder of his power?"

Chapter 27

¹ Job continued his discourse, and he said,

² "As surely as God lives, who has taken away my justice,

the Almighty, who made my life bitter,

³ while my life is yet in me,

and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

this is what I will do.

⁴ My lips will not speak wickedness,

neither will my tongue speak deceit;

⁵ I will never admit that you are right;

until I die I will never deny my integrity.

⁶ I hold fast to my righteousness and will not let it go;

my conscience will not accuse me so long as I live.

⁷ Let my enemy be like a wicked man;

let him who rises up against me be like an unrighteous man.

⁸ For what is the hope of a godless man when God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

⁹ Will God hear his cry

when trouble comes upon him?

¹⁰ Will he delight himself in the Almighty

and call upon God at all times?

¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

I will not conceal the thoughts of the Almighty.

¹² See, all of you have seen this yourselves;

why then have you become completely useless?

¹³ This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

the inheritance of the oppressor that he receives from the Almighty:

¹⁴ If his children multiply, it is for the sword;

his offspring will never have enough food.

¹⁵ Those who survive him will be buried by plague,

and their widows will make no lament for them.

¹⁶ Though the wicked man heaps up silver like the dust,

and heaps up clothing like clay,

¹⁷ he may heap up clothing, but righteous people will put it on,

and innocent people will divide up the silver among themselves.

¹⁸ He builds his house like a spider,

like a hut that a guard makes.

¹⁹ He lies down in bed rich, but he will not keep doing so;

he opens his eyes, and everything is gone.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like waters;

a storm takes him away in the night.

²¹ The east wind carries him away, and he leaves;

it sweeps him out of his place.

²² It throws itself at him and does not stop;

he tries to flee out of its hand.

²³ It claps its hands at him

and hisses him from his place.

Chapter 28

¹ Surely there is a mine for silver,

a place where they refine gold.

² Iron is taken out of the earth;

copper is smelted out of the stone.

³ A man sets an end to darkness

and searches out to the farthest limit

the stones in the blackest darkness.

⁴ He breaks open a shaft away from where people live,

places that are forgotten by anyone's foot.

He hangs far away from people; he swings to and fro.

⁵ As for the earth, out of which comes bread,

it is turned up below as if by fire.

⁶ Its stones are the place where sapphires are found,

and its dust contains gold.

⁷ No bird of prey knows the path to it,

nor has the falcon's eye seen it.

⁸ The proud animals have not walked such a path,

nor has the fierce lion passed there.

⁹ A man lays his hand on the flinty rock;

he overturns mountains by their roots.

¹⁰ He cuts out channels among the rocks;

his eye sees every valuable thing there.

¹¹ He ties up the streams so they do not run;

what is hidden there he brings out to the light.

¹² Where will wisdom be found?

Where is the place of understanding?

¹³ Man does not know its price;

neither is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep waters under the earth say, 'It is not in me';

the sea says, 'It is not with me.'

¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold;

neither can silver be weighed as its price.

¹⁶ It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,

with precious onyx or sapphire.

¹⁷ Gold and crystal cannot equal it in worth;

neither can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.

¹⁸ No mention is worth making of coral or jasper;

indeed, the price of wisdom is more than rubies.

¹⁹ The topaz of Cush does not equal it;

neither can it be valued in terms of pure gold.

²⁰ From where, then, comes wisdom?

Where is the place of understanding?

²¹ Wisdom is hidden from the eyes of all living things

and is kept hidden from the birds of the heavens.

²² Destruction and Death say,

'We have heard just a rumor about it with our ears.'

²³ God understands the way to it;

he knows its place.

²⁴ For he looks to the very ends of the earth

and sees under all the heavens.

²⁵ He made the force of the wind

and parceled out the waters by measure.

²⁶ He made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunder.

²⁷ Then he saw wisdom and announced it;

he established it, indeed, and he examined it.

²⁸ To people he said,

'See, the fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;

to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Chapter 29

¹ Job resumed speaking and said,

² "Oh, that I were as I was in the past months

when God cared for me,

³ when his lamp shined on my head,

and when I walked through darkness by his light.

⁴ Oh, that I were as I was in the ripeness of my days

when the friendship of God was on my tent,

⁵ when the Almighty was yet with me,

and my children were around me,

⁶ when my way was covered with cream,

and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

⁷ When I went out to the city gate,

when I sat in my place in the city square,

⁸ the young men saw me and kept their distance from me in respect,

and the aged people rose and stood for me.

⁹ The princes used to refrain from talking when I came;

they would lay their hand on their mouths.

¹⁰ The voices of the noblemen were hushed,

and their tongue clung to the roof of their mouths.

¹¹ For after their ears heard me, they would then bless me;

after their eyes saw me, they would then give witness to me and approve of me

¹² because I rescued the one who was poor when he cried out,

and the one who had no father when he had no one to help him.

¹³ The blessing of him who was about to perish came on me;

I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

my justice was like a robe and a turban.

¹⁵ I was eyes to blind people;

I was feet to lame people.

¹⁶ I was a father to needy people;

I would investigate the case even of one whom I did not know.

¹⁷ I broke the jaws of the unrighteous man;

I plucked the victim out from between his teeth.

¹⁸ Then I said, 'I will die in my nest;

I will multiply my days like the grains of sand.

¹⁹ My roots are spread out to the waters,

and dew lies all night on my branches.

²⁰ The honor in me is always fresh,

and the bow of my strength is always new in my hand.'

²¹ To me men listened; they waited for me;

they stayed silent to hear my advice.

²² After my words were done, they did not speak again;

my speech dropped like water on them.

²³ They always waited for me as they waited for rain;

they opened their mouth wide to drink in my words,

as they would do for the latter rain.

²⁴ I smiled on them when they did not expect it;

they did not reject the light of my face.

²⁵ I selected their way and sat as their chief;

I lived like a king in his army,

like one who comforts mourners.

Chapter 30

¹ Now those who are younger than I have nothing but mockery for me—

these young men whose fathers I would have refused to allow to work beside the dogs of my flock.

² Indeed, the strength of their fathers' hands, how could it have helped me—

men in whom the strength of their mature age had perished?

³ They were thin from poverty and hunger;

they gnawed at the dry ground in the darkness of wilderness and desolation.

⁴ They plucked saltwort and bushes' leaves;

the roots of the broom tree were their food.

⁵ They were driven out from among people

who shouted after them as one would shout after a thief.

⁶ So they had to live in river valleys,

in holes of the earth and of the rocks.

⁷ Among the bushes they brayed like donkeys

and they gathered together under the nettles.

⁸ They were the sons of fools, indeed, sons of nameless people!

They were driven out of the land with whips.

⁹ But now I have become the subject of their taunting song;

I have become a byword for them.

¹⁰ They abhor me and stand far off from me;

they do not refrain from spitting in my face.

¹¹ For God has unstrung the string to my bow and afflicted me,

and those who taunt me cast off restraint before my face.

¹² Upon my right hand rise the rabble;

they drive me away and

pile up against me their siege mounds.

¹³ They destroy my path;

they push forward disaster for me,

men who have no one to hold them back.

¹⁴ They come against me like an army through a wide hole in a city wall;

in the midst of the destruction they roll themselves in on me.

¹⁵ Terrors are turned upon me;

my honor is driven away as if by the wind;

my prosperity passes away as a cloud.

¹⁶ Now my life is pouring out from within me;

many days of suffering have laid hold on me.

¹⁷ In the night my bones in me are pierced;

the pains that gnaw at me take no rest.

¹⁸ God's great force has seized my clothing;

it wraps around me like the collar of my tunic.

¹⁹ He has thrown me into the mud;

I have become like dust and ashes.

²⁰ I cry to you, God, but you do not answer me;

I stand up, and you merely look at me.

²¹ You have changed and become cruel to me;

with the might of your hand you persecute me.

²² You lift me up to the wind and cause it to drive me along;

you throw me back and forth in a storm. ¹

²³ For I know that you will bring me to death,

to the house appointed for all the living.

²⁴ However, does no one reach out with his hand to beg for help when he falls?

Does no one in trouble call out for help?

²⁵ Did not I weep for him whose day is hard?

Did I not grieve for the needy man?

²⁶ When I hoped for good, then evil came;

when I waited for light, darkness came instead.

²⁷ My heart is troubled and does not rest;

days of affliction have come on me.

²⁸ I have gone about like one who was living in the dark,

but not because of the sun;

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

²⁹ I am a brother to jackals,

a companion of ostriches.

³⁰ My skin is black and falls away from me;

my bones are burned with heat.

³¹ Therefore my harp is tuned for songs of mourning,

my flute for the singing of those who wail.

¹Some modern translations have you dissolve me in a storm .

Chapter 31

¹ I have made a covenant with my eyes;

how then should I look with desire on a virgin?

² For what is the portion from God above,

the inheritance from the Almighty on high?

³ I used to think that calamity is for unrighteous people,

and that disaster is for those who behave wickedly.

⁴ Does not God see my ways

and count all my steps?

⁵ If I have walked with falsehood,

if my foot has hurried to deceit,

⁶ let me be weighed in an even balance

so that God will know my integrity.

⁷ If my step has turned aside from the way,

if my heart has gone after my eyes,

if any spot has stuck to my hands,

⁸ then let me sow, and let another eat,

and let my crops be uprooted.

⁹ If my heart has been deceived by a woman,

if I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door,

¹⁰ then let my wife grind grain for another,

and let others bow down on her.

¹¹ For that would be a terrible crime;

indeed, it would be a crime to be punished by judges.

¹² For that is a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon,

and it would burn all my harvest to the root.

¹³ If I rejected the plea for justice from my male servant or my female servant

when they argued with me,

¹⁴ what then would I do when God rises up to accuse me?

When he comes to judge me, how would I answer him?

¹⁵ Did the one who made me in the womb not make them also?

Did not the same one mold us all in the womb?

¹⁶ If I have withheld poor people from their desire,

or if I have caused the eyes of the widow to grow dim from crying,

¹⁷ or if I have eaten my morsel alone

and not allowed those without fathers to eat it also—

¹⁸ because from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,

and I have guided his mother, a widow, from my own mother's womb.

¹⁹ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

or if I have seen that a needy man had no clothing;

²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me

because he has not been warmed with the wool of my sheep,

²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the orphan

because I saw my support in the city gate,

then bring charges against me!

²² If I have done these things, then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,

and let my arm be broken from its joint.

²³ For I dreaded destruction from God;

because of his majesty, I was not able to do those things.

²⁴ If I have made gold my hope,

and if I have said to fine gold, 'You are what I am confident in';

²⁵ if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

because my hand had gotten many possessions,

then bring charges against me!

²⁶ If I have seen the sun when it shone,

or the moon walking in its splendor,

²⁷ and if my heart has been secretly attracted,

so that my mouth has kissed my hand in worship of them—

²⁸ this also would be a crime to be punished by judges,

for I would have denied the God who is above.

²⁹ If I have rejoiced at the destruction of anyone who hated me

or congratulated myself when disaster overtook him,

then bring charges against me!

³⁰ Indeed, I have not even allowed my mouth to sin

by asking for his life with a curse.

³¹ If the men of my tent have never said,

'Who can find one who has not been filled with Job's food?'

³² (even the foreigner has never had to stay in the city square,

because I have always opened my doors to the traveler),

and if that is not so, then bring charges against me!

³³ If, like mankind, I have hidden my sins

by hiding my guilt inside my bosom

³⁴ (because I feared the great multitude,

because the contempt of the families terrified me,

so that I kept silent and would not go outside)—

³⁵ Oh, if only I had someone to hear me!

See, here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me!

If only I had the indictment that my opponent has written!

³⁶ Surely I would carry it openly on my shoulder;

I would bind it on myself like a crown.

³⁷ I would declare to him an accounting for my steps;

as a confident prince I would go up to him.

³⁸ If my land ever cries out against me,

and its furrows weep together,

³⁹ if I have eaten its harvest without paying for it

or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰ then let thorns grow instead of wheat

and weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are finished.

Chapter 32

¹ So these three men stopped answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² Then the anger of Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled; it was kindled against Job because he justified himself rather than God.

³ Elihu's anger was also kindled against his three friends because they had found no answer to Job, and yet they had condemned Job. ⁴ Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the other men were older than he. ⁵ However, when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, his anger was kindled.

⁶ Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up and said,

"I am young, and you are very old.

That is why I held back and was afraid to tell you my own thoughts.

⁷ I said, "Length of days should speak;

a multitude of years should teach wisdom.

⁸ But there is a spirit in a man;

the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

⁹ It is not only the great people who are wise,

nor the aged people alone who understand justice.

¹⁰ Therefore I say to you, 'Listen to me;

I will also tell you my knowledge.'

¹¹ See, I waited for your words;

I listened to your arguments

while you were searching for a word.

¹² Indeed, I paid attention to you,

but, see, there was not one of you who could convince Job

or who could respond to his words.

¹³ Be careful not to say, 'We have found wisdom!'

God will have to defeat Job; mere man cannot do it.

¹⁴ For Job has not directed his words against me,

so I will not answer him with your words.

¹⁵ These three men are dismayed; they can answer Job no longer;

they have not a word more to say.

¹⁶ Should I wait because they are not speaking,

because they stand there silent and answer no more?

¹⁷ No, I also will answer on my part;

I will also tell them my knowledge.

¹⁸ For I am full of words;

the spirit in me compels me.

¹⁹ See, my breast is like fermenting wine that has no vent;

like new wineskins, it is ready to burst.

²⁰ I will speak so that I may be refreshed;

I will open my lips and answer.

²¹ I will not show favoritism;

neither will I give honorific titles to any man.

²² For I do not know how to give such titles;

if I did so, my Maker would soon take me away.

Chapter 33

¹ So now, Job, I beg you, hear my speech;

listen to all my words.

² See now, I have opened my mouth;

my tongue has spoken in my mouth.

³ My words come from the uprightness of my heart;

my lips speak pure knowledge.

⁴ The Spirit of God has made me;

the breath of the Almighty has given me life.

⁵ If you can, answer me;

set your words in order before me and stand up.

⁶ See, I am just as you are in God's sight;

I also have been formed out of the clay.

⁷ See, terror of me will not make you afraid;

neither will my pressure be heavy upon you.

⁸ You have certainly spoken in my hearing;

I have heard the sound of your words saying,

⁹ 'I am clean and without transgression;

I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.

¹⁰ See, God finds opportunities to attack me;

he regards me as his enemy.

¹¹ He puts my feet in stocks;

he watches all my paths.'

¹² See, in this you are not in the right—I will answer you,

for God is greater than man.

¹³ Why do you struggle against him?

He does not account for any of his doings.

¹⁴ For God speaks once—

yes, twice, though man does not notice it.

¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls upon men,

in slumber on the bed—

¹⁶ then God opens the ears of men,

and frightens them with threats,

¹⁷ to cause man to turn away from his deed,

and keep pride from a man.

¹⁸ God keeps man's life back from the pit,

his life from crossing over to death.

¹⁹ Man is punished also with pain on his bed,

with constant strife in his bones,

²⁰ so that his life abhors food,

and his soul abhors delicacies.

²¹ His flesh is consumed away so that it cannot be seen;

his bones, once not seen, now stick out.

²² Indeed, his soul draws close to the pit,

his life to those who wish to destroy it.

²³ But if there is an angel who can be a mediator for him,

one out of a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

²⁴ to be gracious to him and say,

'Save this person from going down to the pit;

I have found a ransom for him,'

²⁵ then his flesh will become fresher than a youth's;

it is restored to the days of his youthful vigor.

²⁶ He will pray to God, and God will be kind to him,

so that he sees God's face with joy.

God will restore to the person his righteousness.

²⁷ Then that person will sing in front of other people and say,

'I sinned and perverted that which was right,

but my sin was not punished.

²⁸ God has rescued my soul from going down into the pit;

my life will continue to see light.'

²⁹ See, God does all these things with a person,

twice, yes, even three times,

³⁰ to bring his soul back from the pit,

so that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹ Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent and I will speak.

³² If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak, for I wish to justify you.

³³ If not, then listen to me;

remain silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

Chapter 34

¹ Moreover, Elihu continued to speak:

² "Listen to my words, you wise men;

hear me, you who have knowledge.

³ For the ear tests words

as the palate tastes food.

⁴ Let us choose for ourselves what is just:

let us discover among ourselves what is good.

⁵ For Job has said, 'I am righteous,

but God has taken away my rights.

⁶ Regardless of my rights

I am considered to be a liar.

My wound is incurable,

although I am without sin.'

⁷ What man is like Job,

who drinks up mockery like water,

⁸ who goes around in the company of those who behave wickedly,

and who walks with wicked men?

⁹ For he has said, 'It is no use to a person

to take pleasure in doing what God wants.'

¹⁰ So listen to me, you men of understanding:

far be it from God that he should do wickedness;

far be it from the Almighty that he should commit sin.

¹¹ For he pays back a person's work;

he makes every man come upon the reward of his own ways.

¹² Indeed, God does nothing wicked,

nor does the Almighty ever pervert justice.

¹³ Who put him in charge over the earth?

Who put the whole world under him?

¹⁴ If he ever set his intentions only on himself,

and if he ever gathered back to himself his spirit and his breath,

¹⁵ then all flesh would perish together;

mankind would return to dust again.

¹⁶ If now you have understanding, listen to this;

listen to the sound of my words.

¹⁷ Can one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn God, who is righteous and mighty?

¹⁸ God, who says to a king, 'You are worthless,'

or says to nobles, 'You are wicked'?

¹⁹ God, who does not show favoritism to leaders

and does not acknowledge rich people more than poor,

for they all are the work of his hands.

²⁰ In a moment they will die;

at midnight people will be shaken and will pass away;

mighty people will be taken away, but not by human hands.

²¹ For God's eyes are upon a person's ways;

he sees all his steps.

²² There is no darkness and there is no deep shadow

where those who behave wickedly may hide themselves.

²³ For God does not need to examine a person further;

there is no need for any person to go before him in judgment.

²⁴ He breaks mighty men into pieces for their ways that need no further investigation;

he puts others in their places.

²⁵ In this way he has knowledge of their deeds;

he overthrows these people in the night; they are crushed.

²⁶ In the open sight of others, he kills them for their wicked deeds like criminals

²⁷ because they turned away from following him

and refused to acknowledge any of his ways.

²⁸ In this way, they made the cry of poor people come to him;

he heard the cry of afflicted people.

²⁹ When he stays silent, who can condemn him?

If he hides his face, who can see him?

He rules over nation and individual alike,

³⁰ so that a godless man may not reign,

so that there may be no one to entrap people.

³¹ Suppose someone says to God,

'I am certainly guilty, but I will not act corruptly any longer;

³² teach me what I cannot see;

I have committed sin, but I will do it no longer.'

³³ Is it according to your desires that God must punish that person?

For you reject this!

You must choose, not I.

So say what it is that you know.

³⁴ Men of understanding will say to me—

indeed, every wise man who hears me will say,

³⁵ 'Job speaks without knowledge;

his words are without wisdom.'

³⁶ If only Job were put on trial in the smallest details of his case

because of his talking like wicked men.

³⁷ For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he claps his hands in mockery in our midst;

he piles up words against God."

Chapter 35

¹ Moreover Elihu continued, saying,

² "Do you think this is just

when you say, 'I am in the right before God'?

³ For you ask, 'What use is it to me?'

and, 'Would I be better off if I had sinned?'

⁴ I will answer you,

both you and your friends.

⁵ Look up at the sky, and see it;

see the sky, which is higher than you.

⁶ If you have sinned, what harm do you do to God?

If your transgressions are many, what do you do to him?

⁷ If you are righteous, what can you give to him?

What will he receive from your hand?

⁸ Your wickedness may hurt a man, as you are a man,

and your righteousness might benefit another son of man.

⁹ Because of many acts of oppression, people cry out;

they call for help from the arms of mighty men.

¹⁰ But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,

who gives songs in the night,

¹¹ who teaches us more than he teaches the wild animals of the earth,

and who makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'

¹² There they cry out, but God gives no answer

because of the pride of evil men.

¹³ God will certainly not hear a foolish cry;

the Almighty will pay no attention to it.

¹⁴ How much less will he answer you if you say that you do not see him,

that your case is before him, and that you are waiting for him!

¹⁵ Now you say that his anger does not punish,

and he does not take even a litte notice of transgression.

¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth only to speak foolishness;

he multiplies words without knowledge."

Chapter 36

¹ Elihu continued on and said,

² "Be patient with me a little longer, and I will show you some things

because I have a little more to say in defense of God.

³ I will obtain my knowledge from far off;

I will acknowledge that righteousness belongs to my Maker.

⁴ For indeed, my words will not be false;

someone who is mature in knowledge is with you.

⁵ See, God is mighty, and despises no one;

he is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶ He does not preserve the life of wicked people

but gives justice those who suffer.

⁷ He does not withdraw his eyes from righteous people

but sets them on thrones with kings forever,

and they are lifted up.

⁸ If they are bound in chains

and trapped in cords of suffering,

⁹ then he reveals to them what they have done,

and their transgressions and their pride.

¹⁰ He also opens their ears to his instruction,

and commands them to turn back from iniquity.

¹¹ If they listen to him and worship him,

they will spend their days in prosperity,

their years in contentment.

¹² However, if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword;

they will die because they have no knowledge.

¹³ Those who are godless in heart store up their anger;

they do not cry out for help even when God ties them up.

¹⁴ They die in their youth;

their lives end among the cultic prostitutes.

¹⁵ God rescues afflicted people by means of their afflictions;

he opens their ears by means of their oppression.

¹⁶ Indeed, he would like to draw you out of distress

into a broad place where there is no hardship

and where your table would be set with food full of fatness.

¹⁷ But you are full of judgment on wicked people;

judgment and justice have laid hold of you.

¹⁸ Do not let your anger entice you to mockery,

or the greatness of a ransom to turn you aside.

¹⁹ Can your wealth benefit you, so that you will not be in distress,

or can all the force of your strength help you?

²⁰ Do not desire the night, to commit sin against others,

when peoples are cut off in their place.

²¹ Be careful that you do not turn to wickedness

because you are being tested by suffering so that you will stay away from sinning.

²² See, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher like him?

²³ Who has ever instructed him about his way?

Who can ever say to him, 'You have committed unrighteousness?'

²⁴ Remember to praise his deeds,

of which people have sung.

²⁵ All people have looked on those deeds,

but they see those deeds only from far away.

²⁶ See, God is great, but we do not understand him well;

the number of his years is incalculable.

²⁷ For he draws up the drops of water

that he distills as rain from his vapor, ¹

²⁸ which the clouds pour down

and drop in abundance on mankind.

²⁹ Indeed, can anyone understand the extensive spread of the clouds

and the thunder from his hut?

³⁰ See, he spreads his lightning around him

and covers the roots of the sea.

³¹ In this way he judges the peoples

and gives food in abundance.

³² He fills his hands with the lightning

until he commands it to strike its mark.

³³ Its thunder warns of the storm,

the cattle can also hear it is coming.

¹Some modern translations have that distill as rain from his vapor .

Chapter 37

¹ Indeed, my heart trembles at this;

it is moved out of its place.

² Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice,

the sound that goes out from his mouth.

³ He sends it out under the whole sky,

and he sends out his lightning to the edges of the earth.

⁴ A voice roars after it;

he thunders with the voice of his majesty;

he does not restrain the lightning bolts

when his voice is heard.

⁵ God thunders marvelously with his voice;

he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

⁶ For he says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth';

and to the rain shower, 'Be strong.'

⁷ He stops the hand of every man from working,

so that all people whom he has made may see his deeds.

⁸ Then the beasts go into hiding

and stay in their dens.

⁹ The storm comes from its chamber in the south

and the cold from the scattering winds in the north.

¹⁰ By the breath of God ice is given;

the expanse of the waters is frozen like metal.

¹¹ Indeed, he weighs down the thick cloud with moisture;

he scatters his lightning through the clouds.

¹² He swirls the clouds around by his guidance,

so that they may do whatever he commands them

above the surface of the earthly world.

¹³ He makes all of this happen; sometimes it happens for correction, sometimes for his land,

and sometimes as acts of covenant faithfulness.

¹⁴ Listen to this, Job;

stop and think about God's marvelous deeds.

¹⁵ Do you know how God establishes the clouds

and makes the lightning bolts to flash in them?

¹⁶ Do you understand the floating of the clouds,

the marvelous deeds of God, who is perfect in knowledge?

¹⁷ Do you understand how your garments become hot

when the land is still because the wind comes from the south?

¹⁸ Can you spread out the sky as he can—

the sky, which is as strong as a mirror of cast metal?

¹⁹ Teach us what we should say to him,

for we cannot lay out our arguments in order because of the darkness of our minds.

²⁰ Should he be told that I wish to speak with him?

Would a person wish to be swallowed up?

²¹ Now, people cannot look at the sun when it is bright in the sky

after the wind has passed through and has cleared it of its clouds.

²² Out of the north comes golden splendor—

over God is fearsome majesty.

²³ As for the Almighty, we cannot find him!

He is great in power;

he does not oppress justice and abundant righteousness.

²⁴ Therefore, people fear him.

He does not pay any attention to those who are wise in their own minds."

Chapter 38

¹ Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,

² "Who is this who brings darkness to plans

by means of words without knowledge?

³ Now gird up your loins like a man

for I will ask you questions,

and you must answer me.

⁴ Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?

Tell me, if you have so much understanding.

⁵ Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know.

Who stretched the measuring line over it?

⁶ On what were its foundations laid?

Who laid its cornerstone

⁷ when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ Who shut up the sea with doors

when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—

⁹ when I made clouds its clothing,

and thick darkness its swaddling bands?

¹⁰ That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary,

and when I placed its bars and doors,

¹¹ and when I said to it, 'You may come this far, but no farther;

here is where I will put a boundary to the pride of your waves.'

¹² Have you given orders to the morning,

or caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³ so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth

and shake the wicked out of it?

¹⁴ The earth is changed in appearance like clay changes under a seal;

all things on it stand out clearly like the folds of a piece of clothing.

¹⁵ From wicked people their light is taken away;

their uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ Have you gone to the springs of the sea?

Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁸ Have you understood the earth in its expanse?

Tell me, if you know it all.

¹⁹ Where is the way to the resting place of light—

as for darkness, where is its place?

²⁰ Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work?

Can you find the way back to their houses for them?

²¹ Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then;

the number of your days is so large!

²² Have you entered the storehouses for the snow,

or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,

²³ these things that I have kept for times of trouble,

for days of battle and war?

²⁴ What is the path to where the lightning bolts are distributed

or to where the winds are scattered from the east over the earth?

²⁵ Who has created the channels for the floods of rain,

or who has made a path for the thunder,

²⁶ to cause it to rain on lands where no person exists,

and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,

²⁷ to satisfy the devastated and desolate places,

and to make the ground sprout with grass?

²⁸ Does the rain have a father,

or, who fathers the drops of dew?

²⁹ Out of whose womb did the ice come?

Who bore the white frost out of the sky?

³⁰ The waters hide themselves and become like stone;

the surface of the deep becomes frozen.

³¹ Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades,

or undo the cords of Orion?

³² Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times?

Can you guide the Bear with its children?

³³ Do you know the regulations of the sky?

Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?

³⁴ Can you raise your voice up to the clouds,

so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?

³⁵ Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out,

that they say to you, 'Here we are'?

³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the clouds

or has given understanding to the mists?

³⁷ Who can number the clouds by his skill?

Who can pour out the water skins of the sky

³⁸ when the dust runs into a hard mass

and the clods of earth clump tightly together?

³⁹ Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness

or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs

⁴⁰ when they are crouching in their dens

and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?

⁴¹ Who provides victims for the ravens

when their young ones cry out to God

and stagger about for lack of food?

Chapter 39

¹ Do you know at what time the wild goats in the rocks bear their young?

Can you watch when the deer are having their fawns?

² Can you count the months that they gestate?

Do you know the time when they bear their young?

³ They crouch down and give birth to their young,

and then they finish their labor pains.

⁴ Their young ones become strong and grow up in the open fields;

they go out and do not return to them.

⁵ Who sent the wild donkey out free?

Who has untied the bonds of the swift donkey,

⁶ whose home I have made in the Arabah,

his house in the salt land?

⁷ He laughs in scorn at the noises in the city;

he does not hear the driver's shouts.

⁸ He roams over the mountains as his pastures;

there he looks for every green plant to eat.

⁹ Will the wild ox be happy to serve you?

Will he consent to stay by your manger?

¹⁰ Can you use ropes to hold the wild ox in the furrows?

Will he harrow the valleys as he follows after you?

¹¹ Will you trust him because his strength is great?

Will you leave your labor to him to do?

¹² Will you depend on him to bring your grain home,

to gather the grain for your threshing floor?

¹³ The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,

but are they the pinions and plumage of love?

¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs on the earth,

and she lets them keep warm in the dust;

¹⁵ she forgets that a foot might crush them

or that a wild beast might trample them.

¹⁶ She deals roughly with her young ones as if they were not hers;

she does not fear that her labor might have been in vain,

¹⁷ because God has deprived her of wisdom

and has not given her any understanding.

¹⁸ When she runs swiftly,

she laughs in scorn at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ Have you given the horse his strength?

Did you clothe his neck with his flowing mane?

²⁰ Have you ever made him jump like a locust?

The majesty of his snorting is fearsome.

²¹ He paws in might and rejoices in his strength;

he rushes out to meet the weapons.

²² He mocks fear and is not dismayed;

he does not turn back from the sword.

²³ The quiver rattles against his flank,

along with the flashing spear and the javelin.

²⁴ He swallows up ground with fierceness and rage;

at the sound of the ram's horn, he cannot stand in one place.

²⁵ Whenever the ram's horn sounds, he says, 'Aha!'

He smells the battle from far away—

the thunderous shouts of the commanders and the outcries.

²⁶ Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,

that he stretches out his wings for the south?

²⁷ Is it at your orders that the eagle mounts up

and makes his nest in high places?

²⁸ He lives on cliffs and makes his home

on the peaks of cliffs, a stronghold.

²⁹ From there he searches for victims;

his eyes see them from very far away.

³⁰ His young also drink up blood;

where killed people are, there he is."

Chapter 40

¹ Yahweh continued to speak to Job; he said,

² "Should anyone who wishes to criticize try to correct the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer."

³ Then Job answered Yahweh and said,

⁴ "See, I am insignificant; how can I answer you?

I put my hand over my mouth.

⁵ I spoke once, and I will not answer;

indeed, twice, but I will proceed no further."

⁶ Then Yahweh answered Job out of a fierce storm and said,

⁷ "Now gird up your loins like a man,

for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.

⁸ Will you actually say that I am unjust?

Will you condemn me so you may claim that you are in the right?

⁹ Do you have an arm like God's,

and can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰ Now clothe yourself in glory and dignity;

array yourself in honor and majesty.

¹¹ Scatter around the excess of your anger;

look at everyone who is proud and bring him low.

¹² Look at everyone who is proud and bring him low;

trample down wicked people where they stand.

¹³ Bury them in the earth together;

imprison their faces in the hidden place.

¹⁴ Then will I also acknowledge about you

that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ See now, the behemoth,

which I made when I made you—

he eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶ See now, his strength is in his loins,

and his power is in his belly's muscles.

¹⁷ He makes his tail like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are joined together.

¹⁸ His bones are like tubes of bronze;

his legs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹ He is the chief of the creatures of God.

Only God, who made him, can defeat him.

²⁰ For the hills provide him with food;

the beasts of the field play nearby.

²¹ He lies under the lotus plants

in the shelter of the reeds, in the marshes.

²² The lotus plants cover him with their shade;

the willows of the brook are all around him.

²³ See, if a river floods its banks, he does not tremble;

he is confident, though the Jordan should surge up to his mouth.

²⁴ Can anyone capture him with a hook,

or pierce his nose through with a snare?

Chapter 41

¹ Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?

Or tie up his jaws with a cord?

² Can you put a rope into his nose,

or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

³ Will he make many pleas to you?

Will he speak soft words to you?

⁴ Will he make a covenant with you,

that you should take him for a servant forever?

⁵ Will you play with him as you would with a bird?

Will you tie him up for your servant girls?

⁶ Will the groups of fishermen bargain for him?

Will they divide him up to trade among the merchants?

⁷ Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

⁸ Put your hand on him just once,

and you will remember the battle and do it no more.

⁹ See, the hope of anyone who does that is a lie;

will not anyone be thrown down to the ground just by the sight of him?

¹⁰ None is so fierce that he dare stir Leviathan up;

who, then, is he who can stand before me?

¹¹ Who has first given anything to me in order that I should repay him?

Whatever is under the whole sky is mine.

¹² I will not keep silent concerning Leviathan's legs,

nor about the matter of his strength, nor about his graceful form.

¹³ Who can strip off his outer garment?

Who can penetrate his double armor?

¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face—

ringed with his teeth, which are a terror?

¹⁵ his back is made up of rows of shields,

tight together as with a close seal.

¹⁶ One is so near to another

that no air can come between them.

¹⁷ They are joined to each other;

they stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart.

¹⁸ Light flashes out from his snorting;

his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning dawn.

¹⁹ Out of his mouth go burning torches,

sparks of fire leap out.

²⁰ Out of his nostrils goes smoke

like a boiling pot on a fire that has been fanned to be very hot.

²¹ His breath kindles coals into flame;

fires go out from his mouth.

²² In his neck is strength,

and terror dances in front of him.

²³ The folds of his flesh are joined together;

they are firm on him; they cannot be moved.

²⁴ His heart is as hard as a stone—

indeed, as hard as a lower millstone.

²⁵ When he raises himself up, even the gods become afraid;

because of its thrashing they draw back.

²⁶ If a sword strikes him, it does nothing—

and neither does a spear, an arrow, or any other pointed weapon.

²⁷ He thinks of iron as if it were straw,

and of bronze as if it were rotten wood.

²⁸ An arrow cannot make him flee;

to him sling stones become chaff.

²⁹ Clubs are regarded as straw;

he laughs at the whirring flight of a spear.

³⁰ His lower parts are like sharp pieces of broken pottery;

he leaves a spreading trail in the mud as if he were a threshing sledge.

³¹ He makes the deep to foam up like a pot of boiling water;

he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

³² He makes a shining wake behind him;

one would think the deep had gray hair.

³³ On earth there is no equal to him,

who has been made to live without fear.

³⁴ He sees everything that is proud;

he is king over all the sons of pride."

Chapter 42

¹ Then Job answered Yahweh and said,

² "I know that you can do all things,

that no purpose of yours can be stopped.

³ 'Who is this who without knowledge conceals plans?'

Indeed, I have spoken things that I did not understand,

things too difficult for me to understand, which I did not know about.

⁴ You said to me, 'Listen, now, and I will speak;

I will ask you things,

and you will tell me.'

⁵ I had heard about you by my ear's hearing,

but now my eye sees you.

⁶ So I despise myself;

I repent in dust and ashes."

⁷ It came about that after he had said these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done. ⁸ Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer, so that I may not deal with you after your folly. You have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job has done." ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as Yahweh had commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.

¹⁰ When Job prayed for his friends, Yahweh reversed his captivity. Yahweh gave him twice as much as he had possessed before. ¹¹ Then all Job's brothers, and all his sisters, and all who knew him before, came to him and ate food with him in his house. They showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the disasters that Yahweh had brought upon him, and each of them gave Job a piece of silver and a ring of gold.

¹² Yahweh blessed the final end of Job's life more than the first; he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. ¹³ He also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-Happuch.

¹⁵ In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. ¹⁶ After this, Job lived 140 years; he saw his sons and his sons' sons, up to four generations. ¹⁷ Then Job died, being old and full of days.

Psalms

Chapter 1

¹ Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the advice of the wicked,

or stand in the pathway with sinners,

or sit in the assembly of mockers.

² But his delight is in the law of Yahweh,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water

that produces its fruit in its season,

whose leaves do not wither;

whatever he does will prosper.

⁴ The wicked are not so,

but are like the chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ So the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For Yahweh approves of the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Chapter 2

¹ Why are the nations in turmoil,

and why do the peoples devise vain plans?

² The kings of the earth take their stand together

and the rulers take counsel together

against Yahweh and against his Messiah, saying,

³ "Let us tear off the shackles they put on us

and throw off their chains."

⁴ He who sits in the heavens will sneer at them;

the Lord mocks them.

⁵ Then he will speak to them in his anger

and terrify them in his rage, saying,

⁶ "I myself have set my king in place

on Zion, my holy mountain."

⁷ I will announce a decree of Yahweh.

He said to me, "You are my son!

This day I have become your Father.

⁸ Ask me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance

and the ends of the earth for your possession.

⁹ You will break them with an iron rod;

like a jar of a potter, you will smash them to pieces."

¹⁰ So now, you kings, be prudent;

be corrected, you judges of the earth.

¹¹ Worship Yahweh in fear

and rejoice with trembling.

¹² Kiss the son or he will be angry with you,

and you will die in the way when his anger burns for just a moment.

How blessed are all those who seek refuge in him.

Chapter 3

A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

¹ Yahweh, how many are my enemies!

Many have risen against me.

² Many say about me,

"There is no deliverance for him from God."

Selah

³ But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

⁴ I lift up my voice to Yahweh,

and he answers me from his holy hill.

Selah

⁵ I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for Yahweh protected me.

⁶ I will not be afraid of the multitudes of people

who have set themselves against me on every side.

⁷ Rise up, Yahweh! Save me, my God!

For you will hit all my enemies on the jaw;

you will break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ Salvation comes from Yahweh.

May your blessings be on your people.

Selah

Chapter 4

For the chief musician; on stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

¹ Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness;

give me room when I am hemmed in.

Have mercy on me and listen to my prayer.

² You people, how long will you turn my honor into shame?

How long will you love what is worthless and seek after lies?

Selah

³ But know that Yahweh has set apart the faithful ones for himself.

Yahweh will hear when I call to him.

⁴ Tremble in fear, but do not sin!

Meditate in your heart on your bed and be silent.

Selah

⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness

and put your trust in Yahweh.

⁶ Many say, "Who will show us anything good?"

Yahweh, lift up the light of your face on us.

⁷ You have given my heart more gladness

than others have when their grain and new wine abound.

⁸ It is in peace that I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Yahweh, make me safe and secure.

Chapter 5

For the chief musician; with wind instruments. A psalm of David.

¹ Give ear to my words, Yahweh;

think about my groanings.

² Listen to the sound of my call, my King and my God,

for it is to you that I pray.

³ Yahweh, in the morning you hear my cry;

in the morning I will bring my petition to you and wait expectantly.

⁴ Certainly you are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;

evil people will not be your guests.

⁵ The arrogant will not stand in your presence;

you hate all who behave wickedly.

⁶ You will destroy liars;

Yahweh abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

⁷ But as for me, because of your great covenant faithfulness,

I will come into your house;

in reverence I will bow down toward your holy temple.

⁸ Oh Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies;

make your path straight before me.

⁹ For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inward being is wicked;

their throat is an open tomb;

they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰ Declare them guilty, God;

may their schemes be their downfall!

Drive them out for their many transgressions,

for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹ But may all those who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them always shout for joy because you defend them;

let them be joyful in you, those who love your name.

¹² For you will bless the righteous, Yahweh;

you will surround them with favor as with a shield.

Chapter 6

For the chief musician; on stringed instruments, set to the Sheminith style. A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath.

² Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am frail;

heal me, Yahweh, for my bones are shaking.

³ My soul also is very troubled.

But you, Yahweh—how long will this continue?

⁴ Return, Yahweh! rescue me.

Save me because of your covenant faithfulness!

⁵ For in death there is no remembrance of you.

In Sheol who will give you thanks?

⁶ I am weary with my groaning.

All night I drench my bed with tears;

I dissolve my couch with my tears.

⁷ My eyes grow dim from grief;

they grow weak because of all my adversaries.

⁸ Get away from me, all you who behave wickedly;

for Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.

⁹ Yahweh has heard my appeal for mercy;

Yahweh has accepted my prayer.

¹⁰ All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled.

They will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.

Chapter 7

A musical composition of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.

¹ Yahweh my God, I take refuge in you!

Save me from all who chase me, and rescue me.

² Otherwise, they will rip me apart like a lion,

tearing me in pieces with no one else able to bring me to safety.

³ Yahweh my God, if I have done this,

and there is injustice on my hands—

⁴ if I have done evil to him who was at peace with me,

or harmed my enemy for no reason—

⁵ then let my enemy pursue my life and overtake me;

let him trample my life to the ground

and lay my honor in the dust.

Selah

⁶ Arise, Yahweh, in your anger;

stand up against the rage of my enemies;

wake up for my sake and carry out the righteous decrees that you have commanded for them.

⁷ The peoples are assembled all around you;

take once more your rightful place over them.

⁸ Yahweh, judge the nations;

vindicate me, Yahweh, because I am righteous and innocent, Most High.

⁹ May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous people,

righteous God, you who examine hearts and minds.

¹⁰ My shield comes from God,

the one who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹ God is a righteous judge,

a God who is indignant each day.

¹² If a person does not repent,

God will sharpen his sword

and will prepare his bow for battle.

¹³ He prepares to use deadly weapons against him;

he makes his arrows flaming shafts.

¹⁴ Think about the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans, who gives birth to harmful lies.

¹⁵ He digs a pit and hollows it out

and then falls into the pit he has made.

¹⁶ His own destructive plans return to his own head,

for his violence comes down on his own head.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to Yahweh for his justice;

I will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

Chapter 8

For the chief musician; set to the Gittith style. A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh our Lord, how magnificent is your name in all the earth,

you who reveal your glory in the heavens above.

² Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established praise ¹

because of your enemies,

so that you might silence both the enemy and the avenger.

³ When I look up at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴ Of what importance is the human race that you notice them,

or mankind that you pay attention to them?

⁵ Yet you have made them only a little lower than the heavenly beings

and have crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶ You make him to rule over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet:

⁷ all sheep and oxen,

and even the wild animals of the field,

⁸ the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

everything that passes through the currents of the seas.

⁹ Yahweh our Lord,

how magnificent is your name in all the earth!

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text can be read either as established praise or established strength .

Chapter 9

For the chief musician; set to Muth Labben style. A psalm of David.

¹ I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart;

I will tell about all your marvelous deeds.

² I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing praise to your name, Most High!

³ When my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish before you.

⁴ For you have defended my just cause;

you sit on your throne, a righteous judge!

⁵ You rebuked the nations;

you have destroyed the wicked;

you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶ The enemy crumbled like ruins

when you overthrew their cities.

All remembrance of them has perished.

⁷ But Yahweh remains forever;

he has established his throne for justice.

⁸ He will judge the world with righteousness,

and he will execute judgment for the nations with fairness.

⁹ Yahweh also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, Yahweh, do not abandon those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to Yahweh, who rules in Zion;

tell the nations of his deeds.

¹² For the God who avenges bloodshed remembers;

he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.

¹³ Have mercy on me, Yahweh; see my affliction by those who hate me,

you who can snatch me from the gates of death.

¹⁴ Oh, that I might proclaim all your praise.

In the gates of the daughter of Zion

I will rejoice in your salvation!

¹⁵ The nations have sunk down into the pit that they made;

their feet are caught in the net that they hid.

¹⁶ Yahweh has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

the wicked is ensnared by his own actions.

Selah

¹⁷ The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol,

all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy will not always be forgotten,

nor will the hope of the oppressed be forever dashed.

¹⁹ Arise, Yahweh; do not let man win against you;

may the nations be judged in your sight.

²⁰ Terrify them, Yahweh;

may the nations know that they are mere men.

Selah

Chapter 10

¹ Why, Yahweh, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² Because of their arrogance, wicked people chase the oppressed;

but please let the wicked be trapped by their own schemes that they have devised.

³ For the wicked person boasts of his deepest desires;

he blesses the greedy and insults Yahweh.

⁴ The wicked in the haughtiness of his face does not seek God.

All his thoughts are that there is no God.

⁵ He is secure at all times,

but your righteous decrees are too high for him;

he snorts at all his enemies.

⁶ He says in his heart," I will never fail;

throughout all generations I will not meet adversity."

⁷ His mouth is full of curses and lies and oppression;

under his tongue are mischief and evil.

⁸ He waits in ambush near the villages;

in the secret places he murders the innocent;

his eyes look for some helpless victim.

⁹ He lurks in secret like a lion in the thicket;

he lies in wait to catch the oppressed.

He catches the oppressed when he pulls in his net.

¹⁰ His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they fall into his strong nets.

¹¹ He says in his heart, "God has forgotten;

he covers his face; he will never see it."

¹² Arise, Yahweh! Lift up your hand, God!

Do not forget the oppressed.

¹³ Why does the wicked man reject God

and say in his heart, "You will not hold me accountable"?

¹⁴ You have taken notice, for you always see the one who inflicts the misery and sorrow.

The helpless entrusts himself to you;

you rescue the fatherless.

¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evil man.

Make him account for his evil deeds,

which he thought you would not discover.

¹⁶ Yahweh is King forever and ever;

the nations are driven out of his land.

¹⁷ Yahweh, you have heard the needs of the oppressed;

you strengthen their heart, you listen to their prayer;

¹⁸ You defend the fatherless and the oppressed

so that no man on the earth will cause terror again.

Chapter 11

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ I take refuge in Yahweh;

how will you say to me,

"Flee like a bird to the mountain"?

² For see! The wicked prepare their bows.

They make ready their arrows on the strings

to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart.

³ For if the foundations are ruined,

what can the righteous do?

⁴ Yahweh is in his holy temple;

his eyes watch, his eyes examine the children of mankind.

⁵ Yahweh examines both the righteous and the wicked,

but he hates those who love to do violence.

⁶ He rains burning coals and sulfur upon the wicked;

a scorching wind will be their portion from his cup!

⁷ For Yahweh is righteous, and he loves righteousness;

the upright will see his face.

Chapter 12

For the chief musician; set to the Sheminith. A psalm of David.

¹ Help, Yahweh, for the faithful ones have disappeared;

those who have integrity have vanished from the children of men.

² Everyone says empty words to his neighbor;

everyone speaks with flattering lips and a double heart.

³ Yahweh, cut off all flattering lips,

every tongue declaring great things.

⁴ These are those who have said, "With our tongues we will prevail.

When our lips speak, who can be master over us?"

⁵ "Because of violence against the poor, because of the groans of the needy,

I will arise," says Yahweh.

"I will provide the safety for which they long."

⁶ The words of Yahweh are pure words,

like silver purified in a furnace on the earth,

refined seven times.

⁷ You are Yahweh! You keep them.

You preserve the godly people from this wicked generation and forever.

⁸ The wicked walk on every side

when evil is exalted among the children of mankind.

Chapter 13

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ How long, Yahweh, will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

² How long must I worry

and have grief in my heart all day?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look at me and answer me, Yahweh my God!

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.

⁴ Do not let my enemy say, "I have defeated him,"

so that my enemy may not say, "I have prevailed over my adversary";

otherwise, my enemies will rejoice when I am brought down.

⁵ But I have trusted in your covenant faithfulness;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶ I will sing to Yahweh

because he has treated me very generously.

Chapter 14

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ A fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity;

there is no one who does good.

² Yahweh looks down from heaven on the children of mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after him.

³ They have all turned away. Together they have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good, no, not one.

⁴ Do they not know anything, those who behave wickedly,

those who eat up my people as they eat bread,

but who do not call on Yahweh?

⁵ They tremble with dread,

for God is with the righteous generation!

⁶ You want to humiliate the poor person

even though Yahweh is his refuge.

⁷ Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!

When Yahweh brings back his people from the captivity,

then Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad!

Chapter 15

A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, who may stay in your tabernacle?

Who may live on your holy hill?

² Whoever walks blamelessly, does what is right

and speaks truth from his heart.

³ He does not slander with his tongue,

he does not harm others,

and he does not insult his neighbor.

⁴ The abhorrent is despised in his eyes,

but he honors those who fear Yahweh.

He swears to his own disadvantage

and does not take back his promises.

⁵ He does not charge interest when he lends money.

He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

Chapter 16

A michtam of David.

¹ Protect me, God,

for I take refuge in you.

² I say to Yahweh, "You are my Lord;

my goodness is nothing apart from you.

³ As for the holy people who are on the earth,

they are noble people; all my delight is in them.

⁴ Their troubles will be increased, those who seek out other gods.

I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods

or lift up their names with my lips.

⁵ Yahweh, you are my chosen portion and my cup.

You hold onto my lot.

⁶ Measuring lines have been laid for me in pleasant places;

surely a beautiful inheritance is mine.

⁷ I will bless Yahweh, who counsels me;

even at night my mind instructs me.

⁸ I set Yahweh before me at all times,

so I will not be shaken from his right hand!

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad; my glory is rejoicing.

Surely I will live in security.

¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol.

You will not let your faithful one see the pit.

¹¹ You teach me the path of life;

abundant joy resides in your presence;

delights abide in your right hand forever!"

Chapter 17

A prayer of David.

¹ Listen to my plea for justice, Yahweh;

pay attention to my cry for help!

Give ear to my prayer from lips without deceit.

² Let my vindication come from your presence;

let your eyes see what is right!

³ If you test my heart, if you come to me in the night,

you will purify me and will not find any evil plans;

my mouth will not transgress.

⁴ As for the deeds of mankind,

it is at the word of your lips

that I have kept myself from the ways of the lawless.

⁵ My steps have held firmly to your tracks;

my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call to you, for you answer me, God;

turn your ear to me and listen when I speak.

⁷ Show your covenant faithfulness in a wonderful way,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in you from their enemies!

⁸ Protect me like the apple of your eye;

hide me under the shadow of your wings

⁹ from the presence of the wicked ones who deal violently with me,

my enemies who surround me.

¹⁰ They have no mercy on anyone;

their mouths speak with pride.

¹¹ They have surrounded my steps.

They set their eyes to strike me to the ground.

¹² They are like a lion eager for a victim,

like a young lion crouching in hidden places.

¹³ Arise, Yahweh! Attack them! Throw them down on their faces!

Rescue my life from the wicked by your sword!

¹⁴ Rescue me from men by your hand, Yahweh,

from men of this world whose prosperity is in this life alone!

You will fill the bellies of your treasured ones with riches;

they will have many children

and will leave their wealth to their children.

¹⁵ As for me, I will see your face in righteousness;

I will be satisfied, when I awake, with a sight of you.

Chapter 18

For the chief musician. A psalm of David, the servant of Yahweh, when he sang to Yahweh the words of this song on the day that Yahweh rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He sang:

¹ I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

² Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, the one who brings me to safety;

he is my God, my rock; I take refuge in him.

He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my stronghold.

³ I will call on Yahweh who is worthy to be praised,

and I will be saved from my enemies.

⁴ The cords of death surrounded me,

and the rushing waters of worthlessness overwhelmed me.

⁵ The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

the snares of death trapped me.

⁶ In my distress I called to Yahweh;

I called for help to my God.

He heard my voice from his temple;

my cry for help went into his presence;

it went into his ears.

⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled;

the foundations of the mountains also trembled

and were shaken because God was angry.

⁸ Smoke went up from out of his nostrils,

and blazing fire came out of his mouth.

Coals were kindled by it.

⁹ He opened the heavens and came down,

and thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰ He rode on a cherub and flew;

he glided on the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness a tent around him,

heavy rainclouds in the skies.

¹² Hailstones and coals of fire fell from the lightning before him.

¹³ Yahweh thundered in the heavens!

The voice of the Most High shouted. ¹

¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;

many lightning bolts dispersed them.

¹⁵ Then the water channels appeared;

the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your rebuke, Yahweh,

at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶ He reached down from above; he took hold of me!

He pulled me out of the surging water.

¹⁷ He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸ They came against me on the day of my distress

but Yahweh was my support!

¹⁹ He set me free in a wide open place;

he saved me because he was pleased with me.

²⁰ Yahweh has rewarded me because of my righteousness;

he has restored me because my hands were clean.

²¹ For I have kept the ways of Yahweh

and have not wickedly turned away from my God.

²² For all his righteous decrees have been before me;

as for his statutes, I have not turned away from them.

²³ I have also been innocent before him,

and I have kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴ Therefore Yahweh has restored me because of my righteousness,

because my hands were clean before his eyes.

²⁵ To one who is faithful, you show yourself to be faithful;

to a man who is blameless, you show yourself to be blameless.

²⁶ To one who is pure, you show yourself to be pure;

but to one who is perverse, you show yourself to be shrewd.

²⁷ For you save afflicted people,

but you abase those with proud, uplifted eyes!

²⁸ For you give light to my lamp;

Yahweh my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹ For by you I can run over a barricade;

by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰ As for God—his way is perfect!

The word of Yahweh is pure!

He is a shield to everyone who takes refuge in him.

³¹ For who is God except Yahweh?

Who is a rock except our God?

³² It is God who puts strength on me like a belt,

who places the blameless person on his path.

³³ He makes my feet swift like a deer

and places me on the heights!

³⁴ He trains my hands for war

and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵ You have given me the shield of your salvation.

Your right hand has supported me,

and your favor has made me great.

³⁶ You have made a wide place for my feet beneath me

so that my feet have not slipped.

³⁷ I pursued my enemies and caught them;

I did not turn back until they were destroyed.

³⁸ I smashed them so that they were unable to rise;

they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹ For you have girded me with strength for battle;

you put under me those who rise up against me.

⁴⁰ You gave me the back of my enemies' necks;

I annihilated those who hated me.

⁴¹ They called for help, but no one saved them;

they called out to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

⁴² I beat them into fine pieces like dust before the wind;

I threw them out like mud in the streets.

⁴³ You rescued me from the disputes of people;

you have made me head over nations;

people whom I have not known serve me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me;

foreigners were forced to bow to me.

⁴⁵ The foreigners came trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁶ Yahweh lives; may my rock be praised.

May the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷ He is the God who executes vengeance for me,

who subdues the nations under me.

⁴⁸ I am set free from my enemies!

Indeed, you lifted me above the ones who rose against me!

You rescued me from violent men.

⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations;

I will sing praises to your name!

⁵⁰ God gives great victory to his king,

and he shows his covenant loyalty to his anointed one,

to David and to his descendants forever.

¹This verse follows some Hebrew copies and the Septuagint, ending after shouted . Most Hebrew copies have the additional phrase hailstones and coals of fire .

Chapter 19

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the skies make known the work of his hands!

² Day after day speech pours out;

night after night it reveals knowledge.

³ There is no speech or spoken words;

their voice is not heard.

⁴ Yet their words go out over all the earth,

and their speech to the end of the world.

He has pitched a tent for the sun among them.

⁵ The sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber

and like a strong man who rejoices when he runs his race.

⁶ The sun rises from the one horizon

and crosses the sky to the other;

nothing escapes its heat.

⁷ The law of Yahweh is perfect,

restoring the soul;

the testimony of Yahweh is reliable,

making the simple wise.

⁸ The instructions of Yahweh are right,

making the heart glad;

the commandment of Yahweh is pure,

bringing light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of Yahweh is pure,

enduring forever;

the righteous decrees of Yahweh are true

and altogether right!

¹⁰ They are of greater value than gold,

even more than much fine gold;

they are sweeter than honey

and the dripping honey from the honeycomb.

¹¹ Yes, by them your servant is warned;

in obeying them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern all his own errors?

Cleanse me from hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from arrogant sins;

let them not rule over me.

Then I will be perfect,

and I will be innocent from many transgressions.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

Yahweh, my rock and my redeemer.

Chapter 20

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ May Yahweh help you in the day of trouble;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you

² and send help from the holy place

to support you from Zion.

³ May he call to mind all your offerings

and accept your burnt sacrifice.

Selah

⁴ May he grant you your heart's desire

and fulfill all your plans.

⁵ Then we will rejoice in your victory,

and, in the name of our God, we will raise banners.

May Yahweh grant all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that Yahweh will rescue his anointed one;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving strength of his right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and others in horses,

but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.

⁸ They will be brought down and fall,

but we will rise and stand upright!

⁹ Yahweh, rescue the king;

help us when we call.

Chapter 21

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!

How greatly he rejoices in the salvation you provide!

² You have given him his heart's desire

and have not held back the request of his lips.

Selah

³ For you bring him rich blessings;

you placed on his head a crown of purest gold.

⁴ He asked you for life; you gave it to him;

you gave him the length of his days forever and ever.

⁵ His glory is great because of your victory;

you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

⁶ For you grant him lasting blessings;

you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁷ For the king trusts in Yahweh;

through the covenant faithfulness of the Most High

he will not be moved.

⁸ Your hand will seize all your enemies;

your right hand will seize those who hate you.

⁹ At the time of your anger,

you will burn them up as in a fiery furnace.

Yahweh will consume them in his wrath,

and the fire will devour them.

¹⁰ You will destroy their offspring from the earth

and their descendants from among the human race.

¹¹ For they intended evil against you;

they conceived a plot with which they will not succeed!

¹² For you will turn them back;

you will draw your bow before them.

¹³ Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength;

we will sing and praise your power.

Chapter 22

For the chief musician; set to "The rhythm of the deer." A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Why are you so far from saving me

and far from the words of my anguish?

² My God, I cry out in the daytime, but you do not answer,

and at night I am not silent!

³ Yet you are holy;

you sit as king with the praises of Israel.

⁴ Our ancestors trusted in you;

they trusted in you, and you rescued them.

⁵ They cried to you and they were rescued.

They trusted in you and were not disappointed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,

a disgrace to humanity and despised by the people.

⁷ All those who see me taunt me;

they mock me; they shake their heads at me.

⁸ They say, "He trusts in Yahweh;

let Yahweh rescue him.

Let him rescue him, for he delights in him."

⁹ For you brought me from the womb;

you made me trust you when I was on my mother's breasts.

¹⁰ I have been thrown on you from the womb;

you are my God since I was in my mother's womb!

¹¹ Do not be far away from me, for trouble is near;

there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me.

¹³ They open their mouths wide against me

like a roaring lion ripping its victim.

¹⁴ I am being poured out like water,

and all my bones are dislocated.

My heart is like wax;

it melts away within my inner parts.

¹⁵ My strength has dried up like a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You have laid me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ For dogs have surrounded me;

a company of evildoers has encircled me;

they have pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷ I can count all my bones.

They look and stare at me.

¹⁸ They divide my garments among themselves,

they cast lots for my clothes.

¹⁹ Do not be far away, Yahweh;

please hurry to help me, my strength!

²⁰ Rescue my soul from the sword,

my only life from the claws of wild dogs.

²¹ Save me from the lion's mouth;

rescue me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.

²³ You who fear Yahweh, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴ For he has not despised or abhorred

the suffering of the afflicted one;

Yahweh has not hidden his face from him;

when the afflicted one cried to him, he heard.

²⁵ My praise will be because of you in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.

²⁶ The oppressed will eat and be satisfied;

those who seek Yahweh will praise him.

May your hearts live forever.

²⁷ All the peoples of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh;

all the families of the nations will bow down before you.

²⁸ For the kingdom is Yahweh's;

he is the ruler over the nations.

²⁹ All the prosperous people of the earth will feast and will worship;

all those who are descending into the dust will bow before him,

those who cannot preserve their own souls alive.

³⁰ A generation to come will serve him;

they will tell the next generation of the Lord.

³¹ They will come and tell of his righteousness;

they will tell to a people not yet born what he has done!

Chapter 23

A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh is my shepherd; I will lack nothing.

² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside tranquil water.

³ He brings back my life;

he guides me along paths that are right

for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no harm, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you have anointed my head with oil;

my cup runs over.

⁶ Surely goodness and covenant faithfulness will pursue me

all the days of my life;

and I will live in the house of Yahweh

for the length of my days!

Chapter 24

A psalm of David.

¹ The earth is Yahweh's, and its fullness,

the world, and all who live in it.

² For he has founded it upon the seas

and established it on the rivers.

³ Who will ascend the mountain of Yahweh?

Who will stand in his holy place?

⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart;

who has not lifted up a falsehood,

and has not sworn an oath in order to deceive.

⁵ He will receive a blessing from Yahweh

and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,

those who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Selah

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;

be lifted up, everlasting doors,

so that the King of glory may come in!

⁸ Who is this King of glory?

Yahweh, strong and mighty;

Yahweh, mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;

be lifted up, everlasting doors,

so that the King of glory may come in!

¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?

Yahweh of hosts,

he is the King of glory.

Selah

Chapter 25

A psalm of David.

¹ To you, Yahweh,

I lift up my life!

² My God, I trust in you.

Do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies rejoice triumphantly over me.

³ May no one who hopes in you be disgraced;

may those who act treacherously without cause be ashamed!

⁴ Make known to me your ways, Yahweh;

teach me your paths.

⁵ Guide me into your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

I hope in you all day long.

⁶ Call to mind, Yahweh, your acts of compassion and of covenant faithfulness;

for they have always existed.

⁷ Do not think about the sins of my youth

or my rebelliousness;

Call me to mind with covenant faithfulness

because of your goodness, Yahweh!

⁸ Yahweh is good and upright;

therefore he teaches sinners the way.

⁹ He guides the humble in what is right

and he teaches them his way.

¹⁰ All the paths of Yahweh are steadfast love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his solemn commands.

¹¹ For your name's sake, Yahweh,

pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹² Who is the man who fears Yahweh?

The Lord will instruct him in the way that he should choose.

¹³ His life will go along in goodness;

and his descendants will inherit the land.

¹⁴ The friendship of Yahweh is for those who honor him,

and he makes his covenant known to them.

¹⁵ My eyes are always on Yahweh,

for he will free my feet from the net.

¹⁶ Turn toward me and have mercy on me;

for I am alone and afflicted.

¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

draw me out from my distress!

¹⁸ See my affliction and my toils;

forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ See my enemies, for they are many;

they hate me with violent hatred.

²⁰ Protect my life and rescue me;

do not let me be humiliated,

for I take refuge in you!

²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I hope in you.

²² Rescue Israel, God,

from all of his troubles!

Chapter 26

A psalm of David.

¹ Judge me, Yahweh,

for I have walked with integrity;

I have trusted in Yahweh without wavering.

² Examine me, Yahweh, and test me;

test the purity of my inner parts and my heart!

³ For your covenant faithfulness is before my eyes,

and I walk about in your faithfulness.

⁴ I do not associate with deceitful people,

nor do I mingle with dishonest people.

⁵ I hate the assembly of evildoers,

and I do not live with the wicked.

⁶ I wash my hands in innocence,

and I go around your altar, Yahweh,

⁷ to sing a loud song of praise

and report all your wonderful deeds.

⁸ Yahweh, I love the house where you live,

the place where your glory lives!

⁹ Do not sweep me away with sinners,

or my life with men of bloodshed,

¹⁰ in whose hands there is a plot,

and whose right hand is full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in integrity;

redeem me and have mercy on me.

¹² My foot stands on level ground;

in the assemblies will I bless Yahweh!

Chapter 27

A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh is my light and my salvation;

whom should I fear?

Yahweh is my life's refuge;

whom should I dread?

² When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh,

my adversaries and my enemies stumbled and fell.

³ Though an army encamps against me,

my heart will not fear;

though war rises up against me,

even then I will remain confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of Yahweh,

and I will seek that:

that I may live in the house of Yahweh

all the days of my life,

to see the beauty of Yahweh

and to meditate in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble

he will hide me in his shelter;

in the cover of his tent he will conceal me.

He will lift me high on a rock!

⁶ Then my head will be lifted up above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent!

I will sing and make songs to Yahweh!

⁷ Hear, Yahweh, my voice when I cry out!

Have mercy on me, and answer me!

⁸ My heart says about you,

"Seek his face!" I seek your face, Yahweh!

⁹ Do not hide your face from me;

do not turn your servant away in anger!

You have been my helper;

do not abandon me or reject me,

God of my salvation!

¹⁰ Even if my father and my mother abandon me,

Yahweh will take me in.

¹¹ Teach me your way, Yahweh!

Lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

¹² Do not give me up to the desires of my enemies,

for false witnesses have risen up against me,

and they breathe out violence!

¹³ What would have happened to me

if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of Yahweh

in the land of the living?

¹⁴ Wait for Yahweh;

be strong, and let your heart be courageous!

Wait for Yahweh!

Chapter 28

A psalm of David.

¹ To you, Yahweh, I cry out;

my rock, do not ignore me.

If you do not respond to me,

I will join those who go down to the pit.

² Hear the sound of my pleading

when I call for help from you,

when I lift up my hands

toward your most holy place!

³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,

those who behave wickedly,

who speak peace with their neighbors

but have evil in their hearts.

⁴ Give them what their deeds deserve

and repay them what their wickedness demands;

repay them for the work of their hands

and render to them their due.

⁵ Because they do not understand the deeds of Yahweh

or the work of his hands,

he will break them down

and never rebuild them.

⁶ Blessed be Yahweh

because he has heard the sound of my pleading!

⁷ Yahweh is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,

and I will praise him with singing.

⁸ Yahweh is the strength of his people,

and he is the saving refuge of his anointed one.

⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance.

Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Chapter 29

A psalm of David.

¹ Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of God,

ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!

² Ascribe to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.

Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness!

³ The voice of Yahweh is heard over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

Yahweh thunders over many waters.

⁴ The voice of Yahweh is powerful;

the voice of Yahweh is majestic.

⁵ The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars;

Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf

and Sirion like a young ox.

⁷ The voice of Yahweh sends out flames of fire.

⁸ The voice of Yahweh shakes the wilderness;

Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of Yahweh causes the oaks to twist

and strips the forests bare.

Everyone in his temple says, "Glory!"

¹⁰ Yahweh sits as king over the flood;

Yahweh sits as king forever.

¹¹ Yahweh gives strength to his people;

Yahweh blesses his people with peace.

Chapter 30

A psalm; a song at the dedication of the temple. A psalm of David.

¹ I will exalt you, Yahweh,

for you have raised me up

and have not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me.

² Yahweh my God, I cried to you for help,

and you healed me.

³ Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;

you have kept me alive from going down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praises to Yahweh, you his faithful ones!

Give thanks when you remember his holiness.

⁵ For his anger is only for a moment;

but his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping comes for a night,

but joy comes in the morning.

⁶ In confidence I said, "I will never be shaken."

⁷ Yahweh, by your favor

you established me as a strong mountain;

but when you hid your face,

I was troubled.

⁸ I cried to you, Yahweh,

and sought favor from my Lord!

⁹ What advantage is there in my blood,

if I go down to the grave?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it declare your trustworthiness?

¹⁰ Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me!

Yahweh, be my helper.

¹¹ You have turned my mourning into dancing;

you have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.

¹² So now my glory will sing praise to you and not be silent;

Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Chapter 31

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ In you, Yahweh, I take refuge;

never let me be humiliated.

Rescue me in your righteousness.

² Listen to me; rescue me quickly;

be my rock of refuge,

a stronghold to save me.

³ For you are my rock and my fortress;

therefore for your name's sake, lead and guide me.

⁴ Pluck me out of the net that they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I entrust my spirit;

you will redeem me, Yahweh, God of trustworthiness.

⁶ I hate those who serve worthless idols,

but I trust in Yahweh.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your covenant faithfulness,

for you saw my affliction;

you knew the distress of my soul.

⁸ You have not given me into the hand of my enemy.

You have set my feet in a wide open place.

⁹ Have mercy upon me, Yahweh, for I am in distress;

my eyes grow weary with grief

with my soul and my body.

¹⁰ For my life is weary with sorrow

and my years with groaning.

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

and my bones are wasting away.

¹¹ Because of all my enemies, I have become contemptible;

my neighbors are appalled at my situation,

and those who know me are horrified.

Those who see me in the street run from me.

¹² I am forgotten as a dead man whom no one thinks about.

I am like a broken pot.

¹³ For I have heard the whispering of many,

terrifying news from every side

as they plot together against me.

They plot to take away my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, Yahweh;

I say, "You are my God."

¹⁵ My times are in your hand.

Rescue me from the hands of my enemies

and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Make your face shine on your servant;

save me in your covenant faithfulness.

¹⁷ Do not let me be humiliated, Yahweh;

for I call out to you!

May the wicked be humiliated!

May they be silent in Sheol.

¹⁸ May lying lips be silenced

that speak against the righteous defiantly

with arrogance and contempt.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness

that you have stored up for those who revere you,

that you perform for those who take refuge in you

before all the children of mankind!

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence, you hide them from the plots of men.

You hide them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

²¹ Blessed be Yahweh,

for he showed me his marvelous covenant faithfulness when I was in a besieged city.

²² Though I said in my alarm,

"I am cut off from your eyes,"

yet you heard my plea for help

when I cried to you.

²³ Love Yahweh, all you faithful ones.

Yahweh protects the faithful,

but he pays back the arrogant in full.

²⁴ Be strong and let your heart take courage,

all you who trust in Yahweh for help.

Chapter 32

A psalm of David. A maschil.

¹ Blessed is the person

whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

² Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh reckons no guilt

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ When I remained silent,

my bones were wasting away

while I groaned all day long.

⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.

My strength withered as in summer drought.

Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I no longer hid my iniquity.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh,"

and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

⁶ For this reason every one of your faithful followers should pray to you

at a time of great distress.

When the surging waters overflow,

the waters will not reach them.

⁷ You are my hiding place;

you will guard me from trouble.

You will surround me with the songs of victory.

Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹ Do not be like a horse or like a mule,

which have no understanding;

it is only with bridle and bit to control them

that they will go where you want them to.

¹⁰ The wicked have many sorrows,

but Yahweh's covenant faithfulness will surround the one who trusts in him.

¹¹ Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous;

shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Chapter 33

¹ Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous;

praise is appropriate for the upright.

² Give thanks to Yahweh with the harp;

sing praises to him with the lute having ten strings.

³ Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully and shout for joy.

⁴ For Yahweh's word is upright,

and all his deeds are done in faithfulness.

⁵ He loves righteousness and justice.

The earth is full of Yahweh's covenant faithfulness.

⁶ By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made,

and all the stars were made by the breath of his mouth.

⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together like a heap;

he puts the oceans in storehouses.

⁸ Let the whole earth fear Yahweh;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹ For he spoke, and it was done;

he commanded, and it stood in place.

¹⁰ Yahweh frustrates the alliances of nations;

he overrules the plans of the peoples.

¹¹ The plans of Yahweh stand forever,

the plans of his heart for all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh,

the people whom he has chosen as his own inheritance.

¹³ Yahweh looks from heaven;

he sees all the people.

¹⁴ From the place where he lives,

he looks down on all who live on the earth.

¹⁵ He who shapes the hearts of them all

observes all their deeds.

¹⁶ No king is saved by a vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great strength.

¹⁷ A horse is a false hope for victory;

in spite of his great strength, he cannot rescue.

¹⁸ See, Yahweh's eye is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his covenant faithfulness

¹⁹ to deliver their lives from death

and to keep them alive in times of famine.

²⁰ We wait for Yahweh;

he is our help and our shield.

²¹ Our hearts rejoice in him,

for we trust in his holy name.

²² Let your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, be with us

as we put our hope in you.

Chapter 34

A psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him out.

¹ I will praise Yahweh at all times,

his praise will always be in my mouth.

² I will praise Yahweh!

May the oppressed hear and rejoice.

³ Praise Yahweh with me,

let us lift up his name together.

⁴ I sought Yahweh and he answered me,

and he gave me victory over all my fears.

⁵ Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces are not ashamed.

⁶ This oppressed man cried and Yahweh heard him

and saved him from all his troubles.

⁷ The angel of Yahweh camps around those who fear him

and rescues them.

⁸ Taste and see that Yahweh is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

⁹ Fear Yahweh, you his holy people.

There is no lack for those who fear him.

¹⁰ The young lions sometimes lack food and suffer hunger,

but those who seek Yahweh will not lack anything good.

¹¹ Come, sons, listen to me.

I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.

¹² What man is there who delights in life

and loves many days,

that he may see good?

¹³ Then keep your tongue from evil

and keep your lips from speaking lies.

¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good.

Seek peace and go after it.

¹⁵ The eyes of Yahweh are on the righteous

and his ears are directed toward their cry.

¹⁶ The face of Yahweh is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out and Yahweh hears

and he rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸ Yahweh is close to the brokenhearted,

and he saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the troubles of the righteous,

but Yahweh delivers them out of them all.

²⁰ He keeps all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will kill the wicked.

Those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

²² Yahweh rescues the lives of his servants.

None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Chapter 35

A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, work against those who work against me;

fight against those who fight against me.

² Grab your small shield and large shield;

rise up and help me.

³ Use your spear and battle ax

against those who chase me;

say to my soul,

"I am your salvation."

⁴ May those who seek my life

be shamed and dishonored.

May those who plan to harm me

be turned back and ashamed.

⁵ May they be as chaff before the wind,

as the angel of Yahweh drives them away.

⁶ May their way be dark and slippery,

as the angel of Yahweh chases them.

⁷ Without cause they set their net for me;

without cause they dug a pit for my life.

⁸ Let destruction overtake them by surprise.

Let the net that they have set catch them.

Let them fall into it, to their destruction.

⁹ But I will be joyful in Yahweh

and rejoice in his salvation.

¹⁰ All my bones will say,

"Yahweh, who is like you,

who rescues the oppressed from those who are too strong for them

and the poor and needy from those who try to rob them?"

¹¹ Unrighteous witnesses rise up;

they accuse me falsely.

¹² They repay me evil for good.

I am sorrowful.

¹³ As for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;

I fasted for them,

and my prayer returned to my bosom.

¹⁴ I went about in grief as for my brother;

I bent down in mourning as for my mother.

¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;

they gathered together against me, and I was surprised by them.

They tore at me without stopping.

¹⁶ With no respect at all they mocked me;

they grind their teeth at me in rage.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will you look on?

Rescue my soul from their destructive attacks,

my only life from the lions.

¹⁸ Then I will thank you in the great assembly;

I will praise you among many people.

¹⁹ Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;

do not let them carry out their wicked schemes.

²⁰ For they do not speak peace,

but they devise deceitful words

against those in our land who live in peace.

²¹ They open their mouths wide against me;

they said, "Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it."

²² You have seen it, Yahweh, do not be silent;

Lord, do not be far from me.

²³ Arouse yourself and awake to my defense;

My God and my Lord, defend my cause.

²⁴ Defend me, Yahweh my God, because of your righteousness;

do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵ Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha, we have what we wanted."

Do not let them say, "We have devoured him."

²⁶ May they be put to shame and may they be humiliated who rejoice at my distress.

May those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and dishonor.

²⁷ Let those who desire my vindication

shout for joy and be glad;

may they say continually, "Yahweh be praised,

he who delights in the welfare of his servant."

²⁸ Then I will tell of your justice

and praise you all day long.

Chapter 36

For the chief musician. A psalm of David the servant of Yahweh.

¹ An evil man speaks of his transgression from deep in his heart,

there is no fear of God in his eyes.

² For he comforts himself,

thinking that his iniquity will not be discovered and be hated.

³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;

he does not want to be wise and do good.

⁴ While he lies in bed, he plans ways to sin;

he sets out on an evil way;

he does not reject evil.

⁵ Your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, reaches to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep.

Yahweh, you preserve both mankind and the animals.

⁷ How precious is your covenant faithfulness, God!

Humanity takes refuge under the shadow of your wings.

⁸ They feast upon the abundance of your house;

you let them drink from the river of your delights.

⁹ For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we will see light.

¹⁰ Extend your covenant faithfulness fully to those who know you,

your defense to the upright of heart.

¹¹ Do not let the foot of the arrogant man come near to me.

Do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹² Over there those who behave wickedly have fallen;

they have been pushed down and are not able to get up.

Chapter 37

A psalm of David.

¹ Do not be irritated because of evildoers;

do not be envious of those who act unrighteously.

² For they will soon dry up as the grass

and wither as the green plants.

³ Trust in Yahweh and do what is good;

settle in the land and graze in faithfulness.

⁴ Then delight yourself in Yahweh,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Give your ways to Yahweh;

trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.

⁶ He will display your justice like the daylight

and your innocence like the day at noon.

⁷ Be still before Yahweh

and wait patiently for him.

Do not be angry if someone succeeds in what he does,

or when he makes evil plots.

⁸ Do not be angry and frustrated.

Do not worry. This only makes trouble.

⁹ Evildoers will be cut off,

but those who wait for Yahweh will inherit the land.

¹⁰ In a little while the evil man will disappear;

you will look at his place, but he will be gone.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land

and will delight in great prosperity.

¹² The wicked man plots against the righteous

and he grinds his teeth in rage against him.

¹³ The Lord laughs at him,

for he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked have drawn out their swords

and have bent their bows

to cast down the oppressed and needy,

to kill those who are upright.

¹⁵ Their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked people.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked people will be broken,

but Yahweh supports the righteous people.

¹⁸ Yahweh watches over the blameless day by day,

and their heritage will be forever.

¹⁹ They will not be ashamed when times are bad.

When famine comes, they will have enough to eat.

²⁰ But evil men will perish.

Yahweh's enemies will be like the splendor of the pastures;

they will be consumed and disappear in the smoke.

²¹ The wicked person borrows but does not repay,

but the righteous person is generous and gives.

²² Those who are blessed by God will inherit the land;

those who are cursed by him will be cut off.

²³ It is by Yahweh that a man's steps are established,

the man whose way is commendable in God's sight.

²⁴ Though he stumbles, he will not fall down,

for Yahweh is holding him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now am old;

I have never seen the righteous person abandoned

or his children begging for bread.

²⁶ All the day long he is gracious and lends,

and his children become a blessing.

²⁷ Turn away from evil and do what is right;

then you will be safe forever.

²⁸ For Yahweh loves justice

and does not abandon his faithful ones.

They are preserved forever,

but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land

and live there forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous person speaks wisdom

and increases justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet will not slip.

³² The wicked person spies on the righteous person

and seeks to kill him.

³³ Yahweh will not abandon him into the evil person's hand

or condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴ Wait for Yahweh and keep his way,

and he will raise you up to possess the land.

You will see when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked and terrifying person

spread out like a green tree in its native soil.

³⁶ But when I passed by again, he was not there.

I looked for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Observe the man of integrity, and mark the upright;

there is a good future for a man of peace.

³⁸ Rebels will be totally destroyed;

the future for the wicked man is cut off.

³⁹ Salvation of the righteous comes from Yahweh;

he is their place of safety in the times of trouble.

⁴⁰ Yahweh helps them and rescues them.

He rescues them from evil men and saves them

because they have taken refuge in him.

Chapter 38

A psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

¹ Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger;

do not punish me in your wrath.

² For your arrows pierce me,

and your hand presses me down.

³ There is no soundness in my body because of your anger;

there is no health in my bones because of my sin.

⁴ For my iniquities overwhelm me;

they are a burden too heavy for me.

⁵ My wounds are infected and smell

because of my foolish sins.

⁶ I am stooped over and humiliated every day;

I go about mourning all day long.

⁷ For within me, I am filled with burning;

there is no health in my flesh.

⁸ I am numb and utterly crushed;

I groan because of the anguish of my heart.

⁹ Lord, you understand my heart's deepest yearnings,

and my groanings are not hidden from you.

¹⁰ My heart pounds, my strength fades,

and the light of my eyes, even that is not with me.

¹¹ My friends and companions shun me because of my condition;

my neighbors stand far off.

¹² Those who seek my life lay snares for me.

They who seek my harm speak destructive words

and say deceitful words all day long.

¹³ But I, I am like a deaf man and hear nothing;

I am like a mute man who says nothing.

¹⁴ I am like a man who does not hear

and who has no reply.

¹⁵ Surely I wait for you, Yahweh;

you will answer, Lord my God.

¹⁶ I say this so that my enemies will not rejoice over me.

If my foot slips, they will do terrible things to me.

¹⁷ For I am about to stumble,

and I am in constant pain.

¹⁸ I confess my guilt;

I am anxious about my sin.

¹⁹ But my enemies are numerous;

those who hate me wrongfully are many.

²⁰ They repay me evil for good;

they hurl accusations at me

although I have pursued what is good.

²¹ Do not abandon me, Yahweh;

my God, do not stay far away from me.

²² Come quickly to help me,

Lord, my salvation.

Chapter 39

For the chief musician, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹ I decided, "I will watch what I say

so that I do not sin with my tongue.

I will muzzle my mouth

while in the presence of an evil man."

² I kept silent;

I kept back my words even from saying anything good,

and my pain grew worse.

³ My heart became hot;

when I thought about these things,

it burned like a fire.

Then finally I spoke.

⁴ "Yahweh, make me know when will be the end of my life

and the extent of my days.

Show me how transient I am.

⁵ See, you have made my days only the width of my hand,

and my lifetime is like nothing before you.

Surely every man is a single breath.

Selah

⁶ Surely every man walks about like a shadow.

Surely everyone hurries about

to accumulate riches although they do not know who will receive them.

⁷ Now, Lord, for what am I waiting?

You are my only hope.

⁸ Rescue me from my sins;

do not make me the scorn of fools.

⁹ I am silent and cannot open my mouth,

because it is you who has done it.

¹⁰ Stop wounding me;

I am overwhelmed by the blow of your hand.

¹¹ When you discipline people for iniquity,

you consume the things they desire like a moth;

surely all people are nothing but vapor.

Selah

¹² Hear my prayer, Yahweh,

and give ear to my cry for help;

do not be deaf to my tears!

for I am like a foreigner with you,

a sojourner like all my ancestors were.

¹³ Turn your gaze from me so that I may smile again

before I die."

Chapter 40

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ I waited patiently for Yahweh;

he listened to me and heard my cry.

² He brought me up out of a horrible pit,

out of the miry clay,

and he set my feet on a rock

and made my steps secure.

³ He has put a new song in my mouth,

praise to our God.

Many will see it and honor him

and will trust in Yahweh.

⁴ Blessed is the man

who makes Yahweh his trust

and does not honor the proud

or those who turn away from him to lies.

⁵ Many, Yahweh my God,

are the wonderful deeds that you have done,

and your thoughts which are about us cannot be numbered;

if I declared and spoke of them,

they would be more than could be counted.

⁶ You have no delight in sacrifice or offering,

but you have opened my ears;

you have not required burnt offerings or sin offerings.

⁷ Then said I, "See, I have come;

it is written about me in the scroll of the document.

⁸ I delight to do your will, my God;

your laws are in my heart."

⁹ I have proclaimed good news of your righteousness in the great assembly;

Yahweh, you know that my lips have not kept back from doing this.

¹⁰ I have not concealed your righteousness in my heart;

I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your covenant faithfulness

or your trustworthiness from the great assembly.

¹¹ Do not keep back your acts of mercy from me, Yahweh;

let your covenant faithfulness and your trustworthiness always preserve me.

¹² Troubles that cannot be numbered surround me;

my iniquities have caught up with me so that I am no longer able to see anything;

they are more than the hairs on my head,

and my heart has failed me.

¹³ Be pleased, Yahweh, to rescue me;

hurry to help me, Yahweh.

¹⁴ Let them be ashamed and completely disappointed

who pursue my life to sweep it away.

Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor,

those who delight in hurting me.

¹⁵ Let them be appalled because of their shame,

those who say to me, "Aha, aha!"

¹⁶ But may all those who seek you rejoice

and be glad in you;

let everyone who loves your salvation say continually,

"May Yahweh be praised."

¹⁷ I am poor and needy;

yet the Lord thinks about me.

You are my help and you come to my rescue;

do not delay, my God.

Chapter 41

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ Blessed is he who is concerned for the weak;

in the day of trouble, Yahweh will rescue him.

² Yahweh will preserve him and keep him alive,

and he will be blessed on the earth;

Yahweh will not turn him over to the will of his enemies.

³ Yahweh will support him on the bed of suffering;

you will make his bed of sickness into a bed of healing.

⁴ I said, "Yahweh, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you."

⁵ My enemies speak evil against me, saying,

'When will he die and his name perish?'

⁶ If my enemy comes to see me,

he says worthless things;

his heart gathers up wickedness for itself;

when he goes away from me, he tells others about it.

⁷ All who hate me whisper together against me;

against me they hope for my hurt.

⁸ They say, "An evil disease holds on tightly to him;

now that he is lying down, he will rise up no more."

⁹ Indeed, even my own close friend, in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread,

has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰ But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me and raise me up

so that I may pay them back.

¹¹ By this I know that you delight in me,

for my enemy does not triumph over me.

¹² As for me, you support me in my integrity

and will keep me before your face forever.

¹³ May Yahweh, the God of Israel be praised

from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.

Book Two

(Psalms 42-72)

Chapter 42

For the chief musician. A maschil of the sons of Korah.

¹ As the deer pants after streams of water,

so I thirst for you, God.

² I thirst for God, for the living God,

when will I come and appear before God?

³ My tears have been my food

day and night,

while my enemies are always saying to me,

"Where is your God?"

⁴ These things I call to mind

as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng

and led them to the house of God

with the voice of joy and praise,

a multitude celebrating a festival.

⁵ Why are you bowed down, my soul?

Why are you upset within me?

Hope in God,

for again I will praise him who is my salvation.

⁶ My God, my soul is bowed down within me,

therefore I call you to mind from the land of the Jordan,

from the three peaks of Mount Hermon, and from the hill of Mizar.

⁷ Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls;

all your waves and your billows have gone over me.

⁸ Yet Yahweh will command his covenant faithfulness in the daytime;

in the night his song will be with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I will say to God, my rock,

"Why have you forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?"

¹⁰ As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries rebuke me,

while they always say to me, "Where is your God?"

¹¹ Why are you bowed down, my soul?

Why are you upset within me?

Hope in God,

for again I will praise him who is my salvation and my God.

Chapter 43

¹ Bring me justice, God,

and plead my case against a nation that is not faithful.

Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

² For you are the God of my strength.

Why have you rejected me?

Why do I go about in mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

³ Oh, send out your light and your truth,

let them lead me.

Let them bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling.

⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy.

I will praise you with the harp,

God, my God.

⁵ Why are you bowed down, my soul?

Why are you upset within me?

Hope in God,

for again I will praise him who is my salvation and my God.

Chapter 44

For the chief musician. A psalm of the sons of Korah. A maschil.

¹ We have heard with our ears, God,

our fathers have told us

what work you did in their days,

in the days of old.

² You drove out the nations with your hand,

but you planted our people;

you afflicted the peoples,

but you spread our people out in the land.

³ For they did not obtain the land for their possession by their own sword,

neither did their own arm save them;

but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face,

because you were favorable to them.

⁴ God, You are my King;

command victory for Jacob.

⁵ Through you we will push down our adversaries;

through your name we will tread them under,

those who rise up against us.

⁶ For I will not trust in my bow,

neither will my sword save me.

⁷ But you have saved us from our adversaries,

and have put to shame those who hate us.

⁸ In God we have made our boast all the day long,

and we will give thanks to your name forever.

Selah

⁹ But now you have rejected us and brought us dishonor,

and you do not go out with our armies.

¹⁰ You make us turn back from the adversary;

and those who hate us take spoil for themselves.

¹¹ You have made us like sheep to be slaughtered

and have scattered us among the nations.

¹² You sell your people for nothing;

you have not increased your wealth by doing so.

¹³ You make us a rebuke to our neighbors,

scoffed and mocked by those around us.

¹⁴ You make us an insult among the nations,

a shaking of the head among the peoples.

¹⁵ All the day long my dishonor is before me,

and the shame of my face has covered me

¹⁶ because of the voice of him who rebukes and insults,

because of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷ All this has come on us; yet we have not forgotten you

or dealt falsely with your covenant.

¹⁸ Our heart has not turned back;

our steps have not gone from your way.

¹⁹ Yet you have severely broken us in the place of jackals

and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a strange god,

²¹ would not God search this out?

For he knows the secrets of the heart.

²² Indeed, for your sake we are being killed all day long;

we are considered to be sheep for the slaughter.

²³ Awake, why do you sleep, Lord?

Arise, do not reject us forever.

²⁴ Why do you hide your face

and forget our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵ For we have sunk down into the dust;

our bodies cling to the earth.

²⁶ Rise up for our help

and redeem us for the sake of your covenant faithfulness.

Chapter 45

For the chief musician; set to Shoshannim. A psalm of the sons of Korah. A maschil. A song of loves.

¹ My heart overflows on a good subject;

I will read aloud the words I have composed about the king;

my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

² You are fairer than the children of mankind;

grace is poured onto your lips;

therefore we know that God has blessed you forever.

³ Gird your sword to your side, mighty one,

in your glory and your majesty.

⁴ In your majesty ride on triumphantly

because of trustworthiness, meekness, and righteousness;

your right hand will teach you fearful things.

⁵ Your arrows are sharp;

the peoples fall under you;

your arrows are in the hearts of the king's enemies.

⁶ Your throne, God, is forever and ever;

a scepter of justice is the scepter of your kingdom.

⁷ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness more than your companions.

⁸ All your garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia;

out of ivory palaces

stringed instruments have made you glad.

⁹ Kings' daughters are among your honorable women;

at your right hand stands the queen clothed in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰ Listen, daughter, consider and incline your ear;

forget your own people and your father's house.

¹¹ In this way the king will desire your beauty;

he is your master; revere him.

¹² The daughter of Tyre will be there with a gift;

the rich among the people will beg for your favor.

¹³ The royal daughter in the palace is all glorious;

her clothing is worked with gold.

¹⁴ She will be led to the king in embroidered dress;

the virgins, her companions who follow her,

will be brought to you.

¹⁵ They will be led by gladness and rejoicing;

they will enter into the king's palace.

¹⁶ In the place of your fathers will be your children,

whom you will make princes in all the earth.

¹⁷ I will make your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore the peoples will give you thanks forever and ever.

Chapter 46

For the chief musician. A psalm of the sons of Korah; set to Alamoth. A song.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

though the mountains should be shaken into the heart of the seas,

³ though its waters roar and rage, and

though the mountains tremble with their swelling.

Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵ God is in the middle of her; she will not be moved;

God will help her, and he will do so at the dawn of morning.

⁶ The nations raged and the kingdoms were shaken;

he lifted up his voice, and the earth melted.

⁷ Yahweh of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

⁸ Come, behold the deeds of Yahweh,

who has set up objects of horror on earth.

⁹ He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and cuts the spear into pieces;

he burns up the shields.

¹⁰ Be quiet and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations;

I will be exalted on the earth.

¹¹ Yahweh of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Selah

Chapter 47

For the chief musician. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ Clap your hands, all you peoples;

shout to God with the sound of celebration.

² For Yahweh Most High is terrifying;

he is a great King over all the earth.

³ He subdues peoples under us

and nations under our feet.

⁴ He chooses our inheritance for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loved.

Selah

⁵ God has gone up with a shout,

Yahweh with the sound of a ram's horn.

⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷ For God is the King over all the earth;

sing praises with understanding.

⁸ God reigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

⁹ The princes of the peoples have gathered together

to the people of the God of Abraham;

for the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is greatly exalted.

Chapter 48

A song; a psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ Great is Yahweh and greatly to be praised,

in the city of our God on his holy mountain.

² Beautiful in elevation,

the joy of the whole earth,

is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,

the city of the great King.

³ God has made himself known in her palaces as a refuge.

⁴ For, see, the kings assembled themselves;

they passed by together.

⁵ They saw it, then they were amazed;

they were dismayed, and they hurried away.

⁶ Trembling took hold of them there,

pain as when a woman is in labor.

⁷ With the east wind

you break the ships of Tarshish.

⁸ As we have heard,

so have we seen

in the city of Yahweh of hosts,

in the city of our God;

God will establish it

forever.

Selah

⁹ We have thought about your covenant faithfulness, God,

in the middle of your temple.

¹⁰ As your name is, God,

so is your praise to the ends of the earth;

your right hand is full of righteousness.

¹¹ Let Mount Zion be glad,

let the daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your righteous decrees.

¹² Walk around Mount Zion, go round about her;

count her towers,

¹³ notice well her walls,

and look at her palaces

so that you may tell it to the next generation.

¹⁴ For this God is our God forever and ever;

he will be our guide to death.

Chapter 49

For the chief musician. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ Hear this, all you peoples;

give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,

² both low and high,

rich and poor together.

³ My mouth will speak wisdom

and the meditation of my heart will be of understanding.

⁴ I will incline my ear to a parable;

I will begin my parable with the harp.

⁵ Why should I fear the days of evil,

when iniquity surrounds me at my heels?

⁶ Why should I fear those who trust in their wealth

and boast about the amount of their riches?

⁷ It is certain that no one can redeem his brother

or give God a ransom for him,

⁸ For the redemption of one's life is costly,

and no one can pay what we owe.

⁹ No one can live forever

so that he would not see the pit.

¹⁰ For he will see decay. Wise men die;

the fool and the brute alike perish

and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹ Their inner thought is that their families will continue forever,

and the places where they live, to all generations;

they call their lands after their own names.

¹² But man, having wealth, does not remain alive;

he is like the wild animals that perish.

¹³ This, their way, is their folly;

yet after them, men approve of their sayings.

Selah

¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol,

and death will be their shepherd.

The upright will rule over them in the morning,

and their bodies will be consumed in Sheol,

with no place for them to live.

¹⁵ But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol;

he will receive me.

Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,

and the glory of his house increases.

¹⁷ For when he dies he will take nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸ He blessed his soul while he lived—

and men praise you when you live for yourself—

¹⁹ he will go to the generation of his fathers

and they will never see the light again.

²⁰ One who has wealth but no understanding

is like the animals that perish.

Chapter 50

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ The Mighty One, God, Yahweh,

has spoken and called the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God has shone.

³ Our God comes

and does not stay silent;

a fire devours before him,

and it is very stormy around him.

⁴ He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth so that he may judge his people:

⁵ "Gather my faithful ones together to me,

those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

⁶ The heavens will declare his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.

Selah

⁷ "Hear, my people, and I will speak, Israel,

and I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

⁸ I will not reprove you for your sacrifices;

your burnt offerings are always before me.

⁹ I will take no bull out of your house,

or male goats out of your folds.

¹⁰ For every animal 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;

for the world is mine, and everything in it.

¹³ Will I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴ Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and pay your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵ Call on me in the day of trouble;

I will rescue you, and you will glorify me."

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says,

"What have you to do with declaring my statutes,

that you have taken my covenant in your mouth,

¹⁷ since you hate instruction

and throw my words away?

¹⁸ When you see a thief, you agree with him;

you participate with those who commit adultery.

¹⁹ You give your mouth to evil,

and your tongue expresses deceit.

²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother's son.

²¹ You have done these things, but I have kept silent,

so you thought that I was someone just like yourself.

But I will reprove you

and bring up, right before your eyes, all the things you have done.

²² Give this careful consideration, you who forget God,

otherwise I will tear you to pieces,

and there will be no one to come to help you!

²³ The one who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving praises me,

and to anyone who plans his path in the right way

I will show God's salvation."

Chapter 51

For the chief musician. A psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone into Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, God,

because of your covenant faithfulness;

for the sake of the multitude of your merciful actions,

blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

⁴ Against you, you only, I have sinned

and done what is evil in your sight;

you are justified when you speak;

you are blameless when you judge.

⁵ See, I was born in iniquity;

as soon as my mother conceived me, I was in sin.

⁶ See, you desire trustworthiness in my inner self;

and you teach me wisdom in the secret place within.

⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me hear joy and gladness

so that the bones that you have broken may rejoice.

⁹ Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not drive me away from your presence,

and do not take your holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and sustain me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will be converted to you.

¹⁴ Forgive me for shedding blood,

God of my salvation,

and I will shout for the joy of your righteousness.

¹⁵ Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will express your praise.

¹⁶ For you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you have no pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

You, God, will not despise a broken and a contrite heart.

¹⁸ Do good in your good pleasure to Zion;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Then will you delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then our people will offer bulls on your altar.

Chapter 52

For the chief musician. A maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, "David has come to the house of Ahimelek."

¹ Why are you proud of making trouble, you mighty man?

The covenant faithfulness of God comes every day.

² Your tongue plans destruction

like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³ You love evil more than good

and lying rather than speaking righteousness.

Selah

⁴ You love all words that devour others,

you deceitful tongue.

⁵ God will surely destroy you forever;

he will take you up and pluck you out of your tent

and root you out of the land of the living.

Selah

⁶ The righteous will also see it and fear;

they will laugh at him and say,

⁷ "See, this is a man who did not make God his refuge,

but he trusted in the abundance of his wealth,

and he was strong when he destroyed others."

⁸ But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I will trust in the covenant faithfulness of God forever and ever.

⁹ I will give you thanks forever for what you have done.

I will wait for your name, because it is good,

in the presence of your faithful ones.

Chapter 53

For the chief musician; set to Mahalath. A maschil of David.

¹ A fool says in his heart,

"There is no God."

They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity;

there is no one who does good.

² God looks down from heaven

on the children of mankind

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after him.

³ They have all turned away. Together they have become corrupt.

There is not one who does good,

not even one.

⁴ Do those who behave wickedly have no understanding—

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread

and they do not call on God?

⁵ There they are, in great fear,

where there was nothing to cause them to be afraid;

for God will scatter the bones of those who encamp against you;

you put them to shame,

for God has rejected them.

⁶ Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!

When God brings back his people from the captivity,

then Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad!

Chapter 54

For the chief musician; on stringed instruments. A maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Does David not hide himself with us?"

¹ Save me, God, by your name,

and judge me in your might.

² Hear my prayer, God;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

³ For strangers have risen up against me,

and ruthless men have sought after my life;

they have not set God before them.

Selah

⁴ See, God is my helper;

the Lord is the one who upholds me.

⁵ He will repay my enemies with evil;

in your faithfulness, destroy them!

⁶ I will sacrifice to you with a freewill offering;

I will give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good.

⁷ For he has rescued me from every trouble;

my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Chapter 55

For the chief musician; on stringed instruments. A maschil of David.

¹ Give ear to my prayer, God;

and do not hide yourself from my plea.

² Pay attention to me and answer me;

I am restless in my troubles

³ because of the voice of my enemies,

because of the oppression of the wicked;

for they bring trouble on me,

they are hostile to me with wickedness and anger.

⁴ My heart trembles within me,

and the terrors of death have fallen on me.

⁵ Fear and trembling have come on me,

and horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶ I said, "Oh, if only I had wings like a dove!

Then would I fly away and be at rest.

⁷ See, then I would wander far away;

I would stay in the wilderness.

Selah

⁸ I would hurry to a shelter

from the stormy wind and tempest."

⁹ Destroy, Lord, and divide their tongue;

for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they go about on its walls;

wickedness and trouble are in the middle of it.

¹¹ Wickedness is in the middle of it;

oppression and deceit do not leave its streets.

¹² For it was not an enemy who rebuked me,

then I could have borne it;

neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me,

then I would have hidden myself from him.

¹³ But it was you, a man equal to myself,

my companion and my close friend.

¹⁴ We had sweet fellowship together;

we walked in the house of God with the throng.

¹⁵ Let death come deceitfully on them;

let them go down alive to Sheol,

for wickedness is where they live, right among them.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call on God,

and Yahweh will save me.

¹⁷ In the evening, morning, and at noonday I complain and moan;

he will hear my voice.

¹⁸ He will safely rescue my life from the battle that was against me,

for those who fought against me were many.

¹⁹ God, the one who rules from eternity,

will hear them and humiliate them.

Selah

They never change,

and they do not fear God.

²⁰ My friend has raised his hands against those who were at peace with him;

he has not respected the covenant that he had.

²¹ His mouth was smooth as butter,

but his heart was hostile;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were actually drawn swords.

²² Place your burdens on Yahweh,

and he will sustain you;

he will never allow a righteous person to totter.

²³ But you, God, will bring the wicked down into the pit of destruction;

men of bloodshed and deceit will not live even half as long as others,

but I will trust in you.

Chapter 56

For the chief musician; set to Jonath elem rehokim. A psalm of David. A michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath.

¹ Be merciful to me, God,

for men are attacking me!

All the day long those who fight me oppress me.

² My enemies trample me all day long;

for there are many who arrogantly fight against me.

³ When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in you.

⁴ In God, whose word I praise—

in God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid;

what can mere man do to me?

⁵ All the day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶ They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,

and they mark my steps,

just as they have waited for my life.

⁷ Do not let them escape doing iniquity.

Bring down the peoples in your anger, God.

⁸ You number my wanderings

and put my tears into your bottle;

are they not in your book?

⁹ Then my enemies will turn back on the day that I call to you;

this I know, that God is for me.

¹⁰ In God—whose word I praise,

in Yahweh—whose word I praise,

¹¹ in God I trust,

I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?

¹² The duty to fulfill my vows to you is on me, God;

I will give thank offerings to you.

¹³ For you have rescued my life from death;

you have kept my feet from stumbling,

so that I may walk before God

in the light of the living.

Chapter 57

For the chief musician; set to Al Tashheth. A psalm of David. A michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

¹ Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me,

for I take refuge in you until these troubles are over.

I stay under your wings for protection

until this destruction is over.

² I will cry to God Most High,

to God, who does all things for me.

³ He will send help from heaven and save me,

he rebukes those who hotly pursue me.

Selah

God will send me his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

⁴ My life is among lions;

I am among those who are ready to devour me.

I am among people whose teeth are spears and arrows,

and whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens;

let your glory be above all the earth.

⁶ They spread out a net for my feet;

I was bowed down.

They dug a pit in front of me.

They themselves have fallen into the middle of it!

Selah

⁷ My heart is fixed, God, my heart is fixed;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

⁸ Wake up, my glory!

Wake up, lute and harp!

I will wake up the dawn!

⁹ I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰ For great is your unfailing love, reaching to the heavens;

and your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹ Be exalted, God, above the heavens;

may your glory be exalted over all the earth.

Chapter 58

For the chief musician; set to Al Tashheth. A psalm of David. A michtam.

¹ Do you rulers speak righteousness?

Do you judge uprightly, you people?

² No, you commit wickedness in your heart;

you distribute violence throughout the land with your hands.

³ The wicked go astray even when they are in the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

⁴ Their poison is like a snake's poison;

they are like a deaf asp that stops up its ears,

⁵ that pays no attention to the voice of charmers,

no matter how skillful they are.

⁶ Shatter their teeth in their mouths, God;

break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.

⁷ Let them melt away as water that runs off;

when they shoot their arrows, let them be as though they had no points.

⁸ Let them be like a snail that melts and passes away,

like the untimely born child of a woman that never sees the sunlight.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the thorn's burning heat,

he will take them away with a whirlwind,

the green thorns and the burning thorns alike.

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when he sees God's vengeance;

he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,

¹¹ so that men will say,

"Truly, there is a reward for the righteous person;

truly there is a God who judges the earth."

Chapter 59

For the chief musician; set to Al Tashheth. A psalm of David. A michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

¹ Rescue me from my enemies, my God;

set me on high away from those who rise up against me.

² Keep me safe from those who behave wickedly,

and save me from men of bloodshed.

³ For, see, they wait in ambush to take my life.

The powerful men gather themselves together against me,

but not because of my transgression or my sin, Yahweh.

⁴ For no guilt of mine they prepare to run at me;

awake and help me and see.

⁵ You, Yahweh God of hosts,

the God of Israel,

arise and punish all the nations;

do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors.

Selah

⁶ They return at evening, they howl like dogs

and go around the city.

⁷ See, they belch out with their mouths;

swords are in their lips,

for they say, "Who hears us?"

⁸ But you, Yahweh, laugh at them;

you mock at all the nations.

⁹ God, my strength, I will pay attention to you;

you are my high tower.

¹⁰ My God will meet me with his covenant faithfulness;

God will let me see my desire on my enemies.

¹¹ Do not kill them,

or my people will forget.

Scatter them by your power and make them fall,

Lord our shield.

¹² For the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips,

let them be captured in their pride,

and for the curses and lies that they express.

¹³ Consume them in wrath,

consume them so that they will be no more;

let them know that God rules in Jacob

and to the ends of the earth.

Selah

¹⁴ At evening they return,

howling like dogs going around the city.

¹⁵ They wander about looking for food

and they growl like a dog if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶ But I will sing about your strength,

and in the morning I will praise your steadfast love!

For you have been my high tower

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

¹⁷ To you, my strength, I will sing praises;

for God is my high tower, the God of covenant faithfulness.

Chapter 60

For the chief musician; set to Shushan Eduth. A michtam of David, for teaching; when he fought with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹ God, you have rejected us; you have broken through our defenses;

you have been angry; restore us again.

² You have made the land tremble; you have torn it apart;

heal its cracks, for it is shaking.

³ You have made your people see difficult things;

you have made us drink the wine of staggering.

⁴ For those who honor you,

you have set up a banner

to be displayed against those who carry the bow.

Selah

⁵ So that those you love may be rescued,

rescue us with your right hand and answer me.

⁶ God has spoken in his holiness, "I will rejoice;

I will divide Shechem

and apportion out the Valley of Sukkoth.

⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim also is my helmet;

Judah is my scepter.

⁸ Moab is my washbasin;

over Edom I will throw my sandal;

I will shout in triumph because of Philistia."

⁹ Who will bring me into the strong city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰ But you, God, have you not rejected us?

You do not go into battle with our army.

¹¹ Give us help against the enemy,

for man's help is futile.

¹² We will triumph with God's help;

he will trample down our enemies.

Chapter 61

For the chief musician; on a stringed instrument. A psalm of David.

¹ Hear my cry, God;

attend to my prayer.

² From the ends of the earth will I call to you when my heart is faint;

lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

³ For you have been a refuge for me,

a strong tower from the enemy.

⁴ Let me live in your tabernacle forever!

Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.

Selah

⁵ For you, God, have heard my vows,

you have given me the inheritance of those who honor your name.

⁶ You will prolong the king's life;

his years will be like many generations.

⁷ He will reign before God forever;

appoint your steadfast love and faithfulness to protect him.

⁸ I will sing praise to your name forever

so that I may perform my vows every day. 2

Chapter 62

For the chief musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹ I wait in silence for God alone;

my salvation comes from him.

² He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my high tower;

I will not be greatly moved.

³ How long, all of you, will you attack a man,

that you may murder him,

like a leaning wall or a shaky fence?

⁴ They consult with him

only to bring him down from his honorable position;

they love to tell lies;

they bless him with their mouths,

but in their hearts they curse him.

Selah

⁵ I wait in silence for God alone;

for my hope is set on him.

⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation;

he is my high tower; I will not be moved.

⁷ With God is my salvation and my glory;

the rock of my strength and my refuge are in God.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

Selah

⁹ Surely men of low standing are vanity,

and men of high standing are a lie;

they will weigh lightly in the scales;

weighed together, they are lighter than nothing.

¹⁰ Do not trust in oppression or robbery;

and do not hope uselessly in riches,

for they will bear no fruit;

do not fix your heart on them.

¹¹ God has spoken once,

twice have I heard this:

power belongs to God.

¹² Also to you, Lord, belongs covenant faithfulness,

for you pay back every person for what he has done.

Chapter 63

A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

¹ God, you are my God!

I earnestly search for you,

my soul thirsts for you,

and my flesh longs for you,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

² So I have looked on you in the sanctuary,

to see your power and your glory.

³ Because your covenant faithfulness is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

⁴ So I will bless you while I live;

I will lift up my hands in your name.

⁵ It will be as if I ate a meal of marrow and fatness;

with joyful lips my mouth will praise you,

⁶ when I think about you on my bed

and meditate on you in the night watches.

⁷ For you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

⁸ I cling to you;

your right hand supports me.

⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life

will go down into the lowest parts of the earth;

¹⁰ they will be given over to those whose hands use the sword,

and they will become food for the jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;

everyone who swears by him will be proud of him,

but the mouth of those who speak lies will be stopped up.

Chapter 64

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ Hear my voice, God, listen to my complaint;

preserve my life from fear of my enemies.

² Hide me from the secret plotting of evildoers,

from the commotion of those who behave wickedly.

³ They have sharpened their tongues like swords;

they have aimed their arrows, bitter words,

⁴ so that they may shoot from secret places at someone who is innocent;

suddenly they shoot at him and fear nothing.

⁵ They encourage themselves in an evil plan;

they consult privately together in order to set traps;

they say, "Who will see us?"

⁶ They invent injustices;

"We have finished," they say, "a careful plan."

The inner thoughts and hearts of man are deep.

⁷ But God will shoot them;

suddenly they will be wounded with his arrows.

⁸ They will be made to stumble, since their own tongues are against them;

all who see them will wag their heads.

⁹ All people will fear

and will declare God's deeds.

They will wisely think about what he has done.

¹⁰ The righteous will be glad about Yahweh and will take refuge in him;

all the upright in heart will take pride in him.

Chapter 65

For the chief musician. A psalm. A song of David.

¹ For you, God in Zion, our praise waits;

our vows will be carried out to you.

² You who hear prayer,

to you all flesh will come.

³ Iniquities prevail against us;

as for our transgressions, you will forgive them.

⁴ Blessed is the man whom you choose to bring near to you

so that he may live in your courts.

We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

your holy temple.

⁵ In righteousness you will answer us by doing awesome deeds,

God of our salvation;

you who are hope of all the ends of the earth

and of those who are far across the sea.

⁶ For it is you who made the mountains firm,

you who are girded with strength.

⁷ It is you who quiet the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the commotion of the peoples.

⁸ Those who live in the uttermost parts of the earth

are afraid of the evidence of your deeds;

you make the east and the west rejoice.

⁹ You come to help the earth; you water it;

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide mankind grain when you have prepared the earth.

¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly;

you settle down the furrows' ridges;

you make them soft with rain showers;

you bless the sprouts between them.

¹¹ You crown the year with your goodness,

and your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

¹² The pastures in the wilderness drip with dew,

and the hills are girded with joy.

¹³ The pastures are clothed with flocks;

the valleys also are covered over with grain;

they shout for joy, and they sing.

Chapter 66

For the chief musician. A song, a psalm.

¹ Shout out loud to God, all the earth;

² Sing out the glory of his name;

make his praise glorious.

³ Say to God, "How terrifying are your deeds!

By the greatness of your power

your enemies will submit to you.

⁴ All the earth will worship you

and will sing to you;

they will sing praises to your name."

Selah

⁵ Come and see the works of God;

he is fearsome in his deeds toward the sons of mankind.

⁶ He turned the sea into dry land;

they went through the river on foot;

there we rejoiced in him.

⁷ He rules forever by his might;

his eyes observe the nations;

let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

⁸ Give blessing to God, you people,

let the sound of his praise be heard.

⁹ He keeps us among the living,

and he does not permit our feet to slip.

¹⁰ For you, God, have tested us;

you have tested us as silver is tested.

¹¹ You brought us into a net;

you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

¹² You made people ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us out into a spacious place.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

I will pay you my vows

¹⁴ which my lips promised

and my mouth spoke when I was in distress.

¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals

with the sweet aroma of rams;

I will offer bulls and goats.

Selah

¹⁶ Come and listen, 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 praised with my tongue.

¹⁸ If I had seen wickedness within my heart,

the Lord would not have listened to me.

¹⁹ But God has truly heard;

he has paid attention to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,

who has not turned away my prayer

or his covenant faithfulness from me.

Chapter 67

For the chief musician; on stringed instruments. A psalm, a song.

¹ May God be merciful to us and bless us

and cause his face to shine on us

Selah

² so that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

³ Let the peoples praise you, God;

let all the peoples praise you.

⁴ Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you will judge the peoples with justice

and govern the nations on earth.

Selah

⁵ Let the peoples praise you, God;

let all the peoples praise you.

⁶ The earth has yielded its produce

and God, our God, has blessed us.

⁷ God has blessed us,

and all the ends of the earth honor him.

Chapter 68

For the chief musician; A psalm of David, a song.

¹ Let God arise; let his enemies be scattered;

let those also who hate him flee before him.

² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;

as wax melts before the fire,

so let the wicked perish in the presence of God.

³ But let the righteous be glad;

let them rejoice before God;

may they rejoice with gladness.

⁴ Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!

Praise the one who rides through the plains of the Jordan River valley!

Yah is his name! Rejoice before him! ¹

⁵ A Father of the fatherless, a judge of the widows,

is God in the holy place where he lives.

⁶ God puts the lonely into families;

he brings out the prisoners with singing;

but the rebellious live in a parched land.

⁷ God, when you went out before your people,

when you marched through the wilderness,

Selah

⁸ the earth trembled;

the heavens also dropped rain in God's presence,

in the presence of God when he came to Sinai, in the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹ You, God, sent a plentiful rain;

you strengthened your inheritance when it was weary.

¹⁰ Your people lived in it;

You, God, gave from your goodness to the poor.

¹¹ The Lord gave the word,

and those who announced them were a great army.

¹² Kings of armies flee, they flee,

and the women waiting at home divide the plunder:

¹³ the wings of a dove are covered with silver,

its feathers with shining gold.

Yet some of you people lie down among the sheepfolds.

¹⁴ The Almighty scattered kings there,

it was as when it snowed on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ A mighty mountain is the hill country of Bashan;

a high mountain is the hill country of Bashan.

¹⁶ Why do you look in envy, you high hill country,

at the mountain which God desires for the place he will live?

Indeed, Yahweh will live in it forever.

¹⁷ The chariots of God are twenty thousand,

thousands upon thousands;

the Lord is among them in the holy place, as at Sinai.

¹⁸ You have ascended on high;

you have led away captives;

you have received gifts from among men,

even from the rebellious,

so that Yah, God, might live there. ²

¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens,

the God who is our salvation.

Selah

²⁰ Our God is a God who saves;

Yahweh the Lord is the one who is able to rescue us from death.

²¹ But God will strike through the heads of his enemies,

through the hairy scalps of those who walk in offenses against him.

²² The Lord said, "I will bring my enemies back from Bashan;

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea

²³ so that you may crush your enemies, dipping your foot in blood,

and so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from your enemies."

²⁴ They have seen your processions, God,

the processions of my God, my King, into the holy place.

²⁵ The singers went first, the minstrels followed after,

and in the middle were the unmarried girls playing tambourines.

²⁶ Bless God in the assemblies;

praise Yahweh, you who are from the fountain ³ of Israel.

²⁷ There is Benjamin, the smallest tribe, ruling them,

then the leaders of Judah and their multitudes,

the leaders of Zebulun and the leaders of Naphtali.

²⁸ Your God, Israel, has decreed your strength;

reveal to us your power, God, as you have revealed it in times past.

²⁹ Reveal your power to us from your temple at Jerusalem,

where kings bring tribute to you.

³⁰ Rebuke the wild beasts in the reeds,

against the peoples, that multitude of bulls and calves.

Humiliate them and make them bring you silver;

scatter the peoples who love to wage war.

³¹ Princes will come out of Egypt;

Cush will hurry to reach out with her hands to God.

³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.

Selah

Sing praises to the Lord,

³³ to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which exist from ancient times;

see, he lifts up his voice with power.

³⁴ Ascribe strength to God;

his majesty is over Israel,

and his strength is in the skies.

³⁵ God, you are fearsome in your holy place;

the God of Israel—he gives strength and power to his people.

Blessed be God.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

³The copies of the ancient Hebrew text can be read either as from the fountain or from the assembly .

Chapter 69

For the chief musician; set to Shoshannim. A psalm of David.

¹ Save me, God;

for the waters have put my life in danger.

² I sink in deep mire, where there is no place to stand;

I have come into deep waters, where the floods flow over me.

³ I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry;

my eyes fail while I wait for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without a cause

are more than the hairs on my head;

those who would cut me off,

being my enemies for wrong reasons, are mighty;

what I did not steal,

I have to give back.

⁵ God, you know my foolishness,

and my sins are not hidden from you.

⁶ Let not those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,

Lord Yahweh of hosts;

let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor because of me,

God of Israel.

⁷ For your sake I have borne rebuke;

shame has covered my face.

⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my mother's children.

⁹ For the zeal of your house has eaten me up,

and the rebukes of those who rebuke you have fallen on me.

¹⁰ When I weep and fast,

I must endure scorn.

¹¹ When I put on sackcloth,

I became a byword to them.

¹² Those who sit in the city gate talk about me;

I am a song of drunkards.

¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh,

at a time that you will accept;

answer me in the trustworthiness of your salvation.

¹⁴ Pull me out of the mire,

and do not let me sink;

let me be taken away from those who hate me

and rescued out of the deep waters.

¹⁵ Do not let the floods of water overwhelm me,

neither let the deep swallow me up.

Do not let the pit shut its mouth on me.

¹⁶ Answer me, Yahweh, for your covenant faithfulness is good;

because your mercies for me are many, turn to me.

¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress; answer me quickly.

¹⁸ Come to me and redeem me.

Because of my enemies, ransom me.

¹⁹ You know my rebuke, my shame, and my dishonor;

my adversaries are all before you.

²⁰ Rebuke has broken my heart;

I am full of heaviness;

I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;

I looked for comforters, but I found none.

²¹ They gave me poison for my food;

in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

²² Let their table before them become a snare;

when they think they are in safety, let it become a trap.

²³ Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see;

and always make their loins shake.

²⁴ Pour out your indignation on them,

and let your raging anger overtake them.

²⁵ Let their encampment be a desolation;

let no one live in their tents.

²⁶ For they persecuted the one you struck down.

They repeated the account of the pain of those you have wounded.

²⁷ Accuse them of having committed iniquity after iniquity;

do not let them come into your righteous victory.

²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the Book of Life

and not be written down along with the righteous.

²⁹ But I am poor and in pain;

let your salvation, God, set me up on high.

³⁰ I will praise the name of God with a song

and will exalt him with thanksgiving.

³¹ That will please Yahweh better than an ox

or a bull that has horns and hooves.

³² The meek have seen it and are glad;

you who seek after God, let your hearts live.

³³ For Yahweh hears the needy

and does not despise his prisoners.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵ For God will save Zion and will rebuild the cities of Judah;

the people will live there and have it as a possession.

³⁶ His servants' descendants will inherit it;

and those who love his name will live there.

Chapter 70

For the chief musician. A psalm of David; to bring to remembrance.

¹ Save me, God!

Yahweh, come quickly and help me.

² Let those who try to take my life

be ashamed and humiliated;

let them be turned back and brought to dishonor,

those who take pleasure in my pain.

³ Let them be turned back because of their shame,

those who say, "Aha, aha."

⁴ Let all those who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

let those who love your salvation always say,

"May God be praised."

⁵ But I am poor and needy;

hurry to me, God;

you are my help and you rescue me.

Yahweh, do not delay.

Chapter 71

¹ In you, Yahweh, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

² Rescue me and make me safe in your righteousness;

turn your ear to me and save me.

³ Be to me a rock for refuge

where I may always go;

you have given a command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

⁴ Rescue me, my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

out of the hand of the unrighteous and ruthless.

⁵ For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh.

I have trusted in you ever since I was a child.

⁶ By you I have been supported from the womb;

you are he who took me out of my mother's belly;

my praise will be always about you.

⁷ I am a marvel to many people;

you are my strong refuge.

⁸ My mouth will be filled with your praise,

all the day with your honor.

⁹ Do not throw me away in my time of old age;

do not abandon me when my strength fails.

¹⁰ For my enemies are talking about me;

those who watch for my life are plotting together.

¹¹ They say, "God has abandoned him;

pursue and take him,

for there is no one to save him."

¹² God, do not be far from me;

my God, hurry to help me.

¹³ Let them be put to shame and destroyed,

those who are hostile to my life;

let them be covered with rebuke and dishonor,

those who seek my hurt.

¹⁴ But I will always hope in you

and will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell about your righteousness

and your salvation all the day,

although I cannot understand it.

¹⁶ I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh;

I will make mention of your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷ God, you have taught me from my youth;

even now I declare your wonderful deeds.

¹⁸ Indeed, even when I am old and gray-headed, God,

do not abandon me,

as I have been declaring your strength to the next generation,

your power to everyone who is to come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness also, God, is very high;

you who have done great things,

God, who is like you?

²⁰ You who made me see many troubles

will revive us again

and will bring us up again

from the depths of the earth.

²¹ May you increase my honor;

turn again and comfort me.

²² I will also give thanks to you with the harp

for your trustworthiness, my God;

to you I will sing praises with the harp,

Holy One of Israel.

²³ My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you—

even my soul, which you have redeemed.

²⁴ My tongue will also talk about your righteousness

all day long;

for they have been put to shame and are confused,

those who sought my hurt.

Chapter 72

A psalm of Solomon.

¹ Give the king your righteous decrees, God,

your righteousness to the king's son.

² May he judge your people with righteousness

and your poor with justice.

³ May the mountains produce peace for the people;

may the hills produce righteousness.

⁴ May he judge the poor of the people;

may he save the children of the needy

and break in pieces the oppressor.

⁵ May they honor you while the sun endures,

and as long as the moon lasts throughout all generations.

⁶ May he come down like rain on the mown grass,

like showers that water the earth.

⁷ May the righteous flourish in his days,

and may there be an abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹ May those who live in the wilderness bow down before him;

may his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the islands render tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

¹¹ Indeed, may all kings fall down before him;

may all nations serve him.

¹² For he helps the needy person who cries out

and the poor person who has no other helper.

¹³ He has pity on the poor and needy,

and he saves the lives of needy people.

¹⁴ He redeems their lives from oppression and violence,

and their blood is precious in his sight.

¹⁵ May he live!

May the gold of Sheba be given to him.

May people always pray for him;

may God bless him all day long.

¹⁶ May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the mountaintops may their crops wave.

May the fruit of it be like Lebanon;

may the people flourish in the cities like the grass of the field.

¹⁷ May his name endure forever;

may his name continue as long as the sun;

may people be blessed in him;

may all nations call him blessed.

¹⁸ May Yahweh God, the God of Israel, be blessed,

who alone does wonderful things.

¹⁹ May his glorious name be blessed forever,

and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen.

²⁰ The prayers of David son of Jesse are finished.

Book Three

(Psalms 73-89)

Chapter 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,

to those with a pure heart.

² But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slipped out from under me

³ because I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ For they have no pain until their death,

but they are strong and well fed.

⁵ They are not in trouble like other men;

they are not afflicted like other men.

⁶ Pride adorns them like a necklace around their neck;

violence clothes them like a robe.

⁷ Out of such blindness comes sin;

evil thoughts pass through their hearts.

⁸ They mock and speak wickedly;

in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹ They set their mouth against the heavens,

and their tongues march through the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore his people turn to them

and abundant waters are drained out.

¹¹ They say, "How does God know?

Is there knowledge with the Most High?"

¹² Take notice: these people are wicked;

they are always at ease, becoming richer and richer.

¹³ Surely it is in vain that I have guarded my heart

and washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ For all the day long I have been afflicted

and disciplined every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, "I will say these things,"

then I would have betrayed this generation of your children.

¹⁶ Though I tried to understand these things,

it was too difficult for me.

¹⁷ Then I went into God's sanctuary

and came to understand their fate.

¹⁸ Surely you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How they become a wilderness in a moment!

They come to an end and are finished in awful terrors.

²⁰ They are like a dream after one wakes up;

Lord, when you arise,

you will despise their image.

²¹ For my heart was embittered,

and I was deeply wounded.

²² I was ignorant and lacked insight;

I was like a senseless animal before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.

²⁴ You will guide me with your advice

and afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?

There is no one on earth that I desire but you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart grow weak,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;

you will destroy all those who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸ But as for me, all I need to do is to approach God.

I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge.

I will declare all your deeds.

Chapter 74

A maschil of Asaph.

¹ God, why have you rejected us forever?

Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?

² Call to mind your people, whom you purchased in ancient times,

the tribe whom you have redeemed to be your own heritage,

and Mount Zion, where you live.

³ Come look at the everlasting ruins,

all the damage that the enemy has done in the holy place.

⁴ Your adversaries roared in the middle of your appointed place;

they set up their battle flags.

⁵ They hacked away with axes

as in a thick forest.

⁶ They smashed and broke down all the engravings;

they broke them with axes and hammers.

⁷ They set your sanctuary on fire, knocking it to the ground;

they desecrated the dwelling place of your name.

⁸ They said in their hearts, "We will destroy them all."

They burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹ We do not see any more signs;

there is no prophet any more,

and no one among us knows how long this will last.

¹⁰ How long, God, will the enemy throw insults at you?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?

Take your right hand from your garment and destroy them.

¹² Yet God has been my king from ancient times,

bringing salvation on the earth.

¹³ You divided the sea by your strength;

you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

¹⁴ You crushed the heads of leviathan;

you fed him to those living in the wilderness.

¹⁵ You broke open springs and streams;

you dried up flowing rivers.

¹⁶ The day is yours, and the night is yours also;

you set the light and the sun in place.

¹⁷ You have set all the borders of the earth;

you have made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Call to mind how the enemy hurled insults at you, Yahweh,

and that a foolish people has blasphemed your name.

¹⁹ Do not give the life of your dove to a wild animal.

Do not forget forever the life of your oppressed people.

²⁰ Remember your covenant,

for the dark regions of the land are full of places of violence.

²¹ Do not let the oppressed be turned back in shame;

let the poor and oppressed praise your name.

²² Arise, God; plead your own cause;

call to mind how fools mock you all day long.

²³ Do not forget the voice of your adversaries

or the uproar of those who continually defy you.

Chapter 75

For the chief musician; set to Al Tashheth. A psalm of Asaph, a song.

¹ We give thanks to you, God;

we give thanks, for your name is near;

people tell of your wondrous works.

² At the appointed time

I will judge fairly.

³ Though the earth and all the inhabitants shake in fear,

I make steady the earth's pillars.

Selah

⁴ I said to the arrogant, "Do not be arrogant,"

and to the wicked, "Do not lift up the horn.

⁵ Do not lift up your horn to the heights;

do not speak with an arrogant neck."

⁶ It is not from the east or from the west,

and it is not from the wilderness that lifting up comes.

⁷ But God is the judge;

he brings down and he lifts up.

⁸ For Yahweh holds in his hand a cup of foaming wine,

which is mixed with spices, and pours it out.

Surely all the wicked of the earth

will drink it to the last drop.

⁹ But I will continually tell what you have done;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ He says, "I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,

but the horns of the righteous will be raised up."

Chapter 76

For the chief musician, on stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph, a song.

¹ God has made himself known in Judah;

his name is great in Israel.

² His tent is in Salem;

his dwelling place is in Zion.

³ There he broke the arrows of the bow,

the shield, the sword, and the other weapons of war.

Selah

⁴ You shine brightly and are majestic

as you descend from the mountains, where you killed your victims.

⁵ The brave of heart were plundered;

they fell asleep.

All the warriors were helpless.

⁶ At your rebuke, God of Jacob,

both charioteer and horse fell asleep.

⁷ You, yes you, are to be feared;

who can stand in your sight when you are angry?

⁸ From heaven you made your judgment heard;

the earth was afraid and silent

⁹ when you, God, arose to execute judgment

and to save all the oppressed of the earth.

Selah

¹⁰ Surely your angry judgment against humanity will bring you praise;

you gird yourself with the remnant of your anger.

¹¹ Make vows to Yahweh your God and keep them.

May all who surround him bring tribute to him who is to be feared.

¹² He cuts off the spirit of the princes;

he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Chapter 77

For the chief musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ I will call with my voice to God;

I will call out with my voice to God,

and my God will give ear to me.

² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched my hands out, and they would not become tired.

My soul refused to be comforted.

³ I thought of God as I groaned;

I thought about him as I grew faint.

Selah

⁴ You held my eyes open;

I was too troubled to speak.

⁵ I thought about the days of old,

about years long past.

⁶ During the night I called to mind the song I once sang.

I thought carefully

and tried to understand what had happened.

⁷ Will the Lord reject me forever?

Will he never again show me favor?

⁸ Was his covenant faithfulness gone forever?

Had his promise failed forever?

⁹ Had God forgotten to be gracious?

Had his anger shut off his compassion?

Selah

¹⁰ I said, "This is my sorrow:

the changing of the right hand of the Most High toward us."

¹¹ But I will remember the deeds of Yah; ¹

I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹² I will ponder all your deeds

and will reflect on them.

¹³ Your way, God, is holy;

what god compares to our great God?

¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders;

you have revealed your strength among the peoples.

¹⁵ You gave your people victory by your great power—

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

¹⁶ The waters saw you, God;

the waters saw you, and they were afraid;

the depths trembled.

¹⁷ The clouds poured down water;

the cloudy skies gave voice;

your arrows flew about.

¹⁸ Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;

the lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹ Your path went through the sea

and your way through the surging waters,

but your footprints were not seen.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 78

A maschil of Asaph.

¹ Hear my teaching, my people,

listen to the words of my mouth.

² I will open my mouth in parables;

I will sing about hidden things about the past.

³ These are things that we have heard and learned,

things that our ancestors have told us.

⁴ We will not keep them from their descendants.

We will tell the next generation

about the praiseworthy deeds of Yahweh,

his strength, and the wonders that he has done.

⁵ For he established covenant decrees in Jacob

and appointed a law in Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

that they were to teach them to their children.

⁶ He commanded this so that the generation to come might know his decrees,

the children not yet born,

who should tell them in turn to their own children.

⁷ Then they would place their hope in God

and not forget his deeds

but keep his commandments.

⁸ Then they would not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation whose hearts were not right,

and whose spirits were not committed and faithful to God.

⁹ The Ephraimites were armed with bows,

but they turned back on the day of battle.

¹⁰ They did not keep the covenant with God,

and they refused to obey his law.

¹¹ They forgot his deeds,

the wonderful things that he had shown them.

¹² They forgot the marvelous things he did in the sight of their ancestors

in the land of Egypt, in the land of Zoan.

¹³ He divided the sea and led them across it;

he made the waters to stand like walls.

¹⁴ In the daytime he led them with a cloud

and all the night with the light of fire.

¹⁵ He split the rocks in the wilderness,

and he gave them water abundantly,

enough to fill the depths of the sea.

¹⁶ He made streams flow out of the rock

and made the water flow like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they continued to sin against him,

rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.

¹⁸ They challenged God in their hearts

by asking for food to satisfy their appetites.

¹⁹ They spoke against God;

they said, "Can God really lay out a table for us in the wilderness?

²⁰ See, when he struck the rock,

waters gushed out

and streams overflowed.

But can he give bread also?

Will he provide meat for his people?"

²¹ When Yahweh heard this, he was angry;

so his fire burned against Jacob,

and his anger attacked Israel,

²² because they did not believe in God

and did not trust in his salvation.

²³ Yet he commanded the skies above

and opened the doors of the sky.

²⁴ He rained down manna for them to eat,

and gave them the grain from heaven.

²⁵ People ate the bread of angels.

He sent them food in abundance.

²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the sky,

and by his power he guided the south wind.

²⁷ He rained down meat on them like dust,

birds as numerous as the sands of the sea.

²⁸ They fell in the middle of their camp,

all around their tents.

²⁹ So they ate and were full.

He gave them what they craved.

³⁰ But they had not yet filled up;

their food was still in their mouths.

³¹ Then God's anger attacked them

and killed the strongest of them.

He brought down the young men of Israel.

³² Despite this, they continued to sin

and did not believe his wonderful deeds.

³³ Therefore God cut short their days;

their years were filled with terror.

³⁴ Whenever God killed them, they would start to seek him,

and they would return and look earnestly for him.

³⁵ They would call to mind that God was their rock

and that the Most High God was their rescuer.

³⁶ But they would flatter him with their mouth

and lie to him with their words.

³⁷ For their hearts were not firmly fixed on him,

and they were not faithful to his covenant.

³⁸ Yet he, being merciful,

forgave their iniquity

and did not destroy them.

Yes, many times he held back his anger

and did not stir up all his wrath.

³⁹ He called to mind that they were made of flesh,

a wind that passes away and does not return.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

and grieved him in the barren regions!

⁴¹ Again and again they challenged God

and offended the Holy One of Israel.

⁴² They did not think about his power,

how he had rescued them from the enemy

⁴³ when he performed his terrifying signs in Egypt

and his wonders in the region of Zoan.

⁴⁴ He turned the Egyptians' rivers to blood

so that they could not drink from their streams.

⁴⁵ He sent swarms of flies that devoured them

and frogs that destroyed them.

⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the grasshopper

and their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with hail

and their sycamore trees with more hail.

⁴⁸ He rained hail on their cattle

and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.

⁴⁹ The fierceness of his anger lashed out against them.

He sent wrath, fury, and trouble

like angels who bring disaster.

⁵⁰ He leveled a path for his anger;

he did not spare them from death

but gave them over to the plague.

⁵¹ He killed all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstborn of their strength in the tents of Ham.

⁵² He led his own people out like sheep

and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.

⁵³ He led them secure and unafraid,

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

⁵⁴ Then he brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountain that his right hand acquired.

⁵⁵ He drove out the nations from before them

and assigned them their inheritance.

He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶ Yet they challenged and rebelled

against the Most High God

and did not keep his solemn commands.

⁵⁷ They were unfaithful

and acted treacherously like their fathers;

they were as undependable as a faulty bow.

⁵⁸ For they made him angry with their high places

and provoked him to jealous anger with their idols.

⁵⁹ When God heard this, he was angry

and completely rejected Israel.

⁶⁰ He abandoned the sanctuary of Shiloh,

the tent where he had lived among people.

⁶¹ He allowed his strength to be captured

and gave his glory into the enemy's hand.

⁶² He handed his people over to the sword,

and he was angry with his heritage.

⁶³ Fire devoured their young men,

and their virgins had no wedding songs.

⁶⁴ Their priests fell by the sword,

and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord awakened as one from sleep,

like a warrior who shouts because of wine.

⁶⁶ He drove his adversaries back;

he put them to everlasting shame.

⁶⁷ He rejected the tent of Joseph,

and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁸ He chose the tribe of Judah

and Mount Zion that he loved.

⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the heavens,

like the earth that he has established forever.

⁷⁰ He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

⁷¹ He took him from following the ewes with their young,

and he brought him to be shepherd of Jacob,

his people, and of Israel, his heritage.

⁷² David shepherded them with the integrity of his heart,

and he guided them with the skill of his hands.

Chapter 79

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God, foreign nations have come into your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple;

they have turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.

² They have given the dead bodies of your servants

as food to the birds of the skies,

the bodies of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.

³ They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem,

and there was none to bury them.

⁴ We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,

mocking and derision to those who are around us.

⁵ How long, Yahweh? Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your jealous anger burn like fire?

⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations

that do not know you

and on the kingdoms

that do not call upon your name.

⁷ For they have devoured Jacob

and laid waste his villages.

⁸ Do not hold the iniquities of our forefathers against us;

may your merciful actions come to us,

for we are very low.

⁹ Help us, God of our salvation,

for the sake of the glory of your name;

save us and forgive our sins

for your name's sake.

¹⁰ Why should the nations say,

"Where is their God?"

May the blood of your servants that was shed

be avenged on the nations before our eyes.

¹¹ May the groans of the prisoners come before you;

with the greatness of your power keep the children of death alive.

¹² Pay back into the laps of our neighboring countries seven times as much

as the contempt with which they have taunted you, Lord.

¹³ So we your people and sheep of your pasture

will give you thanks forever.

We will tell your praises

to all generations.

Chapter 80

For the chief musician, set to the Shoshannim Eduth style. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ Give ear, Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock;

you who sit above the cherubim,

shine on us!

² In the sight of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

stir up your power;

come and save us.

³ God, restore us;

make your face shine on us,

and we will be saved.

⁴ Yahweh God of hosts,

how long will you be angry at your people when they pray?

⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears

and given them tears to drink in great quantities.

⁶ You make us an object of strife for our neighbors,

and our enemies laugh in mockery about us among themselves.

⁷ God of hosts, restore us;

make your face shine on us,

and we will be saved.

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out nations and transplanted it.

⁹ You cleared the land for it;

it took root and filled the land.

¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade,

the cedars of God by its branches.

¹¹ It sent out its branches as far as the sea

and its shoots to the Euphrates River.

¹² Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by along the road pluck its fruit?

¹³ The boars out of the forest ruin it,

and the beasts of the field feed on it.

¹⁴ Turn back, God of hosts;

look down from heaven and take notice

and take care of this vine.

¹⁵ This is the root that your right hand planted,

the son that you have strengthened for yourself.

¹⁶ It has been burned and cut down;

they perish because of your rebuke.

¹⁷ May your hand be on the man of your right hand,

on the son of man whom you strengthened for yourself.

¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;

revive us, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Yahweh God of hosts, restore us;

make your face shine on us, and we will be saved.

Chapter 81

For the chief musician; set to the Gittith style. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ Shout joyfullly to God our strength;

shout out for joy to the God of Jacob.

² Sing a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant harp with the lute.

³ Blow the ram's horn on the day of the new moon,

on the day of the full moon, when our feast day begins.

⁴ For it is a statute for Israel,

a decree given by the God of Jacob.

⁵ He issued it as a regulation in Joseph

when he went against the land of Egypt,

where I heard a voice that I did not recognize:

⁶ "I removed the burden from his shoulder;

his hands were freed from holding the basket.

⁷ In your distress you called out, and I helped you;

I answered you from a dark thundercloud.

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah

⁸ Listen, my people, for I will warn you,

Israel, if you would only listen to me!

⁹ There must be no foreign god among you;

you must not worship any foreign god.

¹⁰ I am Yahweh your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹ But my people did not listen to my words;

Israel did not obey me.

¹² So I gave them over to their own stubborn way

so that they might follow their own devices.

¹³ Oh, that my people would listen to me;

oh, that my people would walk in my paths.

¹⁴ Then I would quickly subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their oppressors.

¹⁵ May those who hate Yahweh cringe in fear before him!

May they be humiliated forever.

¹⁶ I would feed Israel with the finest wheat;

I would satisfy you with honey out of the rock."

Chapter 82

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God stands in the divine assembly;

in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.

² How long will you judge unjustly

and show favoritism to the wicked?

Selah

³ Give justice to the poor and fatherless;

maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.

⁴ Rescue the poor and needy;

take them out of the hand of the wicked.

⁵ They neither know nor understand;

they wander around in the darkness;

all the foundations of the earth crumble.

⁶ I said, "You are gods,

and all of you are sons of the Most High.

⁷ Nevertheless you will die like men

and fall like one of the princes."

⁸ Arise, God, judge the earth,

for you have an inheritance in all the nations.

Chapter 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us and remain unmoved, God.

² Look, your enemies are making a commotion,

and those who hate you have raised their heads.

³ They make shrewd plans against your people

and plan together against your protected ones.

⁴ They have said, "Come, and let us destroy them as a nation.

Then the name of Israel will no longer be remembered."

⁵ They schemed together with one strategy;

they made an alliance against you—

⁶ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

of Moab and the Hagrites,

⁷ Byblos, ¹ Ammon, Amalek;

and also Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.

⁸ Assyria also has joined with them;

they have become an arm for the descendants of Lot.

Selah

⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian,

as you did to Sisera and to Jabin at the Kishon River.

¹⁰ They perished at Endor

and became like manure for the earth.

¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,

and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna.

¹² They said, "Let us take for ourselves

the pastures of God."

¹³ My God, make them like the whirling dust,

like chaff before the wind,

¹⁴ like the fire that burns the forest,

and like the flame that sets the mountains on fire.

¹⁵ Chase them with your strong wind,

and terrify them with your windstorm.

¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame

so that they might seek your name, Yahweh.

¹⁷ May they be put to shame and be terrified forever;

may they perish in disgrace.

¹⁸ Then they will know that you alone,

whose name is Yahweh,

are the Most High over all the earth.

¹Some modern English translations read, Gebal .

Chapter 84

For the chief musician; set to the Gittith style. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ How lovely is the place where you live,

Yahweh of hosts!

² I long for the courts of Yahweh;

my desire for it has made me exhausted.

My heart and all of my being

shout for joy to the living God.

³ Even the sparrow has found herself a house

and the swallow a nest for herself

where she may lay her young

near your altars, Yahweh of hosts,

my King, and my God.

⁴ Blessed are they who live in your house;

they praise you continually.

Selah

⁵ Blessed is the man whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways up to Zion.

⁶ As they go through the Valley of Tears

they make it a place of springs.

The early rains cover it with blessings. ¹

⁷ They go from strength to strength;

every one of them appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Yahweh God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, God of Jacob!

Selah

⁹ God, watch over our shield;

show concern for your anointed.

¹⁰ For one day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,

than to live within the tents of the wicked.

¹¹ For Yahweh God is our sun and shield;

Yahweh will give grace and glory;

he does not withhold any good thing

from those who walk in integrity.

¹² Yahweh of hosts,

blessed is the man who trusts in you.

¹Some scholars translate the Hebrew as cover it with pools of water .

Chapter 85

For the chief musician. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ Yahweh, you have shown favor to your land;

you have restored the well-being of Jacob.

² You have forgiven the iniquity of your people;

you have covered all their sin.

Selah

³ You have withdrawn all your wrath;

you have turned back from your hot anger.

⁴ Restore us, God of our salvation,

and let go of your displeasure with us.

⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?

Will you remain angry throughout future generations?

⁶ Will you not revive us again?

Then your people will rejoice in you.

⁷ Show us your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh;

grant us your salvation.

⁸ I will listen to what Yahweh God says,

for he will make peace with his people, his faithful ones.

Yet they must not turn again to foolish ways.

⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him;

then glory will remain in our land.

¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness have met together;

righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

¹¹ Trustworthiness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

¹² Yes, Yahweh will give his good blessings,

and our land will yield its crops.

¹³ Righteousness will go before him

and make a way for his footsteps.

Chapter 86

A prayer of David.

¹ Listen, Yahweh, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

² Protect me, for I am faithful;

my God, save your servant who trusts in you.

³ Be merciful to me, Lord,

for I cry out to you all day long.

⁴ Make your servant glad,

for to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁵ You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

abounding in steadfast love to all those who cry out to you.

⁶ Give ear, Yahweh, to my prayer;

hear the sound of my pleas.

⁷ In the day of my trouble I call on you,

for you will answer me.

⁸ There is no one who compares to you among the gods, Lord.

There are no deeds like your deeds.

⁹ All the nations that you have made

will come and bow before you, Lord.

They will honor your name.

¹⁰ For you are great and do wonderful things;

you only are God.

¹¹ Teach me your ways, Yahweh.

Then I will walk in your truth.

Unite my heart

to reverence your name.

¹² Lord my God, I will praise you with my whole heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

¹³ For great is your covenant faithfulness toward me;

you have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴ God, the arrogant have risen up against me.

A company of violent men seek my life.

They have no regard for you.

¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

¹⁶ Turn toward me and have mercy on me;

give your strength to your servant;

save the son of your servant woman.

¹⁷ Show me a sign of your favor.

Then those who hate me will see it and be put to shame

because you, Yahweh, have helped me and comforted me.

Chapter 87

A psalm of the sons of Korah; a song.

¹ On the holy mount stands the city he founded;

² Yahweh loves the gates of Zion

more than all the tents of Jacob.

³ Glorious things are said of you,

city of God.

Selah

⁴ "I mention Rahab and Babylon to my followers.

See, there are Philistia, and Tyre, along with Cush—

and will say, 'This one was born there.'"

⁵ Of Zion it will be said,

"Each of these was born in her;

and the Most High himself will establish her."

⁶ Yahweh writes in the census book of the nations,

"This one was born there."

Selah

⁷ So also the singers and the dancers say together,

"All my fountains are in you."

Chapter 88

A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah; for the chief musician; set to the Mahalath Leannoth style. A maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.

¹ Yahweh, God of my salvation,

I cry out day and night before you.

² Listen to my prayer;

pay attention to my cry.

³ For I am filled with troubles,

and my life has reached Sheol.

⁴ People treat me like those who go down into the pit;

I am a man with no strength.

⁵ I am free among the dead;

I am like the dead who lie in the grave,

about whom you care no more

because they are cut off from your power.

⁶ You place me in the lowest part of the pit,

in the dark and deep places.

⁷ Your wrath lies heavy on me,

and all your waves crash over me.

Selah

⁸ Because of you, my acquaintances avoid me.

You have made me an abomination to them.

I am hemmed in and I cannot escape.

⁹ My eyes grow weary from trouble;

All day long I call out to you, Yahweh;

I spread out my hands to you.

¹⁰ Will you do wonders for the dead?

Will those who have died rise and praise you?

Selah

¹¹ Will your covenant faithfulness be proclaimed in the grave,

your faithfulness in the place of the dead?

¹² Will your wonderful deeds be known in the darkness,

or your righteousness in the place of forgetfulness?

¹³ But I cry to you, Yahweh;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

¹⁴ Yahweh, why do you reject me?

Why do you hide your face from me?

¹⁵ I have always been afflicted and on the verge of death since my youth.

I have suffered from your terrors;

I am in despair.

¹⁶ Your burning anger has passed over me,

and your terrifying deeds have annihilated me.

¹⁷ They surround me like water all the day long;

they have all encircled me.

¹⁸ You have removed every friend and acquaintance from me.

My only acquaintance is the darkness.

Chapter 89

A maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

¹ I will sing of Yahweh's acts of covenant faithfulness forever.

I will proclaim your truthfulness to future generations.

² For I have said, “Covenant faithfulness has been established forever;

your truthfulness you have established in the heavens.”

³ You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

I have made an oath to David my servant:

⁴ ‘I will establish your descendants forever,

and I will establish your throne through all generations.‘”

Selah

⁵ The heavens praise your wonders, Yahweh;

your truthfulness is praised in the assembly of the holy ones.

⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh?

Who among the sons of the gods is like Yahweh?

⁷ He is a God who is greatly honored in the council of the holy ones

and is awesome among all who surround him.

⁸ Yahweh God of hosts,

who is strong like Yah? ¹

Your truthfulness surrounds you.

⁹ You rule the raging sea;

when the waves surge, you calm them.

¹⁰ You crushed Rahab as one who is killed.

You scattered your enemies with your strong arm.

¹¹ The heavens belong to you, and the earth also.

You established the world and all it contains.

¹² You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.

¹³ You have a mighty arm

and a strong hand, and your right hand is high.

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.

Steadfast love and faithfulness come before you.

¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!

Yahweh, they walk in the light of your face.

¹⁶ They rejoice in your name all day long,

and in your righteousness they exalt you.

¹⁷ You are their glorious strength,

and by your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸ For our shield belongs to Yahweh;

our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹ Long ago you spoke in a vision

to your faithful ones; ²

you said, "I have set a crown on a mighty one." ³

I have raised up one chosen from among the people.

²⁰ I have chosen David my servant;

with my holy oil have I anointed him.

²¹ My hand will support him;

my arm will strengthen him.

²² No enemy will deceive him;

no son of wickedness will oppress him.

²³ I will crush his enemies before him;

I will kill those who hate him.

²⁴ My truth and my covenant faithfulness will be with him;

by my name his horn will be exalted.

²⁵ I will place his hand over the sea

and his right hand over the rivers.

²⁶ He will call out to me, 'You are my Father,

my God, and the rock of my salvation.'

²⁷ I also will place him as my firstborn son,

the most exalted of the kings of the earth.

²⁸ I will extend my covenant faithfulness to him forever;

and my covenant with him will be secure.

²⁹ I will make his descendants endure forever

and his throne as enduring as the skies above.

³⁰ If his children abandon my law

and do not walk in my regulations,

³¹ if they break my rules

and do not keep my commands,

³² then will I punish their rebellion with a rod

and their iniquity with blows.

³³ But I will not remove my steadfast love from him

or be unfaithful to my promise.

³⁴ I will not break my covenant

or change the words of my lips.

³⁵ Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness—

I will not lie to David:

³⁶ his descendants will continue forever

and his throne as long as the sun before me.

³⁷ It will be established forever like the moon,

the faithful witness in the sky."

Selah

³⁸ But you have refused and rejected;

you have been angry with your anointed king.

³⁹ You have renounced the covenant of your servant.

You have desecrated his crown on the ground.

⁴⁰ You have broken down all his walls.

You have ruined his strongholds.

⁴¹ All who pass by have robbed him.

He has become the scorn of his neighbors.

⁴² You have raised the right hand of his enemies;

you have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³ You turn back the edge of his sword

and have not made him stand when in battle.

⁴⁴ You have brought his splendor to an end;

you have brought down his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵ You have shortened the days of his youth.

You have covered him with shame.

Selah

⁴⁶ How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever?

How long will your anger burn like fire?

⁴⁷ Oh, think about how short my time is,

and for what vanity you have created all the children of mankind!

⁴⁸ Who can live and not die,

or rescue his own life from the hand of Sheol?

Selah

⁴⁹ Lord, where are your former acts of covenant faithfulness

that you swore to David in your truthfulness?

⁵⁰ Call to mind, Lord, the mocking directed against your servants

and how I bear in my heart so many insults from the nations.

⁵¹ Your enemies hurl insults, Yahweh;

they mock the footsteps of your anointed one.

⁵² Blessed be Yahweh forever.

Amen and Amen.

Book Four

(Psalms 90-106)

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Many ancient copies of the Hebrew text have the singular faithful one instead of faithful ones .

³The ancient copies of the Hebrew text have I will place help upon a warrior . Some scholars translate the word for help as crown and that is how the ULB editors have translated the word here.

Chapter 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

¹ Lord, you have been our refuge

throughout all generations.

² Before the mountains were formed,

or you formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

³ You return man to dust,

and you say, "Return, you descendants of mankind."

⁴ For a thousand years in your sight

are as yesterday when it is past,

and as a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood and they sleep;

in the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up.

⁶ In the morning it blooms and grows up;

in the evening it withers and dries up.

⁷ Truly, we are consumed in your anger,

and in your wrath we are terrified.

⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,

our hidden sins in the light of your presence.

⁹ Our life passes away under your wrath;

our years quickly pass like a sigh.

¹⁰ Our years are seventy,

or even eighty if we are healthy;

but even our best years are marked by trouble and sorrow.

Yes, they pass quickly, and we fly away.

¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger,

and your wrath that is equal to the fear of you?

¹² So teach us to consider our life

so that we might gain a heart of wisdom.

¹³ Turn back, Yahweh! How long will it be?

Have pity on your servants.

¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your covenant faithfulness

so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁵ Make us glad in proportion to the days you afflicted us

and to the years we have experienced trouble.

¹⁶ Let your servants see your work,

and let our children see your majesty.

¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God be ours;

prosper the work of our hands;

indeed, prosper the work of our hands.

Chapter 91

¹ He who lives in the shelter of the Most High

will stay in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of Yahweh, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

³ For he will rescue you

from the snare of the hunter

and from the destructive plague.

⁴ He will cover you with his wings,

and under his wings you will find refuge.

His faithfulness is a shield and protection.

⁵ You will not be afraid of terror in the night,

or of the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ or of the plague that stalks in the darkness,

or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side

and ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not reach you.

⁸ You will only observe

and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ For Yahweh is my refuge!

Make the Most High your refuge also.

¹⁰ No evil will overtake you;

no affliction will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will put his angels in charge over you,

to guard you in all your ways.

¹² They will lift you up with their hand

so that you will not hit your foot on a stone.

¹³ You will crush lions and asps under your feet;

you will trample on young lions and serpents.

¹⁴ Because he delights in me, I will rescue him.

I will protect him because he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him in trouble;

I will give him victory and will honor him.

¹⁶ I will satisfy him with the length of his days,

and show him my salvation.

Chapter 92

A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day.

¹ It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh

and to sing praises to your name, Most High,

² to proclaim your covenant faithfulness in the morning

and your truthfulness every night,

³ with a lute of ten strings

and the resounding music of the harp.

⁴ For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your deeds.

I will sing for joy because of the deeds of your hands.

⁵ How great are your deeds, Yahweh!

Your thoughts are very deep.

⁶ A brutish person does not know,

nor does a fool understand this:

⁷ When the wicked sprout like the grass,

and even when all those who behave wickedly thrive,

still they are doomed to eternal destruction.

⁸ But you, Yahweh, will reign forever.

⁹ Indeed, look at your enemies, Yahweh!

Indeed, look at your enemies. They will perish!

All those who behave wickedly will be scattered.

¹⁰ You have lifted up my horn like the horn of the wild ox;

I am anointed with fresh oil.

¹¹ My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

my ears have heard of the doom of my evil foes.

¹² The righteous will flourish like the palm tree;

they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³ They are planted in the house of Yahweh;

they flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴ They bear fruit even when they are old;

they stay fresh and green,

¹⁵ to proclaim that Yahweh is just.

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Chapter 93

¹ Yahweh reigns; he is robed in majesty;

Yahweh has clothed and girded himself with strength.

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

² Your throne is established from ancient times;

you are from everlasting.

³ The oceans rise, Yahweh;

they have lifted up their voice;

the oceans' waves crash and roar.

⁴ Above the crashing of many waves,

the mighty breakers of the sea,

Yahweh on high is mighty.

⁵ Your solemn commands are very trustworthy;

holiness adorns your house,

Yahweh, for the length of your days.

Chapter 94

¹ Yahweh, God who avenges,

God who avenges, shine over us.

² Rise up, judge of the earth,

give recompense to the proud.

³ How long will the wicked, Yahweh,

how long will the wicked rejoice?

⁴ They pour out their arrogant words;

all those who behave wickedly boast.

⁵ They crush your people, Yahweh;

they afflict your heritage.

⁶ They kill the widow and foreigner who lives in their country,

and they murder the fatherless.

⁷ They say, "Yah does not see;

the God of Jacob does not take notice of it." ¹

⁸ Pay attention, you stupid people!

You fools, when will you gain understanding?

⁹ He who made the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations, does he not correct?

He is the one who gives knowledge to man.

¹¹ Yahweh knows the thoughts of men,

that they are vapor.

¹² Blessed is the one whom Yah instructs,

the one whom you teach from your law. ²

¹³ You give him rest in times of trouble

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴ For Yahweh will not abandon his people

or abandon his inheritance.

¹⁵ For judgment will again be righteous;

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶ Who will rise up to defend me against the evildoers?

Who will stand up for me against those who behave wickedly?

¹⁷ Unless Yahweh had been my help,

I would soon be lying down in the place of silence.

¹⁸ When I said, "My foot is slipping,"

Your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, held me up.

¹⁹ When cares within me are many,

your consolations delight my soul.

²⁰ Can a throne of destruction be allied with you,

one that creates trouble by statute?

²¹ They conspire together to take the life of the righteous

and they declare guilty the blood of the innocent.

²² But Yahweh has been my high tower,

and my God has been the rock of my refuge.

²³ He will bring on them their own iniquity

and will cut them off in their own wickedness.

Yahweh our God will cut them off.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 95

¹ Oh come, let us sing to Yahweh;

let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

² Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving;

let us shout joyfully to him with psalms of praise.

³ For Yahweh is a great God

and a great King superior to all gods.

⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his.

⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before Yahweh, our Creator:

⁷ For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

Today—oh, that you would hear his voice!

⁸ "Do not harden your heart, as at Meribah,

or as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,

⁹ where your forefathers tested me;

they put me to the test, though they had seen my deeds.

¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with that generation

and said, 'This is a people whose hearts wander astray;

they have not known my ways.'

¹¹ Therefore I swore in my anger

that they would never enter into my resting place."

Chapter 96

¹ Oh, sing to Yahweh a new song;

sing to Yahweh, all the earth.

² Sing to Yahweh, bless his name;

announce his salvation day after day.

³ Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all the nations.

⁴ For Yahweh is great and is to be praised greatly.

He is to be feared above all other gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but it is Yahweh who made the heavens.

⁶ Splendor and majesty are in his presence.

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to Yahweh, you clans of peoples,

ascribe praise to Yahweh for his glory and strength.

⁸ Give to Yahweh the glory that his name deserves.

Bring an offering and come into his courts.

⁹ Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness;

tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns."

The world also is established; it cannot be shaken.

He judges the peoples fairly.

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar and that which fills it shout with joy.

¹² Let the fields rejoice and all that is in them.

Then let all the trees in the forest shout for joy

¹³ before Yahweh, for he is coming.

He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness

and the peoples with his faithfulness.

Chapter 97

¹ Yahweh reigns; let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad.

² Clouds and darkness surround him.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³ Fire goes before him

and consumes his adversaries on every side.

⁴ His lightning lights up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax before Yahweh,

the Lord of the whole earth.

⁶ The skies declare his justice,

and all the nations see his glory.

⁷ All those who worship carved figures will be shamed,

those who boast in worthless idols—

bow down to him, all you gods!

⁸ Zion heard and was glad,

and the towns of Judah rejoiced

because of your righteous decrees, Yahweh.

⁹ For you, Yahweh, are most high above all the earth.

You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ You who love Yahweh, hate evil!

He protects the lives of his faithful ones,

and he takes them out of the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous

and gladness for those with honest hearts.

¹² Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous;

and give thanks when you remember his holiness.

Chapter 98

A psalm.

¹ Oh, sing to Yahweh a new song,

for he has done marvelous things;

his right hand and his holy arm

have given him victory.

² Yahweh has made known his salvation;

he has openly showed his justice to all the nations.

³ He calls to mind his steadfast love

and faithfulness for the house of Israel;

all the ends of the earth will see

the victory of our God.

⁴ Shout for joy to Yahweh, all the earth;

burst into song, sing for joy, and sing praises.

⁵ Sing praises to Yahweh with the harp,

with the harp and melodious song.

⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn,

shout joyfully before the King, Yahweh.

⁷ Let the sea shout and everything in it,

the world and those who live in it!

⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,

and let the mountains shout for joy.

⁹ Yahweh is coming to judge the earth;

he will judge the world with righteousness

and the nations with fairness.

Chapter 99

¹ Yahweh reigns;

let the nations tremble.

He sits enthroned above the cherubim;

the earth quakes.

² Yahweh is great in Zion;

he is exalted above all the nations.

³ Let them praise your great and awesome name;

he is holy.

⁴ The king is strong, and he loves justice.

You have established fairness;

you have done righteousness

and justice in Jacob.

⁵ Praise Yahweh our God

and worship at his footstool.

He is holy.

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

and Samuel was among those who called on his name.

They called to Yahweh,

and he answered them.

⁷ He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.

They kept his solemn commands

and the statutes that he gave them.

⁸ You answered them,

Yahweh our God.

A forgiving God you were to them,

but also an avenger of their sinful deeds.

⁹ Praise Yahweh our God,

and worship at his holy hill,

for Yahweh our God is holy.

Chapter 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

¹ Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth.

² Serve Yahweh with gladness;

come before his presence with joyful singing.

³ Know that Yahweh is God;

he made us, and we are his.

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving

and into his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and bless his name.

⁵ For Yahweh is good; his covenant faithfulness endures forever

and his truthfulness through all generations.

Chapter 101

A psalm of David.

¹ I will sing of covenant faithfulness and justice;

to you, Yahweh, I will sing praises.

² I will pay attention to the way of integrity.

Oh, when will you come to me?

I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.

³ I will not put wrongdoing before my eyes;

I hate worthless evil;

it will not cling to me.

⁴ A perverse heart will leave me;

I am not loyal to evil.

⁵ I will destroy whoever secretly slanders his neighbor.

I will not tolerate the haughty of eye and arrogant of heart.

⁶ I will look to the faithful of the land to sit at my side.

Those who walk in the way of integrity may serve me.

⁷ Deceitful people will not remain within my house;

liars will not be welcome before my eyes.

⁸ Morning by morning

I will destroy all the wicked from the land;

I will remove all who behave wickedly

from the city of Yahweh.

Chapter 102

A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his lament before Yahweh.

¹ Hear my prayer, Yahweh;

hear my cry to you.

² Do not hide your face from me in my time of trouble.

Listen to me.

When I call out to you,

answer me quickly.

³ For my days pass away like smoke,

and my bones burn like fire.

⁴ My heart is crushed, and I am like grass that has withered.

I forget to eat any food.

⁵ With my continual groaning,

I have become very thin.

⁶ I am like a pelican of the wilderness;

I have become like an owl in the ruins.

⁷ I lie awake like a solitary bird,

alone on the housetop.

⁸ My enemies taunt me all day long;

those who mock me use my name in curses.

⁹ I eat ashes like bread

and mix my drink with tears.

¹⁰ Because of your raging anger,

you have lifted me up to throw me down.

¹¹ My days are like a shadow that fades,

and I have withered like grass.

¹² But you, Yahweh, live forever,

and your fame is for all generations.

¹³ You will rise up and have mercy on Zion.

Now is the time to have mercy upon her;

the appointed time has come.

¹⁴ For your servants hold her stones dear

and feel compassion for the dust of her ruins.

¹⁵ The nations will respect your name, Yahweh,

and all the kings of the earth will honor your glory.

¹⁶ Yahweh will rebuild Zion

and will appear in his glory.

¹⁷ At that time, he will respond to the prayer of the destitute;

he will not reject their prayer.

¹⁸ This will be written for future generations,

and a people not yet created will praise Yah. ¹

¹⁹ For he has looked down from the holy heights;

from heaven Yahweh has viewed the earth,

²⁰ to hear the groaning of the prisoners,

to release those who were condemned to death.

²¹ Then men will proclaim the name of Yahweh in Zion

and his praise in Jerusalem

²² when the peoples and kingdoms gather together

to serve Yahweh.

²³ He has taken away my strength in the middle of life.

He has shortened my days.

²⁴ I said, "My God, do not take me away in the middle of life;

you are here throughout all generations.

²⁵ In ancient times you established the earth;

the heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶ They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all grow old like a garment;

like clothing, you will remove them,

and they will disappear.

²⁷ But you are the same,

and your years will have no end.

²⁸ The children of your servants will live on,

and their descendants will live in your presence."

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 103

A psalm of David.

¹ I give praise to Yahweh with all my life,

and with all that is within me,

I give praise to his holy name.

² I give praise to Yahweh with all my life,

and I remember all of his good deeds.

³ He forgives all your iniquities;

he heals all your diseases.

⁴ He redeems your life from the pit;

he crowns you with covenant faithfulness and acts of tender mercy.

⁵ He satisfies your life with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

⁶ Yahweh does what is fair

and does acts of justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the descendants of Israel.

⁸ Yahweh is merciful and gracious;

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹ He will not discipline forever;

he will not be angry to eternity.

¹⁰ He does not deal with us as our sins deserve

or repay us for what our iniquities demand.

¹¹ For as the skies are high above the earth,

so great is his covenant faithfulness toward those who honor him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west,

this is how far he has removed the guilt of our sins from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,

so Yahweh has compassion on those who honor him.

¹⁴ For he knows how we are formed;

he knows that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower in a field.

¹⁶ The wind blows over it, and it disappears,

and no one can even tell where it once grew.

¹⁷ But the covenant faithfulness of Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who honor him.

His righteousness extends to their descendants.

¹⁸ They keep his covenant

and remember to obey his instructions.

¹⁹ Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over everyone.

²⁰ Give praise to Yahweh, you his angels,

you mighty ones who are strong and do his word,

and obey the sound of his word.

²¹ Give praise to Yahweh, all his hosts,

his servants who do his will.

²² Give praise to Yahweh, all his creatures,

in all the places where he reigns.

I will give praise to Yahweh with all my life.

Chapter 104

¹ I give praise to Yahweh with all my life,

Yahweh my God, you are very magnificent;

you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² You cover yourself with light as with a garment;

you spread out the heavens like a tent curtain.

³ You lay the beams of your chambers on the clouds;

you make the clouds your chariot;

you walk on the wings of the wind.

⁴ He makes the winds his messengers,

flames of fire his servants.

⁵ He laid the foundations of the earth,

so that it will not totter forever and ever.

⁶ You covered the earth with water like a garment;

the water covered the mountains.

⁷ At your rebuke the waters retreated;

at the sound of your thunder they hurried away.

⁸ The mountains rose and the valleys went down

to the places that you had appointed for them.

⁹ You have set a boundary for them that they will not cross;

they will not cover the earth again.

¹⁰ He made springs flow into the valleys;

the streams flow between the mountains.

¹¹ They supply water for all the animals of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹² By the riverbanks the birds build their nests;

they sing among the branches.

¹³ He waters the mountains from his water chambers in the sky.

The earth is filled with the fruit of his labor.

¹⁴ He makes the grass grow for the cattle

and plants for man to cultivate,

so that man may produce food from the earth.

¹⁵ He makes wine to make man happy,

oil to make his face shine,

and food to sustain his life.

¹⁶ The trees of Yahweh get plenty of rain;

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.

¹⁷ There the birds make their nests.

The stork makes the cypress tree her home.

¹⁸ The wild goats live on the high mountains;

the mountain heights are a refuge for the hyraxes.

¹⁹ He appointed the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

²⁰ You make the darkness of the night

when all the beasts of the forest come out.

²¹ The young lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

²² When the sun rises, they retreat

and sleep in their dens.

²³ Meanwhile, people go out to their work

and labor away until the evening.

²⁴ Yahweh, how many and varied are your works!

With wisdom you made them all;

the earth overflows with your works.

²⁵ Over there is the sea, deep and wide,

teeming with innumerable creatures,

both small and great.

²⁶ The ships travel there,

and Leviathan is also there, which you formed to play in the sea.

²⁷ All these look to you in hope

that you will give them their food on time.

²⁸ When you give to them, they gather;

when you open your hand, they are satisfied.

²⁹ When you hide your face, they are troubled;

if you take away their breath, they die

and return to dust.

³⁰ When you send out your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the surface of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of Yahweh last forever;

may Yahweh enjoy his creation.

³² He looks down on the earth, and it shakes;

he touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to Yahweh all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my thoughts be sweet to him;

I will rejoice in Yahweh.

³⁵ May sinners vanish from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more.

I give praise to Yahweh with all my life.

Give praise to Yah. ¹

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 105

¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations.

² Sing to him, sing praises to him;

speak of all his marvelous deeds.

³ Boast in his holy name;

let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.

⁴ Seek Yahweh and his strength;

seek his presence continually.

⁵ Recall the marvelous things he has done,

his miracles and the decrees from his mouth,

⁶ you descendants of Abraham his servant,

you people of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷ He is Yahweh, our God.

His decrees are on all the earth.

⁸ He keeps in mind his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded for a thousand generations.

⁹ He calls to mind the covenant that he made with Abraham

and his oath to Isaac.

¹⁰ This is what he confirmed to Jacob as a statute

and to Israel as an everlasting covenant.

¹¹ He said, "I will give you the land of Canaan

as your share of your inheritance."

¹² He said this when they were only few in number,

so very few, and were strangers in the land.

¹³ They went from nation to nation

and from one kingdom to another.

¹⁴ He did not allow anyone to oppress them;

he rebuked kings for their sakes.

¹⁵ He said, "Do not touch my anointed ones,

and do not harm my prophets."

¹⁶ He called for a famine on the land;

he cut off the whole staff of bread.

¹⁷ He sent a man ahead of them;

Joseph was sold as a servant.

¹⁸ His feet were bound by shackles;

on his neck was put an iron collar,

¹⁹ until what he had said came to pass.

The word of Yahweh tested him.

²⁰ The king sent servants to release him;

the ruler of the people set him free.

²¹ He put him in charge of his house

as ruler of all his possessions

²² to instruct his princes as he wished

and to teach his elders wisdom.

²³ Then Israel came into Egypt,

and Jacob lived for a time in the land of Ham.

²⁴ Yahweh made his people fruitful,

and made them stronger than their enemies.

²⁵ He caused their enemies to hate his people,

to mistreat his servants.

²⁶ He sent Moses, his servant,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

²⁷ They performed his signs among the Egyptians,

his wonders in the land of Ham.

²⁸ He sent darkness and made that land dark,

and they did not rebel against his commands.

²⁹ He turned their water into blood

and killed their fish.

³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs,

even in the rooms of their rulers.

³¹ He spoke, and swarms of flies and gnats came

throughout their country.

³² He turned their rain into hail,

with fire flaming on their land.

³³ He destroyed their vines and fig trees;

he broke the trees of their country.

³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came,

so many locusts.

³⁵ The locusts ate up all of the vegetation in their land;

They ate up all the crops of the ground.

³⁶ He killed every firstborn in their land,

the firstfruits of all their strength.

³⁷ He brought the Israelites out with silver and gold;

none of his tribes stumbled on the way.

³⁸ Egypt was glad when they went away,

for the Egyptians were afraid of them.

³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering

and made a fire to light up the night.

⁴⁰ The Israelites asked for food, and he brought quail

and satisfied them with bread from heaven.

⁴¹ He split the rock, and waters gushed from it;

they flowed in the wilderness like a river.

⁴² For he called to mind his holy promise

that he made to Abraham his servant.

⁴³ He led his people out with joy,

his chosen with shouts of triumph.

⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations;

they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' labors

⁴⁵ so that they might keep his statutes

and obey his laws.

Give praise to Yah. ¹

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 106

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,

for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

² Who can recount the mighty acts of Yahweh

or proclaim in full all his praiseworthy deeds?

³ Blessed are those who do what is right,

and whose deeds are always just.

⁴ Call me to mind, Yahweh, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you save them.

⁵ Then I will see the prosperity of your chosen,

rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

and glory with your inheritance.

⁶ We have sinned like our ancestors;

we have done wrong, and we have done evil.

⁷ Our fathers did not pay attention to your marvelous deeds in Egypt;

they ignored your many acts of covenant faithfulness;

they were rebellious at the sea, the Sea of Reeds.

⁸ Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake

so that he might reveal his power.

⁹ He rebuked the Sea of Reeds, and it dried up.

Then he led them through the depths, as through a wilderness.

¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of those who hated them,

and he rescued them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹ But the waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them survived.

¹² Then they believed his words,

and they sang his praise.

¹³ But they quickly forgot his deeds;

they did not wait for his instructions.

¹⁴ They had insatiable cravings in the wilderness,

and they challenged God in the desert.

¹⁵ So he gave them what they requested,

but he sent a horrible disease upon them.

¹⁶ In the camp they became jealous of Moses

and Aaron, the holy priest of Yahweh.

¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan

and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸ Fire broke out in their company;

the fire consumed the wicked.

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb

and worshiped a cast metal figure.

²⁰ They traded the glory of God

for the image of a bull that eats grass.

²¹ They forgot God their Savior,

who had done great deeds in Egypt.

²² He had done wonderful things in the land of Ham

and awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds.

²³ So he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him,

to turn away his anger from destroying them.

²⁴ Then they despised the delightful land;

they did not believe his promise,

²⁵ but grumbled in their tents,

and did not obey Yahweh.

²⁶ Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

that he would let them die in the desert,

²⁷ scatter their descendants among the nations,

and scatter them in foreign lands.

²⁸ They worshiped the Baal of Peor

and ate the sacrifices offered to the dead.

²⁹ They provoked him to anger with their actions,

and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and mediated,

and the plague subsided.

³¹ It was counted to him as a righteous deed

to all generations forever.

³² They also angered Yahweh at the waters of Meribah,

and Moses suffered because of them.

³³ They made his spirit bitter,

and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.

³⁴ They did not destroy the nations

as Yahweh had commanded them,

³⁵ but they mingled with the nations,

learned their practices,

³⁶ and worshiped their idols,

which became a snare to them.

³⁷ They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

³⁸ They shed innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and of their daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

desecrating the land with blood.

³⁹ They were defiled by their deeds;

in their actions they were like prostitutes.

⁴⁰ So Yahweh was angry with his people,

and he abhorred his inheritance.

⁴¹ He gave them into the hand of the nations,

and those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴² Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection to their authority.

⁴³ Many times he came to help them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low by their own iniquity.

⁴⁴ Nevertheless, he paid attention to their distress

when he heard their cry for help.

⁴⁵ He called to mind his covenant with them

and relented because of his steadfast love.

⁴⁶ He caused all their captors

to have pity on them.

⁴⁷ Save us, Yahweh, our God.

Gather us from among the nations

so that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praises.

⁴⁸ May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised

from everlasting to everlasting.

All the people said, "Amen."

Give praise to Yah. ²

Book Five

(Psalms 107-150)

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 107

¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,

and his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of Yahweh speak out,

those he has rescued from the hand of the enemy.

³ He has gathered them out of foreign lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness on a desert road

and found no city in which to live.

⁵ Because they were hungry and thirsty,

they fainted from exhaustion.

⁶ Then they called out to Yahweh in their trouble,

and he rescued them out of their distress.

⁷ He led them by a direct path

so that they would go to a city to live in.

⁸ Oh that people would praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness

and for the amazing things he has done for humanity!

⁹ For he satisfies the longings of those who are thirsty,

and the desires of those who are hungry he fills up with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and chains.

¹¹ This was because they had rebelled against God's word

and rejected the instruction of the Most High.

¹² He humbled their hearts through hardship;

they stumbled and there was no one to help them up.

¹³ Then they called out to Yahweh in their trouble,

and he saved them out of their distress.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and gloom

and broke their bonds.

¹⁵ Oh that people would praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness

and for the amazing things he has done for humanity!

¹⁶ For he has broken the gates of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

¹⁷ They were foolish in their rebellious ways

and afflicted because of their iniquities.

¹⁸ Their soul abhorred all food,

and they came close to the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they called out to Yahweh in their trouble,

and he saved them out of their distress.

²⁰ He sent his word and healed them,

and he rescued them from the pits in which they were trapped.

²¹ Oh that people would praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness

and for the amazing things he has done for humanity!

²² Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving

and proclaim his deeds with shouts of joy.

²³ Some travel on the sea in ships

and do business overseas.

²⁴ These saw the deeds of Yahweh

and his wonders on the seas.

²⁵ For he commanded and aroused the windstorm

that stirs up the seas.

²⁶ They reached up to the sky; they went down to the depths.

Their lives melted away in distress.

²⁷ They swayed and staggered like drunkards

and were at their wits' end.

²⁸ Then they called out to Yahweh in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹ He calmed the storm,

and the waves were stilled.

³⁰ Then they rejoiced because the sea was calm,

and he brought them to their desired harbor.

³¹ Oh that people would praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness

and for the amazing things he has done for humanity!

³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a wilderness,

springs of water into dry land,

³⁴ and a fruitful land into a barren place

because of the wickedness of its people.

³⁵ He turns the wilderness into a pool of water

and dry land into springs of water.

³⁶ He settles the hungry there,

and they build a city to live in.

³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest.

³⁸ He blesses them so they are very numerous.

He does not let their livestock decrease in number.

³⁹ They were diminished and brought low

by oppression, distress, and suffering.

⁴⁰ He pours contempt on the leaders

and causes them to wander in the wilderness, where there are no roads.

⁴¹ But he protects the needy from affliction

and cares for his families like a flock.

⁴² The upright will see this and rejoice,

and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

⁴³ Whoever is wise should take note of these things

and meditate on Yahweh's acts of covenant faithfulness.

Chapter 108

A song, a psalm of David.

¹ My heart is fixed, God!

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises with all my glory.

² Wake up, lute and harp;

I will wake up the dawn.

³ I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

⁴ For your covenant faithfulness is great above the heavens;

and your trustworthiness reaches to the skies.

⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens,

and may your glory be exalted over all the earth.

⁶ So that those you love may be rescued,

rescue us with your right hand and answer me.

⁷ God has spoken in his holiness; "I will rejoice;

I will divide Shechem

and apportion out the Valley of Sukkoth.

⁸ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim also is my helmet;

Judah is my scepter.

⁹ Moab is my washbasin;

over Edom I will throw my sandal;

I will shout in triumph because of Philistia.

¹⁰ Who will bring me into the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?"

¹¹ God, have you not rejected us?

You do not go into battle with our army.

¹² Give us help against the enemy,

for man's help is futile.

¹³ We will triumph with God's help;

he will trample down our enemies.

Chapter 109

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ God whom I praise,

do not be silent.

² For the wicked and deceitful attack me;

they speak lies against me.

³ They surround me and say hateful things,

and they attack me without cause.

⁴ In return for my love they accuse me,

but I pray for them.

⁵ They repay me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

⁶ Appoint a wicked man over such an enemy as these people;

appoint an accuser to stand at his right hand.

⁷ When he is judged, may he be found guilty;

may his prayer be considered sinful.

⁸ May his days be few;

may another take his office.

⁹ May his children be fatherless,

and may his wife be a widow.

¹⁰ May his children wander about and beg,

seeking food far from their ruined home.

¹¹ May the creditor seize all he owns;

may strangers plunder the product of his labor.

¹² May no one extend any kindness to him;

may no one have pity on his fatherless children.

¹³ May his descendants be cut off;

may their name be blotted out in the next generation.

¹⁴ May his ancestors' iniquity be remembered before Yahweh;

and may the sin of his mother not be forgotten.

¹⁵ May their sins always be before Yahweh;

may he cut off their memory from the earth.

¹⁶ May Yahweh do this, for that man never bothered to show any covenant faithfulness,

but harassed the oppressed, the needy,

and the brokenhearted to death.

¹⁷ He loved cursing;

may it come back upon him.

He hated blessing;

may it be far from him.

¹⁸ He clothed himself with cursing as his garment,

and his curse came into his body like water,

like oil into his bones.

¹⁹ May his curses be to him like the clothes he wears to cover himself,

like the belt he always wears.

²⁰ May this be the reward of my accusers from Yahweh,

of those who say evil things about me.

²¹ Yahweh my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name's sake.

Because your covenant faithfulness is good, save me.

²² For I am oppressed and needy,

and my heart is wounded within me.

²³ I am fading away like the shadow of the evening;

I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting;

my body has become thin and has no fat.

²⁵ I have become an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶ Help me, Yahweh my God;

save me by your covenant faithfulness.

²⁷ Let them know that this is your hand,

that you, Yahweh, have done this.

²⁸ They curse, but you bless;

when they attack, may they be put to shame,

but may your servant rejoice.

²⁹ May my adversaries be clothed with shame;

may they wear their shame like a robe.

³⁰ With my mouth I give great thanks to Yahweh;

I will praise him in the midst of a crowd.

³¹ For he will stand at the right hand of the one who is needy,

to save him from those who condemn him.

Chapter 110

A psalm of David.

¹ The declaration of Yahweh to my lord:

"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool."

² Yahweh will hold out the scepter of your strength from Zion;

rule among your enemies.

³ Your people will follow you in holy garments

of their own free will on the day of your power;

from the womb of the dawn your youth will be to you like the dew.

⁴ Yahweh has sworn and will not change his mind:

"You are a priest forever,

after the manner of Melchizedek."

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand.

He will kill kings on the day of his anger.

⁶ He will judge the nations;

he will fill the battlegrounds with dead bodies;

he will kill the leaders in many countries.

⁷ He will drink of the brook along the road,

and then he will lift his head up high after victory.

Chapter 111

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart

in the assembly of the upright, in their gathering.

² The works of Yahweh are great,

eagerly awaited by all those who desire them.

³ His work is majestic and glorious,

and his righteousness endures forever.

⁴ He does wonderful things that will be remembered;

Yahweh is gracious and merciful.

⁵ He gives food to his faithful followers.

He will always call to mind his covenant.

⁶ He showed his powerful works to his people

in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

⁷ The works of his hands are trustworthy and just;

all his instructions are reliable.

⁸ They are established forever,

to be observed faithfully and properly.

⁹ He sent redemption to his people;

he ordained his covenant forever;

holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰ To honor Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom;

those who carry out his instructions have good understanding.

His praise endures forever.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 112

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh,

who greatly delights in his commandments.

² His descendants will be powerful on earth;

the descendants of the godly man will be blessed.

³ Wealth and riches are in his house;

his righteousness will endure forever.

⁴ Light shines in the darkness for the godly person;

he is gracious, merciful, and just.

⁵ It goes well for the man who deals graciously and lends money,

who conducts his affairs with honesty.

⁶ For he will never be moved;

the righteous person will be remembered forever.

⁷ He does not fear bad news;

he is confident, trusting in Yahweh.

⁸ His heart is tranquil, without fear,

until he looks in triumph over his adversaries.

⁹ He gives freely to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever;

his horn will be exalted with honor.

¹⁰ The wicked person will see this and be angry;

he will grind his teeth in rage and he will melt away;

the desire of the wicked people will perish.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 113

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

Praise him, you servants of Yahweh;

praise the name of Yahweh.

² Blessed be the name of Yahweh,

both now and forevermore.

³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,

Yahweh's name should be praised.

⁴ Yahweh is exalted above all nations,

and his glory reaches above the skies.

⁵ Who is like Yahweh our God,

who has his seat on high,

⁶ who humbles himself to look down

at the sky and at the earth?

⁷ He raises up the poor out of the dirt

and lifts up the needy from the ash heap,

⁸ so that he may seat him with princes,

with the princes of his people.

⁹ He gives a home to the barren woman of the house;

he makes her a joyful mother of children.

Give praise to Yah! ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 114

¹ When Israel left Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people who spoke a foreign language,

² Judah became his holy place,

Israel his kingdom.

³ The sea looked and fled;

the Jordan turned back.

⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,

the hills skipped like lambs.

⁵ Why did you flee, sea?

Jordan, why did you turn back?

⁶ Mountains, why did you skip like rams?

You little hills, why did you skip like lambs?

⁷ Tremble, earth, before the Lord,

at the presence of the God of Jacob.

⁸ He turned the rock into a pool of water,

the hard rock into a spring of water.

Chapter 115

¹ Not to us, Yahweh, not to us,

but to your name bring honor,

for your covenant faithfulness

and for your trustworthiness.

² Why should the nations say,

"Where is their God?"

³ Our God is in heaven;

he does whatever he pleases.

⁴ The nations' idols are silver and gold,

the work of men's hands.

⁵ Those idols have mouths, but they do not speak;

they have eyes, but they do not see;

⁶ they have ears, but they do not hear;

they have noses, but they do not smell.

⁷ Those idols have hands, but do not feel;

they have feet, but they cannot walk;

nor do they speak from their mouths.

⁸ Those who make them are like them,

as is everyone who trusts in them.

⁹ Israel, trust in Yahweh;

he is your help and shield.

¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in Yahweh;

he is your help and shield.

¹¹ You who honor Yahweh, trust in him;

he is your help and shield.

¹² Yahweh takes notice of us and will bless us;

he will bless the family of Israel;

he will bless the family of Aaron.

¹³ He will bless those who honor him,

both young and old.

¹⁴ May Yahweh increase your numbers more and more,

yours and your descendants'.

¹⁵ May you be blessed by Yahweh,

who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The heavens belong to Yahweh;

but the earth he has given to mankind.

¹⁷ The dead do not give praise to Yah, ¹

nor do any who go down into silence;

¹⁸ But we will give praise to Yah,

now and forevermore.

Give praise to Yah! ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 116

¹ I love Yahweh because he hears

my voice and my pleas for mercy.

² Because he listened to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

³ The cords of death surrounded me,

and the snares of Sheol confronted me;

I felt anguish and sorrow.

⁴ Then I called on the name of Yahweh:

"I beg you, Yahweh, rescue my life."

⁵ Yahweh is gracious and just;

our God is compassionate.

⁶ Yahweh protects the naive;

I was brought low, and he saved me.

⁷ My soul can return to its resting place,

for Yahweh has been good to me.

⁸ For you rescued my life from death,

my eyes from tears,

and my feet from stumbling.

⁹ I will serve Yahweh

in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I believed in him, even when I said,

"I am greatly afflicted."

¹¹ In my alarm I said,

"All men are liars."

¹² How can I repay Yahweh

for all his kindnesses to me?

¹³ I will raise the cup of salvation,

and call on the name of Yahweh.

¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to Yahweh

in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of Yahweh

is the death of his faithful ones.

¹⁶ Yahweh, indeed, I am your servant;

I am your servant, the son of your servant woman;

you have taken away my bonds.

¹⁷ I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving

and will call on the name of Yahweh.

¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to Yahweh

in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of Yahweh,

in your midst, Jerusalem.

Give praise to Yah! ¹

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 117

¹ Praise Yahweh, all you nations;

exalt him, all you peoples.

² For his covenant faithfulness is great toward us,

and the trustworthiness of Yahweh endures forever.

Give praise to Yah! ¹

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 118

¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,

his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

² Let Israel say,

"His covenant faithfulness endures forever."

³ Let the house of Aaron say,

"His covenant faithfulness endures forever."

⁴ Let the loyal followers of Yahweh say,

"His covenant faithfulness endures forever."

⁵ In my distress I called out to Yah;

Yah answered me and set me in a spacious place. ¹

⁶ Yahweh is with me; I will not be afraid;

what can man do to me?

⁷ Yahweh is on my side as my helper;

I will look in triumph on those who hate me.

⁸ It is better to take shelter in Yahweh

than to put confidence in man.

⁹ It is better to take refuge in Yahweh

than to put one's trust in princes.

¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me;

in Yahweh's name I cut them off.

¹¹ They surrounded me; yes, they surrounded me;

in Yahweh's name I cut them off.

¹² They surrounded me like bees;

they disappeared as quickly as fire among thorns;

in Yahweh's name I cut them off.

¹³ "You attacked me to knock me down,

but Yahweh helped me.

¹⁴ Yah is my strength and joy,

and he is the one who rescues me." ²

¹⁵ The joyful shout of victory is heard in the tents of the righteous;

the right hand of Yahweh conquers.

¹⁶ The right hand of Yahweh is exalted;

the right hand of Yahweh conquers.

¹⁷ I will not die, but live

and declare what Yah has done. ³

¹⁸ Yah has punished me harshly,

but he has not handed me over to death. ⁴

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter them and I will give thanks to Yah. ⁵

²⁰ This is the gate of Yahweh;

the righteous enter through it.

²¹ I will give thanks to you, for you answered me,

and you have become my salvation.

²² The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

²³ This is Yahweh's doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day on which Yahweh has acted;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ We beg you, Yahweh, please give us victory!

We beg you, Yahweh, please give us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh;

we bless you from the house of Yahweh.

²⁷ Yahweh is God, and he has given us light;

bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God; I will exalt you.

²⁹ Oh, give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,

for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

³Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

⁴Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

⁵Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 119

ALEPH

¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,

who walk in the law of Yahweh.

² Blessed are they who keep his solemn commands,

who seek him with all their heart.

³ They do no wrong;

they walk in his ways.

⁴ You have commanded us to keep your instructions

so that we should carefully observe them.

⁵ Oh, that I would be firmly established

in the observance of your statutes!

⁶ Then I would not be put to shame

when I think of all your commandments.

⁷ I will give thanks to you with an upright heart

when I learn your righteous decrees.

⁸ I will observe your statutes;

do not leave me alone.

BETH

⁹ How can a young person keep his path pure?

By obeying your word.

¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;

Do not let me stray from your commandments.

¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart

so that I might not sin against you.

¹² Blessed you are, Yahweh;

teach me your statutes.

¹³ With my mouth I have declared

all the righteous decrees that you have revealed.

¹⁴ I rejoice in the way of your covenant decrees

more than in all riches.

¹⁵ I will meditate on your instructions

and pay attention to your ways.

¹⁶ I delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.

GIMEL

¹⁷ Be kind to your servant so that I may live

and keep your word.

¹⁸ Open my eyes so that I may see

marvelous things in your law.

¹⁹ I am a foreigner in the land;

do not hide your commandments from me.

²⁰ My desires are crushed by the longing to know

your righteous decrees at all times.

²¹ You rebuke the proud, who are cursed,

who wander from your commandments.

²² Spare me from disgrace and contempt,

for I have obeyed your solemn commands.

²³ Though rulers plot and slander me,

your servant meditates on your statutes.

²⁴ Your solemn commands are my delight,

and they are my counselors.

DALETH

²⁵ My life clings to the dust!

Give me life by your word.

²⁶ I told you my ways, and you answered me;

teach me your statutes.

²⁷ Make me understand the ways of your instructions,

so that I can meditate on your wondrous teachings.

²⁸ I am overwhelmed with grief!

Strengthen me by your word.

²⁹ Turn from me the path of deceit;

graciously teach me your law.

³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I have always kept your righteous decrees before me.

³¹ I cling to your covenant decrees;

Yahweh, do not let me be shamed.

³² I will run in the path of your commandments,

for you enlarge my heart to do so.

³³ Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your statutes,

and I will keep them to the end.

³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law;

I will observe it with all my heart.

³⁵ Guide me in the path of your commandments,

for I delight to walk in it.

³⁶ Direct my heart toward your covenant decrees

and away from unrighteous gain.

³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

revive me in your ways.

³⁸ Carry out for your servant the word

that you gave to those who revere you.

³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread,

for your judgments are good.

⁴⁰ See, I have longed for your instructions;

revive me in your righteousness.

VAV

⁴¹ Yahweh, give me your unfailing love—

your salvation, according to your word;

⁴² then I will have a reply for the one who mocks me,

for I trust in your word.

⁴³ Do not take the word of truth from my mouth,

for my hope is in your righteous decrees.

⁴⁴ I will observe your law continually,

forever and ever.

⁴⁵ I will walk securely,

for I seek your instructions.

⁴⁶ I will speak of your solemn commands before kings

and will not be ashamed.

⁴⁷ I delight in your commandments,

which I love dearly.

⁴⁸ I will lift up my hands to your commandments, which I love;

I will meditate on your statutes.

ZAYIN

⁴⁹ Call to mind your word to your servant

because you have given me hope.

⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction:

that your word has kept me alive.

⁵¹ The proud have scoffed at me,

yet I have not turned away from your law.

⁵² I have thought about your righteous decrees from ancient times, Yahweh,

and I comfort myself.

⁵³ Hot anger has taken hold of me

because of the wicked who reject your law.

⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs

in the house of my sojourn.

⁵⁵ I think about your name during the night, Yahweh,

and I keep your law.

⁵⁶ This has been my practice

because I have observed your instructions.

HETH

⁵⁷ Yahweh is my portion;

I have determined to observe your words.

⁵⁸ I earnestly request your favor with my whole heart;

be merciful to me according to your word.

⁵⁹ I examined my ways

and turned my feet to your solemn commands.

⁶⁰ I hurry and do not delay

to keep your commandments.

⁶¹ The cords of the wicked have ensnared me;

I have not forgotten your law.

⁶² At midnight I rise to give thanks to you

because of your righteous decrees.

⁶³ I am a companion of all who honor you,

to all who observe your instructions.

⁶⁴ The earth, Yahweh, is full of your covenant faithfulness;

teach me your statutes.

TETH

⁶⁵ You have done good to your servant,

Yahweh, by means of your word.

⁶⁶ Teach me proper discernment and understanding,

for I have believed in your commandments.

⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray,

but now I observe your word.

⁶⁸ You are good, and you are one who does good;

teach me your statutes.

⁶⁹ The arrogant have smeared me with lies,

but I keep your instructions with my whole heart.

⁷⁰ Their hearts are hardened,

but I delight in your law.

⁷¹ It is good for me that I have suffered

so that I would learn your statutes.

⁷² Instruction from your mouth is more precious to me

than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.

YOD

⁷³ Your hands have made and fashioned me;

give me understanding so that I may learn your commandments.

⁷⁴ Those who honor you will be glad when they see me

because I find hope in your word.

⁷⁵ I know, Yahweh, that your decrees are just,

and that in faithfulness you afflicted me.

⁷⁶ Let your covenant faithfulness comfort me,

according to your word to your servant.

⁷⁷ Show me compassion so that I may live,

for your law is my delight.

⁷⁸ Let the proud be put to shame,

for they have slandered me;

but I will meditate on your instructions.

⁷⁹ May those who honor you turn to me,

those who know your solemn commands.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless with respect to your statutes

so that I may not be put to shame.

KAPH

⁸¹ I faint with longing that you might rescue me!

I hope in your word.

⁸² My eyes long for your word;

when will you comfort me?

⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke;

I do not forget your statutes.

⁸⁴ How long must your servant endure this;

when will you judge those who persecute me?

⁸⁵ The proud have dug pits for me,

defying your law.

⁸⁶ All your commandments are reliable;

those people persecute me wrongfully; help me.

⁸⁷ They have almost made an end to me on earth,

but I do not reject your instructions.

⁸⁸ By your steadfast love, keep me alive,

so that I may obey the solemn commands that come from your mouth.

LAMEDH

⁸⁹ Yahweh, your word stands forever;

your word is established firmly in heaven.

⁹⁰ Your faithfulness lasts for all generations;

you have established the earth, and it remains.

⁹¹ All things continue to this day, just as you said in your righteous decrees,

for all things are your servants.

⁹² If your law had not been my delight,

I would have perished in my affliction.

⁹³ I will never forget your instructions,

for through them you have kept me alive.

⁹⁴ I am yours; save me,

for I seek your instructions.

⁹⁵ The wicked prepare to destroy me,

but I will seek to understand your solemn commands.

⁹⁶ All perfection I have seen has an end;

but your command is exceedingly broad.

MEM

⁹⁷ Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all day long.

⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

for your commandments are always with me.

⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your covenant decrees.

¹⁰⁰ I understand more than those older than I am;

this is because I have kept your instructions.

¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet back from every evil path

so that I might observe your word.

¹⁰² I have not turned aside from your righteous decrees,

for you have instructed me.

¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,

yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴ Through your instructions I gain discernment;

therefore I hate every false way.

NUN

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and have confirmed it,

that I will observe your righteous decrees.

¹⁰⁷ I am very afflicted;

keep me alive, Yahweh, as you have promised in your word.

¹⁰⁸ Yahweh, please accept the freewill offerings of my mouth,

and teach me your righteous decrees.

¹⁰⁹ My life is always in my hand,

yet I do not forget your law.

¹¹⁰ The wicked have set a snare for me,

but I have not strayed from your instructions.

¹¹¹ I claim your covenant decrees as my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹² My heart is set on obeying your statutes

forever to the very end.

SAMEKH

¹¹³ I hate those who have a double mind,

but I love your law.

¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in your word.

¹¹⁵ Get away from me, you evildoers,

so that I may observe the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶ Sustain me by your word so that I may live

and not be ashamed of my hope.

¹¹⁷ Support me, and I will be safe;

I will always meditate on your statutes.

¹¹⁸ You reject all those who stray from your statutes,

for their deceit is vain.

¹¹⁹ You remove all the wicked of the earth like slag;

therefore I love your solemn commands.

¹²⁰ My body trembles in fear of you,

and I am afraid of your righteous decrees.

AYIN

¹²¹ I do what is just and right;

do not abandon me to my oppressors.

¹²² Guarantee the welfare of your servant;

do not let the proud oppress me.

¹²³ My eyes grow tired as I wait for your salvation

and for your righteous word.

¹²⁴ Show your servant your covenant faithfulness,

and teach me your statutes.

¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding

so that I may know your solemn commands.

¹²⁶ It is time for Yahweh to act,

for people have broken your law.

¹²⁷ Truly I love your commandments

more than gold, more than fine gold.

¹²⁸ Therefore I carefully follow all your instructions,

and I hate every path of falsehood.

¹²⁹ Your rules are wonderful,

that is why I obey them.

¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light;

it gives understanding to the untrained.

¹³¹ I open my mouth and pant,

for I long for your commandments.

¹³² Turn to me and have mercy on me,

as you always do for those who love your name.

¹³³ Direct my footsteps by your word;

do not let any wickedness rule me.

¹³⁴ Redeem me from human oppression

so that I may observe your instructions.

¹³⁵ Let your face shine on your servant,

and teach me your statutes.

¹³⁶ Streams of tears run down from my eyes

because people do not observe your law.

TSADHE

¹³⁷ You are righteous, Yahweh,

and your decrees are fair.

¹³⁸ You have given your solemn commands righteously

and faithfully.

¹³⁹ Zeal has destroyed me

because my adversaries forget your words.

¹⁴⁰ Your word has been tested very much,

and your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹ I am insignificant and despised,

yet I do not forget your instructions.

¹⁴² Your justice is forever justice,

and your law is trustworthy.

¹⁴³ Though distress and anguish have found me,

your commandments are still my delight.

¹⁴⁴ Your covenant decrees are righteous forever;

give me understanding that I may live.

QOPH

¹⁴⁵ I cried out with my whole heart, "Answer me, Yahweh,

I will keep your statutes.

¹⁴⁶ I call to you; save me,

and I will observe your solemn commands."

¹⁴⁷ I rise before the dawn of the morning and cry for help.

I hope in your words.

¹⁴⁸ My eyes are open before the night watches change

so that I might meditate on your word.

¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice in your covenant faithfulness;

keep me alive, Yahweh, as you have promised in your righteous decrees.

¹⁵⁰ Those who are persecuting me are coming closer to me,

but they are far from your law.

¹⁵¹ You are near, Yahweh,

and all your commandments are trustworthy.

¹⁵² Long ago I learned from your solemn commands

that you had set them in place forever.

RESH

¹⁵³ Look on my affliction and help me,

for I do not forget your law.

¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause and redeem me;

keep me alive according to your word.

¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not love your statutes.

¹⁵⁶ Great are your merciful actions, Yahweh;

keep me alive, as you always do.

¹⁵⁷ My persecutors and my foes are many,

yet I have not turned from your covenant decrees.

¹⁵⁸ I view the treacherous with disgust

because they do not keep your word.

¹⁵⁹ See how I love your instructions;

keep me alive, Yahweh, as you have promised by your covenant faithfulness.

¹⁶⁰ The essence of your word is truth;

every one of your righteous decrees lasts forever.

SHIN

¹⁶¹ Princes persecute me without cause,

but my heart stands in awe of your word.

¹⁶² I rejoice at your word

like one who finds great plunder.

¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love your law.

¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you

because of your righteous decrees.

¹⁶⁵ Great peace they have, those who love your law;

nothing makes them stumble.

¹⁶⁶ I hope for your salvation, Yahweh,

and I obey your commandments.

¹⁶⁷ I observe your solemn commands,

and I love them greatly.

¹⁶⁸ I keep your instructions and your solemn commands,

for you are aware of everything I do.

TAV

¹⁶⁹ Listen to my cry for help, Yahweh;

give me understanding into your word.

¹⁷⁰ May my plea come before you;

help me according to your word.

¹⁷¹ May my lips pour out praise,

for you teach me your statutes.

¹⁷² Let my tongue sing about your word,

for all your commandments are right.

¹⁷³ May your hand help me,

for I have chosen your instructions.

¹⁷⁴ I long for your rescue, Yahweh,

and your law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵ May I live and praise you,

and may your righteous decrees help me.

¹⁷⁶ I have wandered off like a lost sheep;

seek your servant,

for I have not forgotten your commandments.

Chapter 120

A song of ascents.

¹ In my distress I called out to Yahweh,

and he answered me.

² Rescue my life, Yahweh,

from those who lie with their lips

and deceive with their tongues.

³ How will he punish you,

and what more will he do to you,

you who have a lying tongue?

⁴ He will punish you with the arrows of a warrior

sharpened over burning coals of the broom tree.

⁵ Woe is me because I temporarily live in Meshech;

I lived previously among the tents of Kedar.

⁶ For too long I have lived

with those who hate peace.

⁷ I am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war.

Chapter 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I will lift up my eyes to the mountains.

From where will my help come?

² My help comes from Yahweh,

who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not allow your foot to slip;

he who protects you will not slumber.

⁴ See, the guardian of Israel

never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ Yahweh is your guardian;

Yahweh is the shade at your right hand.

⁶ The sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷ Yahweh will protect you from all harm,

and he will protect your life.

⁸ Yahweh will protect you in all you do

now and forevermore.

Chapter 122

A song of ascents, of David.

¹ I was glad when they said to me,

"Let us go to the house of Yahweh."

² Jerusalem, our feet are standing

within your gates!

³ Jerusalem, built

as a city carefully planned!

⁴ The tribes go up to Jerusalem—the tribes of Yah— ¹

as a testimony for Israel,

to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.

⁵ There thrones of judgment were set,

thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

"May those who love you be at ease.

⁷ May there be peace within the walls that defend you,

and may they have peace within your fortresses."

⁸ For the sake of my brothers and my friends

I will say, "May there be peace within you."

⁹ For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God,

I will seek good for you.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 123

A song of ascents.

¹ To you I lift up my eyes,

you who are enthroned in the heavens.

² See, as the eyes of servants look to their master's hand,

as the eyes of a servant girl look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to Yahweh our God

until he has mercy on us.

³ Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us,

for we are filled with humiliation.

⁴ We are more than full

of the scoffing of the insolent

and with the contempt of the proud.

Chapter 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ "If Yahweh had not been on our side,"

let Israel say now,

² "if it had not been Yahweh who was on our side

when men rose up against us,

³ then they would have swallowed us up alive

when their anger raged against us.

⁴ The water would have swept us away;

the torrent would have overwhelmed us.

⁵ Then the raging waters would have drowned us."

⁶ Blessed be Yahweh,

who has not allowed us to be torn by their teeth.

⁷ We have escaped like a bird

out of the snare of the fowlers;

the snare has been broken,

and we have escaped.

⁸ Our help is in the name of Yahweh,

who made heaven and earth.

Chapter 125

A song of ascents.

¹ Those who trust in Yahweh

are like Mount Zion, unshakable, forever enduring.

² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so Yahweh surrounds his people

now and forever.

³ The scepter of wickedness must not rule

in the assigned portion of the righteous.

Otherwise the righteous might do what is wrong.

⁴ Do good, Yahweh, to those who are good

and to those who are upright in their hearts.

⁵ But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,

Yahweh will lead them away with the those who behave wickedly.

May peace be on Israel.

Chapter 126

A song of ascents.

¹ When Yahweh reversed the captivity of Zion,

we were like those who dream.

² Then our mouths were filled with laughter

and our tongues with joyful shouting.

Then they said among the nations,

"Yahweh has done great things for them."

³ Yahweh did great things for us;

how glad we were!

⁴ Reverse our captivity, Yahweh,

like the streams in the Negev.

⁵ Those who sow in tears

will reap with shouts of joy.

⁶ He who goes out weeping,

carrying seed for sowing,

will return again with shouts of joy,

bringing his bundles of grain with him.

Chapter 127

A song of ascents, of Solomon.

¹ Unless Yahweh builds the house,

they work uselessly, those who build it.

Unless Yahweh guards the city,

the watchman stands guard uselessly.

² It is useless for you to rise up early,

to come home late,

or to eat the bread of hard work,

for Yahweh provides for his beloved as they sleep.

³ See, children are a heritage from Yahweh,

and the fruit of the womb is a reward from him.

⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

so are the children of one's youth.

⁵ How blessed is the man

that has his quiver full of them.

He will not be put to shame

when he confronts his enemies in the gate.

Chapter 128

A song of ascents.

¹ Blessed is everyone who honors Yahweh,

who walks in his ways.

² The labor of your hands you will enjoy;

you will be blessed and prosper.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

in your house;

your children will be like olive plants

as they sit around your table.

⁴ Yes, indeed, the man will be blessed

who honors Yahweh.

⁵ May Yahweh bless you from Zion;

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life.

⁶ May you live to see your children's children.

May peace be on Israel.

Chapter 129

A song of ascents.

¹ "Often since my youth they have attacked me,"

let Israel say.

² "Often since my youth they have attacked me,

yet they have not defeated me.

³ The plowers plowed on my back;

they made their furrows long.

⁴ Yahweh is righteous;

he has cut off the ropes of the wicked."

⁵ May they all be put to shame and turned back,

those who hate Zion.

⁶ May they be like the grass on the housetops

that withers before it grows up,

⁷ that cannot fill the reaper's hand

or the chest of the one who binds bundles of grain together.

⁸ May those who pass by not say,

"May the blessing of Yahweh be on you;

we bless you in the name of Yahweh."

Chapter 130

A song of ascents.

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Yahweh.

² Lord, hear my voice;

let your ears be attentive

to my pleas for mercy.

³ If you, Yah, would mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand? ¹

⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,

that you may be revered.

⁵ I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope.

⁶ My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ Israel, hope in Yahweh.

Yahweh is merciful,

and with him is great redemption.

⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 131

A song of ascents; of David.

¹ Yahweh, my heart is not proud

or my eyes haughty.

I do not have great hopes for myself

or concern myself with things that are beyond me.

² Indeed I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with his mother,

my soul within me is like a weaned child.

³ Israel, hope in Yahweh

now and forever.

Chapter 132

A song of ascents.

¹ Yahweh, for David's sake call to mind

all his afflictions.

² Call to mind how he swore to Yahweh,

how he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.

³ He said, "I will not enter the tent of my house

or get on the couch of my bed,

⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes

or rest to my eyelids

⁵ until I find a place for Yahweh,

a tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob."

⁶ See, we heard about it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

⁷ We will go into God's tabernacle;

we will worship at his footstool.

⁸ Arise, Yahweh, to your resting place,

you and the ark of your strength!

⁹ May your priests be clothed with integrity;

may your faithful ones shout for joy.

¹⁰ For your servant David's sake,

do not turn away from your anointed king.

¹¹ Yahweh swore a sure oath to David,

a sure oath that he will not revoke:

"I will place one of your descendants on your throne.

¹² If your sons keep my covenant

and the solemn commands that I will teach them,

their children also will sit on your throne forevermore."

¹³ Certainly Yahweh has chosen Zion,

he has desired her for his seat.

¹⁴ "This is my resting place forever.

I will live here, for I desire her.

¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her with provisions.

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

¹⁶ I will clothe her priests with salvation,

her faithful ones will shout aloud for joy.

¹⁷ There I will make a horn to sprout for David

and set up a lamp for my anointed one.

¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame,

but on him his crown will shine."

Chapter 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brothers to live together!

² It is like fine oil on the head

pouring down on the beard—

Aaron's beard,

and then it pours down on the collar of his robes.

³ It is like the dew of Hermon

which falls on the mountains of Zion.

For there Yahweh commanded the blessing—

life forevermore.

Chapter 134

A song of ascents.

¹ Come, bless Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh,

you who serve during the night in the house of Yahweh.

² Lift up your hands to the holy place

and bless Yahweh.

³ May Yahweh bless you from Zion,

he who made heaven and earth.

Chapter 135

¹ Give praise to Yah! ¹

Praise the name of Yahweh.

Praise him, you servants of Yahweh,

² you who stand in the house of Yahweh,

in the courtyards of the house of our God.

³ Give praise to Yah, for he is good; ²

sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant to do so.

⁴ For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself, ³

Israel as his own possession.

⁵ I know that Yahweh is great,

that our Lord is above all gods.

⁶ Whatever Yahweh desires, he does

in heaven, on earth,

in the seas and all the ocean depths.

⁷ He brings the clouds from far away,

making lightning bolts accompany the rain

and bringing the wind out of his storehouse.

⁸ He killed the firstborn of Egypt,

both of man and animals.

⁹ He sent signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,

against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰ He attacked many nations

and killed mighty kings,

¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites

and Og king of Bashan

and all the kingdoms of Canaan.

¹² He gave us their land as an inheritance,

an inheritance to Israel his people.

¹³ Your name, Yahweh, endures forever;

your renown, Yahweh, endures throughout all generations.

¹⁴ For Yahweh defends his people

and has compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The nations' idols are silver and gold,

the work of men's hands.

¹⁶ Those idols have mouths, but they do not speak;

they have eyes, but they do not see;

¹⁷ they have ears, but they do not give ear,

nor is there breath in their mouths.

¹⁸ Those who make them are like them,

as is everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹ Descendants of Israel, bless Yahweh;

descendants of Aaron, bless Yahweh.

²⁰ Descendants of Levi, bless Yahweh;

you who honor Yahweh, bless Yahweh.

²¹ Blessed be Yahweh in Zion,

he who lives in Jerusalem.

Give praise to Yah. ⁴

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

³Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

⁴Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 136

¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good.

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

² Give thanks to the God of gods.

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁵ to him who by wisdom made the heavens;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁶ to him who spread out the earth above the waters;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁷ to him who made great lights;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁸ to him who gave the sun to rule by day,

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

⁹ the moon and stars to rule by night;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁰ to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹¹ and brought out Israel from among them

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹² with a strong hand and a raised arm;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹³ to him who divided the Sea of Reeds

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁴ and made Israel to pass through the middle of it,

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁵ but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Sea of Reeds;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁷ to him who killed great kings;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁸ to him who killed majestic kings,

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²⁰ and Og king of Bashan;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²¹ to him who gave their land as an inheritance,

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²² an inheritance to Israel his servant;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²³ to him who called us to mind and helped us in our humiliation;

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²⁴ to him who has rescued us from our enemies,

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²⁵ who gives food to all living beings.

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.

(His covenant faithfulness endures forever.)

Chapter 137

¹ By the rivers of Babylon

we sat down and wept

when we thought about Zion.

² There on the poplars in the midst of it

we hung our harps.

³ There our captors required songs from us,

and those who mocked us required joy from us, saying,

"Sing us one of the songs of Zion."

⁴ How could we sing a song about Yahweh

in a foreign land?

⁵ If I ignore the memory of you, Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget her skill.

⁶ Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I think about you no more,

if I do not prefer Jerusalem

more than my greatest delights.

⁷ Call to mind, Yahweh, what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell.

They said, "Tear it down, tear it down

to its foundations."

⁸ Daughter of Babylon, soon to be destroyed—

may the person be blessed, whoever pays you back

for what you have done to us.

⁹ May the person be blessed,

whoever takes and dashes your little ones against a rock.

Chapter 138

A psalm of David.

¹ I will give you thanks with my whole heart;

before the gods I will sing praises to you.

² I will bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name

for your covenant faithfulness and for your trustworthiness.

You have made your word and your name

more important than anything else.

³ On the day that I called you, you answered me;

you made me bold and strengthened my soul.

⁴ All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh,

for they will hear the words from your mouth.

⁵ Indeed, they will sing of the deeds of Yahweh,

for great is the glory of Yahweh.

⁶ For though Yahweh is high, yet he cares for the lowly,

but the proud he knows from far off.

⁷ Though I walk in the middle of trouble,

you will preserve my life;

you will reach out with your hand against the anger of my enemies,

and your right hand will save me.

⁸ Yahweh is with me to the end;

your covenant faithfulness, Yahweh, endures forever.

Do not abandon the works of your hands.

Chapter 139

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, you have examined me,

and you know me.

² You know when I sit down and when I get up;

you understand my thoughts from far away.

³ You observe my path and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ For before there is a word on my tongue,

you know it completely, Yahweh.

⁵ Behind me and before me you surround me

and place your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is incomprehensible to me;

it is too high, and I cannot reach it.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I ascend up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there.

⁹ If I fly away on the wings of the dawn

and go to live in the uttermost parts across the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will lead me,

your right hand will hold on to me.

¹¹ If I said, "Surely the darkness will cover me,

and the light will become night around me,"

¹² even the darkness would not be dark to you.

The night would shine like the day,

for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.

¹³ You formed my inner parts;

you formed me in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I will praise you

because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Your works are wonderful.

My soul knows this very well.

¹⁵ My bones were not hidden from you

when I was made in private,

when I was intricately made in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ You saw me inside the womb;

all the days assigned to me were recorded

in your book even before the first one happened.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts to me, God!

How vast is their sum!

¹⁸ If I tried to count them,

they would be more in number than the sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you would kill the wicked, God;

get away from me, you men of bloodshed.

²⁰ They rebel against you and act deceitfully;

your enemies tell lies.

²¹ Do I not hate those, Yahweh, who hate you?

Do I not despise those who rise up against you?

²² I hate them completely;

they have become my enemies.

²³ Examine me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the everlasting way.

Chapter 140

For the chief musician. A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, rescue me from the wicked;

preserve me from violent men.

² They plan evil in their hearts;

they cause battles every day.

³ Their tongues wound like serpents;

vipers' poison is on their lips.

Selah

⁴ Keep me from the hands of the wicked, Yahweh;

preserve me from violent men

who plan to push down my steps.

⁵ The proud have set a trap for me;

they have spread a net;

they have set a snare for me.

Selah

⁶ I said to Yahweh, "You are my God;

give ear to the sound of my pleas."

⁷ Yahweh, my Lord, you are powerfully able to save me;

you shield my head in the day of battle.

⁸ Yahweh, do not grant the desires of the wicked;

do not let their evil plans succeed.

Selah

⁹ Those who surround me raise their heads;

let the mischief of their own lips cover them.

¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them;

throw them into the fire,

into bottomless pits, never more to rise.

¹¹ May men of tongues not be made secure on the earth;

may evil hunt down the violent man to strike him dead.

¹² I know that Yahweh will judge in favor of the afflicted,

and that he will give justice to the needy.

¹³ Surely the righteous people will give thanks to your name;

the upright people will live in your presence.

Chapter 141

A psalm of David.

¹ Yahweh, I am crying out to you; come quickly to me.

Give ear to my voice when I call to you.

² May my prayer be like incense before you;

may my lifted hands be like the evening sacrifice.

³ Yahweh, place a guard over my mouth;

guard the door of my lips.

⁴ Do not let my heart desire any evil thing

or participate in wicked deeds

with men who behave wickedly.

May I not eat any of their delicacies.

⁵ Let a righteous man hit me; it will be a kindness to me.

Let him correct me; it will be like oil on my head;

may my head not refuse to accept it.

But my prayer is always against their wicked deeds.

⁶ Their judges will be thrown down from the top of cliffs;

they will hear that my own words are pleasant.

⁷ They will have to say, "As when one plows and breaks up the ground,

so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol."

⁸ Surely my eyes are on you, Yahweh, Lord;

in you I take refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.

⁹ Protect me from the snares that they have laid for me,

from the traps of those who behave wickedly.

¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets

while I escape.

Chapter 142

A maschil of David, when he was in the cave; a prayer.

¹ With my voice I cry out for help to Yahweh;

with my voice I plead for Yahweh's favor.

² I pour out my lament before him;

I tell him my troubles.

³ When my spirit is weak within me,

you know my path.

In the way that I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

⁴ I look to my right and see

that there is no one who cares about me.

There is no escape for me;

no one cares about my life.

⁵ I called out to you, Yahweh;

I said, "You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.

⁶ Listen to my cry,

for I have been brought very low;

rescue me from my persecutors,

for they are stronger than I.

⁷ Bring my soul out of prison

so that I may give thanks to your name.

The righteous will gather around me

because you have been good to me."

Chapter 143

A psalm of David.

¹ Hear my prayer, Yahweh;

give ear to my pleas.

Because of your faithfulness and righteousness,

answer me!

² Do not enter into judgment with your servant,

for in your sight no one is righteous.

³ The enemy has pursued my soul;

he has crushed me to the ground;

he has made me to live in darkness

like those who have been dead a long time.

⁴ My spirit is overwhelmed within me;

my heart is appalled.

⁵ I call to mind the old days;

I meditate on all your deeds;

I reflect on your accomplishments.

⁶ I spread my hands out to you;

my soul thirsts for you in a parched land.

Selah

⁷ Answer me quickly, Yahweh,

because my spirit faints.

Do not hide your face from me,

or I will become like those who go down into the pit.

⁸ Let me hear your covenant faithfulness in the morning,

for I trust in you.

Show me the way where I should walk,

for I lift up my soul to you.

⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, Yahweh;

I flee to you to hide.

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

May your good Spirit

lead me in the land of uprightness.

¹¹ Yahweh, for your name's sake, keep me alive;

in your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

¹² In your covenant faithfulness cut off my enemies

and destroy all the enemies of my life,

for I am your servant.

Chapter 144

A psalm of David.

¹ Blessed be Yahweh, my rock,

who trains my hands for war

and my fingers for battle.

² You are my covenant faithfulness and my fortress,

my high tower and the one who rescues me,

my shield and the one in whom I take refuge,

the one who subdues nations under me.

³ Yahweh, what is man that you take notice of him

or the son of man that you think about him?

⁴ Man is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.

⁵ Cause the sky to sink and come down, Yahweh;

touch the mountains and make them smoke.

⁶ Send flashes of lightning and scatter my enemies;

shoot your arrows and drive them back in confusion.

⁷ Reach out your hand from above;

rescue me out of many waters,

from the hand of foreigners.

⁸ Their mouths speak lies,

and their right hand is falsehood.

⁹ I will sing a new song to you, God;

on a lute of ten strings I will sing praises to you,

¹⁰ who gives salvation to kings,

who rescues David your servant from an evil sword.

¹¹ Rescue me and free me

from the hand of foreigners.

Their mouths speak lies,

and their right hand is falsehood.

¹² May our sons be like plants

who grow to full size in their youth

and our daughters like carved corner pillars,

shapely like those of a palace.

¹³ May our storehouses be full

with every kind of produce,

and may our sheep produce thousands

and ten thousands in our fields.

¹⁴ Then our oxen will have many young.

No one will break through our walls; there will be no exile

and no outcry in our streets.

¹⁵ Blessed is the people with such blessings;

happy is the people whose God is Yahweh.

Chapter 145

A psalm of praise. Of David.

¹ I will extol you, my God, King;

I will bless your name forever and ever.

² Every day will I bless you;

I will praise your name forever and ever.

³ Great is Yahweh and greatly to be praised;

his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation will praise your deeds to the next

and will proclaim your mighty actions.

⁵ I will meditate on the majesty of your glory

and on your marvelous deeds.

⁶ They will speak of the power of your awesome works,

and I will declare your greatness.

⁷ They will declare your abounding goodness,

and they will shout joyfully about your righteousness.

⁸ Yahweh is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and great in steadfast love.

⁹ Yahweh is good to all;

his tender mercies are over all his works.

¹⁰ All your works will give thanks to you, Yahweh;

your faithful ones will bless you.

¹¹ They will speak of the glory of your kingdom,

and they will tell of your power.

¹² They will make known to mankind God's mighty deeds

and the glorious splendor of his kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

¹⁴ Yahweh supports all who are falling

and raises up all those who are bent over.

¹⁵ The eyes of all wait for you;

you give them their food at the right time.

¹⁶ You open your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷ Yahweh is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all his deeds.

¹⁸ Yahweh is near to all those who call to him,

to all who call to him in trustworthiness.

¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who honor him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

²⁰ Yahweh watches over all those who love him,

but he will destroy all the wicked.

²¹ My mouth will speak out the praise of Yahweh;

let all mankind bless his holy name

forever and ever.

Chapter 146

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

Praise Yahweh, my soul.

² I give praise to Yahweh with all my life;

I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.

³ Do not put your trust in princes

or in mankind, in whom there is no salvation.

⁴ When a person's life's breath stops, he returns to the ground;

on that day his plans end.

⁵ Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

whose hope is in Yahweh his God.

⁶ Yahweh made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them;

he observes trustworthiness forever.

⁷ He executes justice for the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

Yahweh frees the prisoners;

⁸ Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind;

Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down;

Yahweh loves the righteous people.

⁹ Yahweh protects the foreigners in the land;

he supports the fatherless and widow,

but he opposes the wicked.

¹⁰ Yahweh will reign forever,

your God, Zion, for all generations.

Give praise to Yah. ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 147

¹ Give praise to Yah, ¹

for it is good to sing praises to our God;

it is pleasant, and praise is suitable.

² Yahweh rebuilds Jerusalem;

he gathers together the scattered people of Israel.

³ He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

⁴ He counts the stars;

he gives names to all of them.

⁵ Great is our Lord and awesome in power;

his understanding cannot be measured.

⁶ Yahweh supports the oppressed;

he brings the wicked down to the ground.

⁷ Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving;

sing praises to our God with a harp.

⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds

and prepares rain for the earth,

making the grass to grow on the mountains.

⁹ He gives food to the animals

and to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰ He finds no delight in the strength of a horse;

he takes no pleasure in the strong legs of a man.

¹¹ Yahweh takes pleasure in those who honor him,

who hope in his covenant faithfulness.

¹² Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem;

praise your God, Zion.

¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

he blesses your children among you.

¹⁴ He brings prosperity inside your borders;

he satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

¹⁵ He sends out his commandment to earth;

his command runs very swiftly.

¹⁶ He makes the snow like wool;

he scatters the frost like ashes.

¹⁷ He dispenses the hail like crumbs;

who can withstand the cold he sends?

¹⁸ He sends out his command and melts them;

he makes the wind to blow and the water to flow.

¹⁹ He proclaimed his word to Jacob,

his statutes and his righteous decrees to Israel.

²⁰ He has not done so with any other nation,

and as for his decrees, they do not know them.

Give praise to Yah. ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 148

¹ Give praise to Yah. ¹

Praise Yahweh, you in the heavens;

praise him, you in the heights.

² Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his hosts.

³ Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all you shining stars.

⁴ Praise him, highest heaven

and you waters that are above the sky.

⁵ Let them praise the name of Yahweh,

for he gave the command, and they were created.

⁶ He has also established them forever and ever;

he issued a decree that will never change.

⁷ Praise him from the earth,

you sea monsters and all ocean depths,

⁸ fire and hail, snow and clouds,

stormy wind fulfilling his word.

⁹ Praise him, mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

¹⁰ Wild animals and all livestock,

creatures that crawl and birds with wings.

¹¹ Praise Yahweh, you kings of the earth and all nations,

you princes, and all you judges of the earth,

¹² both young men and young women,

elderly and children.

¹³ Let them all praise the name of Yahweh,

for his name alone is exalted

and his glory extends over the earth and the heavens.

¹⁴ He has lifted up the horn of his people

for praise from all his faithful ones,

the people of Israel, the people near to him.

Give praise to Yah. ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 149

¹ Give praise to Yah! ¹

Sing to Yahweh a new song;

sing his praise in the assembly of the faithful ones.

² Let Israel rejoice in the one who made them;

let the people of Zion rejoice in their king.

³ Let them praise his name with dancing;

let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp.

⁴ For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people;

he glorifies the humble with salvation.

⁵ Let the faithful ones rejoice in this honor;

let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶ May the praises of God be in their mouths

and a two-edged sword in their hand

⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations

and acts of punishment on the peoples.

⁸ They will bind their kings with chains

and their nobles with iron shackles.

⁹ They will execute the judgment that is written.

This will be an honor for all his faithful ones.

Give praise to Yah. ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 150

¹ Give praise to Yah! ¹

Praise God in his holy place;

praise him in the mighty heavens.

² Praise him for his mighty acts;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

³ Praise him with the blast of the horn;

praise him with lute and harp.

⁴ Praise him with tambourines and dancing;

praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.

⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals;

praise him with high sounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath give praise to Yah!

Give praise to Yah! ²

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Proverbs

Chapter 1

¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.

² These proverbs are to teach wisdom and instruction,

to teach words of insight,

³ that you may receive instruction in prudent behavior,

righteousness, justice, and uprightness.

⁴ These proverbs are also to give wisdom to the naive,

and to give knowledge and discretion to the youth.

⁵ Let wise people listen and increase their learning,

and let discerning people get wise counsel,

⁶ to understand proverbs, parables,

and words of wise people and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge—

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸ My son, hear the instruction of your father

and do not abandon the rules of your mother;

⁹ they will be a graceful wreath for your head

and pendants hanging from your neck.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners try to entice you into their sin,

do not go with them.

¹¹ If they say, "Come with us,

let us lie in wait for blood,

let us hide and attack innocent people for no reason;

¹² let us swallow them up alive, like Sheol takes away those who are healthy,

and make them like those who go down into the pit;

¹³ we will find all kinds of valuable things;

we will fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴ throw in your lot with us,

and we will all have one purse together"—

¹⁵ my son, do not walk down that path with them;

do not let your foot touch where they walk;

¹⁶ their feet run to evil

and they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷ For it is useless to spread the net

in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸ These men lie in wait for their own blood—

they set an ambush for their own lives.

¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who gains profit by violence;

unjust gain takes away the lives of those who hold on to it.

²⁰ Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

she raises her voice in the open places;

²¹ at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks her sayings,

²² "How long, you naive people, will you love being naive?

How long, you mockers, will you delight in mockery,

and how long, you fools, will you hate knowledge?

²³ Turn at my correction;

I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

²⁴ I have called, and you have refused to listen;

I reached out with my hand, but there was no one who paid attention.

²⁵ But you have ignored all my instruction

and paid no attention to my correction.

²⁶ I will laugh at your calamity,

I will mock you when the terror comes—

²⁷ when your fearful dread comes like a storm

and disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸ Then they will call upon me, and I will not answer;

they will diligently seek me, but they will not find me.

²⁹ Because they hate knowledge

and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,

³⁰ they would not follow my instruction,

and they despised all my correction.

³¹ They will eat the fruit of their ways,

and with the fruit of their schemes they will be filled.

³² For the naive are killed when they turn away,

and the indifference of fools will destroy them.

³³ But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety

and will rest secure with no fear of disaster."

Chapter 2

¹ My son, if you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you,

² make your ears pay attention to wisdom

and incline your heart to understanding.

³ If you cry out for discernment

and raise your voice for understanding,

⁴ if you seek it like you would seek silver

and search for understanding as you would seek hidden treasures,

⁵ then you will understand the fear of Yahweh

and you will find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For Yahweh gives wisdom;

from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield for those who walk in integrity;

⁸ he guards the paths of justice

and he will preserve the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and equity,

and every good path.

¹⁰ For wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹ Discretion will watch over you;

understanding will guard you.

¹² They will rescue you from the way of evil,

from those who speak perverse things,

¹³ who abandon the paths of uprightness

and walk in the ways of darkness.

¹⁴ They rejoice when they do evil

and delight in the perversities of evil.

¹⁵ They follow crooked paths,

and using deception they hide their tracks.

¹⁶ Wisdom and discretion will save you from an adulteress,

from an immoral woman and her flattering words.

¹⁷ She abandons the companion of her youth

and forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸ For her house sinks down to death,

and her tracks will lead you to those in the grave.

¹⁹ All who go to her will not return again

and they will not reach the paths of life.

²⁰ So you will walk in the way of good people

and follow the paths of righteous people.

²¹ For the upright will make a home in the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it.

²² But the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the faithless will be cut off from it.

Chapter 3

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching,

and keep my commandments in your heart,

² for the length of your days and years of your life,

they will add peace to you.

³ Do not let steadfast love and faithfulness ever leave you;

tie them together about your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Then you will find favor and a good reputation

in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in Yahweh with all your heart

and do not lean on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him

and he will make your paths straight.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear Yahweh and turn away from evil.

⁸ It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment for your bones.

⁹ Honor Yahweh with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce,

¹⁰ and your storehouses will be filled up

and your vats will be bursting, full of new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise Yahweh's instruction

and do not hate his rebuke,

¹² for Yahweh disciplines those he loves,

as a father deals with a son who pleases him.

¹³ The one who finds wisdom is blessed;

he also gets understanding.

¹⁴ What you gain from wisdom is better than what silver will give in return

and its profit is better than gold.

¹⁵ Wisdom is more precious than jewels

and nothing you desire can compare to her.

¹⁶ She has the length of her days in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness

and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of it;

those who hold on to it are happy.

¹⁹ By wisdom Yahweh founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens.

²⁰ By his knowledge the depths broke open

and the clouds dropped their dew.

²¹ My son, do not let these depart from your eyes:

guard sound wisdom and discretion.

²² They will be life to your soul

and an adornment of favor to wear around your neck.

²³ Then you will walk on your way in safety

and your foot will not stumble;

²⁴ when you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden terror

or devastation caused by the wicked, when it comes,

²⁶ for Yahweh will be on your side

and will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

²⁷ Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,

when it is in your power to act.

²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,

"Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give it,"

when you have the money with you.

²⁹ Do not make a plan to harm your neighbor—

the one who dwells in safety with you.

³⁰ Do not argue with a person without a reason,

when he has done nothing to harm you.

³¹ Do not envy a violent person

or choose any of his ways.

³² For the devious person is an abomination to Yahweh,

but he brings the upright person into his confidence.

³³ The curse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked person,

but he blesses the home of righteous people.

³⁴ He mocks mockers,

but he gives his favor to humble people.

³⁵ Wise people inherit honor,

but fools will be lifted up in their shame.

Chapter 4

¹ Listen, sons, to a father's instruction,

and pay attention so you will know what understanding is.

² I am giving you good instructions;

do not abandon my teaching.

³ When I was a son of my father,

the tender and only child of my mother,

⁴ he taught me and said to me,

"Let your heart hold fast to my words;

keep my commands and live.

⁵ Acquire wisdom and understanding;

do not forget and do not reject the words of my mouth;

⁶ do not abandon wisdom and she will watch over you;

love her and she will keep you safe.

⁷ Wisdom is the most important thing, so acquire wisdom

and spend all you own so you can get understanding.

⁸ Cherish wisdom and she will exalt you;

she will honor you when you embrace her.

⁹ She will put a wreath of honor on your head;

she will give you a beautiful crown."

¹⁰ Listen, my son, and receive my words,

and you will have many years in your life.

¹¹ I am teaching you in the way of wisdom;

I am leading you in upright paths.

¹² When you walk, no one will stand in your way

and if you run, you will not stumble.

¹³ Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

guard it, for it is your life.

¹⁴ Do not follow the path of the wicked

and do not go along the way of those who do evil.

¹⁵ Avoid it, do not go on it;

turn away from it and go another way.

¹⁶ For they cannot sleep until they do evil

and they are robbed of sleep until they cause someone to stumble.

¹⁷ For they devour the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸ But the path of righteous people is like the first light that grows brighter;

it shines more and more until the fullness of the day comes.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness—

they do not know what it is they stumble over.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹ Do not let them turn away from your eyes;

keep them in your heart.

²² For my words are life to those who find them

and health to their whole body.

²³ Keep your heart safe and guard it with all diligence,

for from it flow the springs of life.

²⁴ Put crooked speech away from you

and put corrupt talk far from you.

²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead

and fix your gaze straight before you.

²⁶ Make a level path for your foot;

then all your ways will be established.

²⁷ Do not turn aside to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Chapter 5

¹ My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

incline your ears to my understanding,

² so you may learn about discretion

and your lips may protect knowledge.

³ For the lips of an adulteress drip with honey

and her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴ but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,

cutting like a sharp sword.

⁵ Her feet go down to death;

her steps go all the way to Sheol.

⁶ She gives no thought to the path of life.

Her footsteps wander;

she does not know where she is going.

⁷ Now, my sons, listen to me;

do not turn away from listening to the words of my mouth.

⁸ Keep your path far away from her

and do not come near the door of her house.

⁹ In that way you will not give away your honor to others

or years of your life to a cruel person;

¹⁰ strangers will not feast on your strength;

your labor will not go into the house of foreigners.

¹¹ At the end of your life you will groan

when your flesh and your body waste away.

¹² You will say, "How I hated instruction

and my heart despised correction!

¹³ I would not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴ I was almost completely ruined

in the midst of the assembly,

among the gathering of the people."

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern

and drink running water from your own well.

¹⁶ Should your springs be dispersed everywhere

and your streams of water flow in the public squares?

¹⁷ Let them be for yourself alone

and not for strangers with you.

¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed

and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth,

¹⁹ for she is a loving deer and a graceful doe.

Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;

may you be continually intoxicated by her love.

²⁰ For why should you, my son, be captivated by an adulteress?

Why should you embrace the bosom of an immoral woman?

²¹ Yahweh sees everything a person does

and watches all the paths he takes.

²² A wicked person will be seized by his own iniquities;

the cords of his sin will hold him tight.

²³ He will die because he lacks instruction;

he is led astray by his great foolishness.

Chapter 6

¹ My son, if you set aside your money as a guarantee for your neighbor's loan,

if you gave your promise for a loan of someone you do not know,

² then you have laid a trap for yourself by your promise

and you have been caught by the words of your mouth.

³ When you are caught by your words, my son,

do this and save yourself,

since you have fallen into the hand of your neighbor;

go and humble yourself

and make your case before your neighbor.

⁴ Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber.

⁵ Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ Look at the ant, you lazy person,

consider her ways, and be wise.

⁷ It has no commander,

officer, or ruler,

⁸ yet it prepares its food in the summer

and during the harvest it stores up what it will eat.

⁹ How long will you lie down, you lazy person?

When will you rise from your sleep?

¹⁰ "A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest"—

¹¹ and your poverty will come like a robber

and your needs like an armed soldier.

¹² A worthless person—a wicked man—

lives by the crookedness of his speech,

¹³ winking his eyes, making signals with his feet

and pointing with his fingers.

¹⁴ He plots evil with perversity in his heart;

he always stirs up strife.

¹⁵ Therefore his disaster will overtake him in an instant;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

¹⁶ There are six things that Yahweh hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

¹⁷ the eyes of a proud person, a tongue that lies,

hands that shed the blood of innocent people,

¹⁸ a heart that invents wicked schemes,

feet that quickly run to do evil,

¹⁹ a witness who breathes out lies

and one who sows discord among brothers.

²⁰ My son, obey the command of your father

and do not abandon the teaching of your mother.

²¹ Always bind them on your heart;

tie them about your neck.

²² When you walk, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you wake up, they will teach you.

²³ For the commands are a lamp,

and the teaching is a light;

the corrections that come by instruction

are the way of life.

²⁴ It keeps you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of an immoral woman.

²⁵ Do not lust in your heart after her beauty

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.

²⁶ The price of a prostitute is the cost of a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man hunts for a precious life.

²⁷ Can a man carry a fire against his chest

without burning his clothes?

²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals

without scorching his feet?

²⁹ So is the man who goes to his neighbor's wife;

the one who touches her will not go unpunished.

³⁰ People do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his need when he is hungry.

³¹ Yet if he is caught, he will pay back seven times what he stole;

he must give up everything of value in his house.

³² The one who commits adultery lacks sense;

the one who does it destroys himself.

³³ Wounds and shame are what he deserves

and his disgrace will not be blotted out.

³⁴ For jealousy makes a man furious;

he will show no mercy on the day of vengeance.

³⁵ He will accept no ransom

and he cannot be bought off,

though you offer him many gifts.

Chapter 7

¹ My son, keep my words

and store up my commands within yourself.

² Keep my commands and live,

and keep my instruction as the apple of your eye.

³ Tie them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"

and call understanding your kinsman,

⁵ in order to keep yourself from the adulterous woman,

from the immoral woman who makes her words smooth.

⁶ At the window of my house

I was looking out through the lattice.

⁷ I looked at the naive people,

and I noticed among the young men

a youth who had no sense.

⁸ That young man passed down the street near her corner,

and he went toward her house.

⁹ It was twilight, in the evening of the day,

at the time of night and darkness.

¹⁰ There a woman met him,

dressed like a prostitute, with a false heart.

¹¹ She was loud and rebellious;

her feet did not stay at home.

¹² Now in the streets, then in the marketplace,

and at every corner she waited in ambush.

¹³ So she grabbed him and kissed him,

with a strong face she said to him,

¹⁴ "I made my peace offering today,

I fulfilled my vows,

¹⁵ so I came out to meet you,

to eagerly seek your face,

and I have found you.

¹⁶ I have spread coverings on my bed,

colored linens from Egypt.

¹⁷ I have sprinkled my bed

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸ Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;

let us take great pleasure in acts of love.

¹⁹ For my husband is not at his house;

he has gone on a long journey.

²⁰ He took a bag of money with him;

he will come home on the day of the full moon."

²¹ With her great persuasiveness she turned him;

with her smooth lips she compelled him.

²² Suddenly he went after her

like an ox going to slaughter,

and like a fool is punished with shackles, ¹

²³ until an arrow pierces through his liver.

He was like a bird rushing into a snare.

He did not know that it would cost him his life.

²⁴ Now, my sons, listen to me;

pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵ May your heart not turn aside onto her paths;

do not be led astray onto her paths.

²⁶ She has caused many people to fall down pierced;

those she has killed are numerous.

²⁷ Her house is on the paths to Sheol;

they go down to the dark bedrooms of death.

¹The Hebrew text is difficult to understand. The ancient Greek translation has: like a dog to the muzzle. Some translations have like a deer to the trap .

Chapter 8

¹ Does not Wisdom call out?

Does not Understanding raise her voice?

² On the hilltops beside the road,

at the crossroads, Wisdom has taken her stand.

³ Before the gates at the entrance into the city,

at the entrances into the city, she cries out.

⁴ "It is to you, people, that I call;

my voice is for the sons of mankind.

⁵ You who are naive, learn wisdom;

and you who are foolish, you must get an understanding mind.

⁶ Listen, because I will speak of noble things,

and when my lips open I will say upright things.

⁷ For my mouth speaks what is trustworthy,

and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸ All the words of my mouth are just;

in them is nothing twisted or perverse.

⁹ All of them are straight for the person who understands;

my words are upright for those who find knowledge.

¹⁰ Acquire my instruction rather than silver;

acquire knowledge rather than choicest gold.

¹¹ For Wisdom is better than jewels;

no desirable thing is equal to her.

¹² I, Wisdom, live with Prudence,

and I possess knowledge and discretion.

¹³ The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil.

I hate pride and arrogance, the evil way,

and perverted speech. I hate them.

¹⁴ I have good advice and sound wisdom;

I am insight; strength belongs to me.

¹⁵ By me kings reign,

and rulers make laws that are just.

¹⁶ By me princes rule,

nobles, and all who judge with justice.

¹⁷ I love those who love me,

and those who diligently seek me, find me.

¹⁸ With me are riches and honor,

lasting wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold;

my produce is better than pure silver.

²⁰ I walk in the path of righteousness,

in the midst of the paths of justice.

²¹ As a result, I make those who love me inherit wealth;

I fill up their treasuries.

²² Yahweh created me at the beginning,

the first of his deeds long ago.

²³ In ages long ago I was established—from the first,

from the beginnings of the earth.

²⁴ Before there were oceans, I was given birth—

before there were springs abounding with water.

²⁵ Before the mountains were settled

and before the hills, I was born.

²⁶ I was born before Yahweh had made the earth or the fields,

or even the first dust in the world.

²⁷ I was there when he established the heavens,

when he drew a circle on the surface of the deep.

²⁸ I was there when he established the clouds above

and when the springs in the deep became fixed.

²⁹ I was there when he made his limit for the sea,

so the waters should not spread beyond his command,

and when there was set the limit for the foundations of the dry land.

³⁰ I was beside him, as a skilled craftsman;

I was his delight day after day,

always rejoicing before him.

³¹ I was rejoicing in his whole world,

and my delight was in the sons of mankind.

³² Now, my sons, listen to me,

for those who keep my ways will be blessed.

³³ Listen to my instruction and be wise;

do not neglect it.

³⁴ The one who listens to me will be blessed.

He will be watching every day at my doors,

waiting beside the posts of my doors.

³⁵ For whoever finds me, finds life,

and he will find the favor of Yahweh.

³⁶ But he who fails, harms his own life;

all who hate me love death."

Chapter 9

¹ Wisdom has built her own house;

she has carved seven pillars out of rocks.

² She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,

and she has set her table.

³ She has sent out her maids; she calls out

from the highest points of the city,

⁴ "Who is naive? Let him turn aside here!"

To the one lacking good sense she speaks.

⁵ "Come, eat my food,

and drink the wine I have mixed.

⁶ Leave your naive actions and live;

walk in the path of understanding.

⁷ Whoever disciplines a mocker receives dishonor,

and whoever rebukes a wicked person receives abuse.

⁸ Do not reprove a mocker, or he will hate you;

reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹ Give to a wise person, and he will become even wiser;

teach a righteous person, and he will add to his learning.

¹⁰ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹ For through me your days will be multiplied,

and years of life will be added to you.

¹² If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,

and if you mock, you will carry it by yourself."

¹³ The woman of foolishness is ignorant;

she is untaught and knows nothing.

¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house,

on a seat in the highest places of the town.

¹⁵ She is calling out to those who pass by in the streets,

to people walking straight on their way.

¹⁶ "Let anyone who is naive turn aside here,"

she says to those who have no sense.

¹⁷ "Stolen waters are sweet,

and bread of secrecy is delicious."

¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead are there,

that her invited guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Chapter 10

¹ The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes his father rejoice

but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

² Treasures accumulated by wickedness give no profit,

but doing what is right delivers from death.

³ Yahweh does not let the soul of the righteous person go hungry,

but he frustrates the cravings of the wicked.

⁴ A lazy hand causes a person to be poor,

but the hand of the diligent person gains riches.

⁵ A wise son gathers a crop in the summer,

but it is disgraceful for him to sleep during harvest.

⁶ Blessings from God are upon the head of the righteous person,

but the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.

⁷ The righteous person makes those who remember him happy,

but the name of the wicked will rot away.

⁸ The wise of heart accept commands,

but a talkative fool will come to ruin.

⁹ He who walks in integrity walks in safety,

but the one who makes his ways crooked, he will be found out.

¹⁰ He who winks the eye causes grief,

but a talkative fool will come to ruin.

¹¹ The mouth of the righteous person is a water spring of life,

but the mouth of the wicked covers up violence.

¹² Hatred stirs up conflicts,

but love covers over all transgressions.

¹³ Wisdom is found on the lips of a discerning person,

but a rod is for the back of the one who has no sense.

¹⁴ Wise men store up knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool brings destruction near.

¹⁵ The wealth of a rich man is his fortified city;

the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

¹⁶ The wage of the righteous person leads to life;

the income of the wicked leads them to sin.

¹⁷ There is a path to life for the one who follows discipline,

but the one who rejects correction is led astray.

¹⁸ Whoever conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹ When there are many words, transgression is not lacking,

but he who is careful in what he says is wise.

²⁰ The tongue of the righteous person is pure silver;

there is little value in the heart of the wicked.

²¹ The lips of the righteous person nourish many,

but fools die because of their lack of sense.

²² The blessings of Yahweh bring wealth

and he adds no pain to it.

²³ Wickedness is a game a fool plays,

but wisdom is a pleasure to a man of understanding.

²⁴ The fear of the wicked person will overtake him,

but the desire of righteous people will be granted.

²⁵ The wicked are like the storm that passes by, and they are no more,

but the righteous person is a foundation that lasts forever.

²⁶ Like vinegar on the teeth and smoke in the eyes,

so is the lazy person to those who send him.

²⁷ The fear of Yahweh prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸ The hope of righteous people is their joy,

but the hope of wicked people will perish.

²⁹ The way of Yahweh is a stronghold for those who have integrity,

but it is destruction for those who behave wickedly.

³⁰ The righteous person will never be overthrown,

but the wicked will not remain in the land.

³¹ Out of the mouth of the righteous person comes the fruit of wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut out.

³² The lips of the righteous person know what gains favor,

but the mouth of the wicked, they know what is perverse.

Chapter 11

¹ False scales are an abomination to Yahweh,

but he delights in a precise weight.

² When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with humility comes wisdom.

³ The integrity of the upright guides them,

but the crooked ways of the treacherous destroy them.

⁴ Wealth is worthless on the day of wrath,

but doing right delivers you from death.

⁵ The right conduct of a blameless person makes his way straight,

but the wicked will fall because of their own wickedness.

⁶ The right conduct of the upright keeps them safe,

but the treacherous are trapped by their cravings.

⁷ When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes

and the hope that was in his strength comes to nothing.

⁸ The righteous person is delivered from trouble

and it comes upon the wicked instead.

⁹ With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor,

but through knowledge righteous people are kept safe.

¹⁰ When righteous people prosper, a city rejoices;

when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹¹ Through the blessings of the upright the city is exalted;

by the mouth of the wicked the city is thrown down.

¹² The man who has contempt for his friend has no sense,

but a man of understanding keeps quiet.

¹³ Whoever goes around slandering reveals secrets,

but the trustworthy in spirit keeps a matter covered.

¹⁴ Where there is no counsel, a nation falls,

but victory comes through many counselors.

¹⁵ Whoever guarantees a loan for a stranger will surely suffer harm,

but the one who hates giving a pledge in that kind of promise is safe.

¹⁶ A gracious woman gets honor,

but violent people grasp for wealth.

¹⁷ A merciful person benefits himself,

but one who is cruel hurts himself.

¹⁸ The wicked person lies to get his wages,

but one who sows what is right reaps the wages of truth.

¹⁹ An honest person who does what is right will live,

but the one who pursues evil will die.

²⁰ Those whose hearts are perverse are an abomination to Yahweh,

but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

²¹ Be sure of this—the wicked person will not go unpunished,

but the descendants of righteous people will be kept safe.

²² Like a gold ring in a pig's nose

is a beautiful woman without discretion.

²³ The desires of righteous people result in good,

but wicked people can only hope for wrath.

²⁴ There is one who scatters—he will accumulate even more;

another withholds what is just—he comes to poverty.

²⁵ The generous person will prosper

and the one who gives water to others will have water for himself.

²⁶ People curse the man who refuses to sell grain,

but good gifts crown the head of him who sells it.

²⁷ The one who diligently seeks good is also seeking favor,

but the one who searches for evil will find it.

²⁸ Those who trust in their riches will fall,

but like the leaf, righteous people will flourish.

²⁹ The one who brings trouble on his own household will inherit the wind

and the fool will become a servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

but violence takes away lives.

³¹ Behold! The righteous person is rewarded on earth;

how much more the wicked and the sinner!

Chapter 12

¹ Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but the one who hates correction is stupid.

² Yahweh gives favor to a good man,

but he condemns a man who makes evil plans.

³ A person cannot be established by wickedness,

but righteous people cannot be uprooted.

⁴ A worthy wife is her husband's crown,

but she who brings shame is like a disease that rots his bones.

⁵ The plans of the righteous are just,

but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

⁶ The words of wicked people are an ambush waiting for bloodshed,

but the words of the upright keep them safe.

⁷ Wicked people are overthrown and they are gone,

but the house of the righteous person will stand.

⁸ A man is praised for prudent lips,

but the perverse heart is despised.

⁹ Better the person of low position who has a servant

than the one who honors himself but has no food.

¹⁰ The righteous person cares about the needs of his animal,

but even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.

¹¹ The one who works his land will have plenty of food,

but whoever chases after worthless projects has no sense.

¹² The evil person desires the plunder of the wicked,

but the righteous root endures.

¹³ An evil person is trapped by the transgression of his lips,

but the righteous person escapes from trouble.

¹⁴ From the fruit of his words a person is filled with good things,

just as the work of his hands rewards him.

¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to advice.

¹⁶ A fool shows his anger at once,

but one who ignores an insult is prudent.

¹⁷ The one who speaks the truth says what is right,

but a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸ The words of one who speaks rashly are like the thrusts of a sword,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹ Truthful lips last forever,

but a lying tongue is only for a moment.

²⁰ There is deceit in the hearts of those who plan to do evil,

but joy comes to the advisors of peace.

²¹ No ill comes upon the righteous,

but the wicked are filled with distress.

²² Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh,

but those who live faithfully are his delight.

²³ A prudent man conceals his knowledge,

but the heart of fools shouts out folly.

²⁴ The hand of the diligent will rule,

but lazy people will be put to forced labor.

²⁵ Anxiety in the heart of a person weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.

²⁶ The righteous person is a guide for his friend,

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷ Lazy people would not roast their own game,

but the diligent man will obtain precious wealth.

²⁸ Those who walk in the right way find life

and in its path there is no death.

Chapter 13

¹ A wise son hears his father's instruction,

but a mocker will not listen to rebuke.

² From the fruit of his mouth a person enjoys good things,

but the appetite of the treacherous is for violence.

³ The one who guards his mouth protects his life,

but the one who opens wide his lips will ruin himself.

⁴ The appetite of the lazy person craves but gets nothing,

but the appetite of the diligent person will be richly satisfied.

⁵ The righteous person hates deceptive words,

but a wicked person makes himself repugnant, and he does what is shameful.

⁶ Righteousness protects those who are faultless in their path,

but wickedness ruins those who commit sin.

⁷ There is someone who enriches himself, but has nothing at all,

and there is someone who gives everything away, yet has much wealth.

⁸ The ransom of a rich man's life is his wealth,

but a poor person does not hear a threat.

⁹ The light of righteous people rejoices,

but the lamp of wicked people will be put out.

¹⁰ Pride only breeds conflict,

but for those who listen to good advice there is wisdom.

¹¹ Wealth dwindles away when there is too much vanity,

but the one who makes money by working with his hand

will make his money grow.

¹² When hope is postponed, it breaks the heart,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³ Whoever despises instruction brings destruction on himself,

but he who respects the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴ The teaching of a wise person is a fountain of life,

turning you away from the snares of death.

¹⁵ Good insight wins favor,

but the way of the treacherous is disaster. ¹

¹⁶ Prudent people act out of knowledge in every decision,

but a fool parades his folly.

¹⁷ A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but a faithful envoy brings healing.

¹⁸ The one who ignores instruction will have poverty and shame,

but honor will come to him who learns from correction.

¹⁹ A longing realized is sweet to the appetite,

but turning away from evil is an abomination to fools.

²⁰ Walk with wise people and you will be wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹ Disaster runs after sinners,

but righteous people are rewarded with good.

²² A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren,

but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous person.

²³ An unplowed field owned by the poor could produce much food,

but it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴ The one who does not use his rod hates his son,

but one who loves his son is careful to instruct him.

²⁵ The righteous person eats until he satisfies his appetite,

but the stomach of the wicked is always hungry.

¹The ULB is following the ancient Greek translation because the Hebrew is difficult to understand. The Hebrew has: the way of the treacherous is unending.

Chapter 14

¹ The wise woman builds her house,

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

² The one who walks uprightly fears Yahweh,

but the one who is dishonest in his ways despises him.

³ From the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,

but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴ Where there are no cattle, the feeding trough is clean,

but an abundant crop comes from the strength of an ox.

⁵ A faithful witness does not lie,

but a false witness breathes out lies.

⁶ A mocker seeks wisdom and there is none,

but knowledge comes easily to the one who is discerning.

⁷ Walk away from a foolish person,

for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent person is to understand his own way,

but the folly of fools is deception.

⁹ Fools mock when the guilt offering is sacrificed,

but among the upright favor is shared.

¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness

and no stranger shares its joy.

¹¹ The house of wicked people will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end only leads to death.

¹³ A heart can laugh but still be in pain

and joy may end up being grief.

¹⁴ The faithless in heart will get what his ways deserve,

but a good person will get what is his.

¹⁵ The one who is naive believes everything,

but the prudent man thinks about his steps.

¹⁶ A wise man fears and turns away from evil,

but the fool confidently dismisses a warning.

¹⁷ One who is quick to become angry does foolish things,

and a person who makes evil schemes is hated.

¹⁸ The naive inherit foolishness,

but prudent people are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹ Evil people will bow down before those who are good

and those who are wicked will bow down at the gates of the righteous person.

²⁰ The poor person is hated even by his own companions,

but the rich people have many friends.

²¹ The one who shows contempt for his neighbor is sinning,

but the one who shows favor to the poor is blessed.

²² Do not those who plot evil go astray?

But those who plan to do good will receive steadfast love and faithfulness.

²³ With all hard work comes a profit,

but when there is only talk, it leads to poverty.

²⁴ The crown of wise people is their wealth,

but the folly of fools brings them only more folly.

²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,

but he who breathes out lies brings betrayal.

²⁶ In the fear of Yahweh is strong confidence;

it will be a refuge for his children.

²⁷ The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,

so that a person may turn away from the snares of death.

²⁸ The glory of a king is found in the great number of his people,

but without people the prince is ruined.

²⁹ A patient person has great understanding,

but the quick-tempered person exalts folly.

³⁰ A tranquil heart is life for the body,

but envy rots the bones.

³¹ The one who oppresses the poor insults his Maker,

but the one who shows favor to the needy honors him.

³² The wicked person is brought down by his evil actions,

but the righteous person has a refuge even in death.

³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of the discerning,

but even among fools she lets herself be known.

³⁴ Doing what is right exalts a nation,

but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵ The favor of the king is with the servant who acts prudently,

but his anger is for the one who acts shamefully.

Chapter 15

¹ A gentle answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

² The tongue of wise people compliments knowledge,

but the mouth of fools pours out folly.

³ The eyes of Yahweh are everywhere,

keeping watch over the evil and the good.

⁴ A healing tongue is a tree of life,

but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

⁵ A fool has contempt for his father's instruction,

but he who learns from correction is prudent.

⁶ In the house of the righteous person there is great treasure,

but the earnings of the wicked person give him trouble.

⁷ The lips of wise people scatter knowledge about,

but not so the hearts of fools.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,

but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁹ The way of wicked people is an abomination to Yahweh,

but he loves the one who pursues what is right.

¹⁰ Harsh discipline awaits anyone who abandons the way

and he who hates correction will die.

¹¹ Sheol and destruction are open before Yahweh;

how much more the hearts of the sons of mankind?

¹² The mocker does not love the one who corrects him;

he will not go to the wise.

¹³ A joyful heart makes the face cheerful,

but by an injured heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴ The heart of the discerning seeks knowledge,

but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

¹⁵ All the days of the afflicted are miserable,

but a cheerful heart has an unending feast.

¹⁶ Better is little with the fear of Yahweh

than great treasure with tumult.

¹⁷ Better is a meal with vegetables where there is love

than a fattened calf served with hatred.

¹⁸ An angry man stirs up strife,

but a person who is slow to anger quiets a quarrel.

¹⁹ The path of the lazy person is like a place with a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a built-up highway.

²⁰ A wise son brings joy to his father,

but a foolish person despises his mother.

²¹ Folly delights a person who lacks sense,

but the one who has understanding walks a straight path.

²² Plans go wrong where there is no advice,

but with numerous advisors they succeed.

²³ A person finds joy when he gives a pertinent reply;

how good is a timely word!

²⁴ The path of life leads upward for prudent people,

that they may turn away from Sheol beneath.

²⁵ Yahweh tears down the house of the proud,

but he protects the property of the widow.

²⁶ The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to Yahweh,

but pleasant words are pure.

²⁷ The person who profits from unjust gain brings trouble to his family,

but the one who hates bribes will live.

²⁸ The heart of the righteous person ponders before it answers,

but the mouth of wicked people pours out all its evil.

²⁹ Yahweh is far away from wicked people,

but he hears the prayer of righteous people.

³⁰ The light of the eyes brings joy to the heart

and good news is health to the body.

³¹ The ear that listens to life-giving rebuke

will dwell among wise people.

³² The one who rejects discipline despises himself,

but he who listens to correction gains understanding.

³³ The fear of Yahweh instructs in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

Chapter 16

¹ The plans of the heart belong to a person,

but the answer from his tongue comes from Yahweh.

² All of a person's ways are pure in his own eyes,

but Yahweh weighs the spirits.

³ Commit your works to Yahweh

and your plans will succeed.

⁴ Yahweh has made everything for its purpose,

even the wicked for the day of trouble.

⁵ Every exalted heart is an abomination to Yahweh,

but be sure of this, they will not go unpunished.

⁶ By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for

and by the fear of Yahweh people turn away from evil.

⁷ When a person's ways are pleasing to Yahweh,

he makes even that person's enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸ Better is a little with what is right,

than a large income with injustice.

⁹ In his heart a person plans out his way,

but Yahweh directs his steps.

¹⁰ Insightful decisions are on the lips of a king;

his mouth should not betray justice.

¹¹ Honest scales come from Yahweh;

all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹² Doing evil is an abomination to kings,

for a throne is established by doing what is right.

¹³ Righteous lips are the delight of the king,

and he loves the person who speaks upright words.

¹⁴ A king's wrath is a messenger of death

but a wise man will try to calm his anger.

¹⁵ In the light of a king's face is life

and his favor is like a cloud that brings a spring rain.

¹⁶ How much better it is to get wisdom than gold.

To get understanding should be chosen more than silver.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright turns away from evil;

the one who guards his way preserves his life.

¹⁸ Pride comes before destruction

and a haughty spirit before a downfall.

¹⁹ It is better to be of humble spirit among poor people

than to divide the plunder with proud people.

²⁰ Whoever contemplates what they are taught will find what is good,

and those who trust in Yahweh will be blessed.

²¹ The one who is wise in heart is called discerning

and sweetness of speech improves the ability to teach.

²² Understanding is a fountain of life to the one who has it,

but the instruction of fools is their foolishness.

²³ The heart of a wise person gives insight to his mouth

and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴ Pleasant words are a honeycomb—

sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵ There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

²⁶ The laborer's appetite works for him;

his hunger urges him on.

²⁷ A worthless person digs up mischief

and his speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸ A perverse person stirs up conflict

and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹ A man of violence lies to his neighbor

and leads him down a path that is not good.

³⁰ The one who winks the eye is plotting perverse things;

those who purse the lips will bring evil to pass.

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of glory;

it is gained by living the right way.

³² It is better to be slow to anger than to be a warrior

and one who rules his spirit is stronger than one who conquers a city.

³³ The lots are cast into the lap,

but the decision is from Yahweh.

Chapter 17

¹ It is better to have quiet with a dry morsel of bread

than a house full of feasting with strife.

² A wise servant will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

³ The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,

but Yahweh tests hearts.

⁴ The evildoer pays attention to wicked lips;

a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

⁵ Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker

and the one who rejoices at misfortune will not go unpunished.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged

and parents bring honor to their children.

⁷ Eloquent speech is not suitable for a fool;

much less are lying lips suitable for a prince.

⁸ A bribe is like a magic stone to the one who gives it;

wherever he turns, he succeeds.

⁹ Whoever overlooks an offense seeks love,

but the one who repeats a matter alienates close friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke goes deeper into a person who has understanding

than a hundred blows go into a fool.

¹¹ An evil person only seeks rebellion,

so a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹² It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs

than to meet a fool in his foolishness.

¹³ When someone returns evil for good,

evil will never leave his house.

¹⁴ The beginning of conflict is like one who releases water everywhere,

so walk away from the dispute before it has broken out.

¹⁵ The person who acquits the wicked person and the person who condemns the righteous person—

both are an abomination to Yahweh.

¹⁶ Why should a fool pay money to learn about wisdom

when he has no sense?

¹⁷ A friend is loving at all times

and a brother is born for times of trouble.

¹⁸ A man having no sense makes binding promises

and becomes responsible for his neighbor's debts.

¹⁹ Whoever loves conflict loves sin;

whoever raises his door seeks destruction.

²⁰ A person who has a crooked heart finds nothing that is good;

the one who has a perverse tongue falls into calamity.

²¹ Whoever is the parent of a fool brings grief to himself;

and the father of a fool has no joy.

²² A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³ A wicked man accepts a secret bribe

to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴ The one who has understanding sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are set on the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son is a grief to his father

and bitterness to the woman who bore him.

²⁶ Also, it is never good to punish the righteous;

neither is it good to flog the noble for their integrity.

²⁷ One who has knowledge uses few words

and he who is cool of spirit has understanding.

²⁸ Even a fool is thought to be wise if he keeps silent;

when he keeps his mouth shut, he is considered to be intelligent.

Chapter 18

¹ One who isolates himself seeks his own desire,

and he quarrels with all sound wisdom.

² A fool finds no pleasure in understanding,

but only in revealing what is in his own heart.

³ When a wicked person comes, contempt comes with him—

along with shame and disgrace.

⁴ The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a flowing stream.

⁵ It is not good to be partial to the wicked person,

nor to deny justice to the righteous person.

⁶ A fool's lips bring him conflict

and his mouth invites a beating.

⁷ A fool's mouth is his ruin

and he ensnares himself with his lips.

⁸ The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels

and they go down into the inner parts of the body.

⁹ Also, one who is slack in his work

is a brother to the one who destroys the most.

¹⁰ The name of Yahweh is a strong tower;

the righteous person runs into it and is safe.

¹¹ The wealth of the rich is his fortified city

and in his imagination it is like a high wall.

¹² Before his downfall a person's heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.

¹³ One who answers before listening—

it is his folly and shame.

¹⁴ A person's spirit will endure sickness,

but who can bear a broken spirit?

¹⁵ The heart of the intelligent acquires knowledge

and the hearing of the wise seeks it out.

¹⁶ A man's gift may open the way

and bring him before great men.

¹⁷ The first to plead his case seems just

until his opponent comes and examines him.

¹⁸ Casting the lot settles disputes

and separates strong opponents.

¹⁹ An offended brother is harder to be won than a strong city,

and quarrels are like the bars of a castle.

²⁰ From the fruit of his mouth one's stomach is filled;

with the harvest of his lips he is satisfied.

²¹ Death and life are controlled by the tongue,

and those who love the tongue will eat its fruit.

²² He who finds a wife finds a good thing

and receives favor from Yahweh.

²³ A poor person pleads for mercy,

but a rich person answers harshly.

²⁴ The one who claims many friends is brought to ruin by them,

but there is a friend who comes closer than a brother.

Chapter 19

¹ Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity

than one who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

² Also, it is not good to have desire without knowledge

and the one who runs too fast misses the path.

³ A person's folly ruins his life

and his heart rages against Yahweh.

⁴ Wealth adds many friends,

but a poor person is separated from his friends.

⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished

and he who breathes out lies will not escape.

⁶ Many will ask for a favor from a generous person

and everyone is a friend of the one who gives gifts.

⁷ All the brothers of a poor man hate him;

how much more do his friends who go far away from him!

He pursues them with words,

but they are gone.

⁸ He who gets wisdom loves his own life;

he who keeps understanding will find what is good.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,

but the one who breathes out lies will perish.

¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—

much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹ Discretion makes a person slow to anger

and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

¹² The wrath of the king is like the roaring of a young lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³ A foolish son is ruin to his father

and a quarreling wife is a constant dripping of water.

¹⁴ A house and wealth are inherited from parents,

but a prudent wife is from Yahweh.

¹⁵ Laziness throws a person into a deep sleep,

but the one not willing to work will go hungry.

¹⁶ The one who obeys the command guards his life,

but the one who despises his ways will die.

¹⁷ Whoever is gracious to the poor lends to Yahweh

and he will repay him for what he has done.

¹⁸ Discipline your son while there is hope

and do not set your desire on putting him to death.

¹⁹ A person with great anger must bear the penalty;

if you rescue him, you will have to do it a second time.

²⁰ Listen to advice and accept instruction,

so you may become wise by the end of your life.

²¹ Many are the plans in a person's heart,

but it is the purpose of Yahweh that will stand.

²² Loyalty is what a person desires

and a poor person is better than a liar.

²³ Honor for Yahweh leads people to life;

anyone who has it will rest satisfied and not afflicted by harm.

²⁴ The lazy person buries his hand in the dish;

he will not even bring it back up to his mouth.

²⁵ Strike a mocker, and the naive person will become prudent;

discipline one who is discerning, and he will gain knowledge.

²⁶ The one who robs his father and drives his mother away

is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

²⁷ If you cease to hear instruction, my son,

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸ A corrupt witness mocks justice

and the mouth of the wicked swallows iniquity.

²⁹ Judgments are ready for mockers

and flogging for the backs of fools.

Chapter 20

¹ Wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler;

whoever is led astray by drink is not wise.

² The fear of a king is like the fear of a young lion that is roaring;

the one who makes him angry forfeits his life.

³ It is an honor for anyone to avoid conflict,

but every fool jumps into an argument.

⁴ The lazy person does not plow in autumn;

he seeks a crop at harvest time but will have nothing.

⁵ The purpose in a human heart is like deep water,

but someone with understanding will draw it out.

⁶ Many a person proclaims he is loyal,

but who can find one who is faithful?

⁷ The righteous person walks in his integrity,

and his sons who follow after him will be blessed.

⁸ A king who sits on the throne performing the duties of a judge

is winnowing with his eyes all the evil that is before him.

⁹ Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin"?

¹⁰ Differing weights and unequal measures—

both are abominations to Yahweh.

¹¹ Even a youth is known by his actions,

by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

¹² Ears that hear and eyes that see—

Yahweh made them both.

¹³ Do not love sleep or you will come to poverty;

open your eyes and you will have plenty to eat.

¹⁴ "Bad! Bad!" says the buyer,

but when he goes away he boasts.

¹⁵ There is gold and an abundance of costly stones,

but lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶ Take a garment of one who has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an immoral woman.

¹⁷ Bread gained by deceit tastes sweet,

but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

¹⁸ Plans are established by advice

and only with wise guidance should you wage war.

¹⁹ A slanderer reveals secrets,

and so you should not associate with people who talk too much.

²⁰ If a person curses his father or his mother,

his lamp will be put out in the middle of darkness.

²¹ An inheritance gained quickly at the beginning

will not be blessed in the end.

²² Do not say, "I will pay you back for this wrong!"

Wait for Yahweh and he will rescue you.

²³ Unequal weights are an abomination to Yahweh,

and deceptive scales are not good.

²⁴ A person's steps are directed by Yahweh;

how then can he understand his way?

²⁵ It is a snare for a person to say rashly, "This thing is holy,"

and begin to think about what it means only after making his vow.

²⁶ A wise king winnows the wicked

and he turns a threshing wheel over them.

²⁷ The spirit of a person is the lamp of Yahweh,

searching all his inmost parts.

²⁸ Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king;

he makes his throne strong by love.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength

and the splendor of old people is their gray hair.

³⁰ Blows that make a wound cleanse away evil

and beatings make the innermost parts clean.

Chapter 21

¹ The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of Yahweh;

he turns it wherever he pleases.

² Every person's way is right in his own eyes,

but it is Yahweh who weighs the hearts.

³ To do what is right and just

is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.

⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the lamp of the wicked—are sin.

⁵ The plans of the diligent lead only to prosperity,

but everyone who acts too quickly comes only to poverty.

⁶ Acquiring treasures by a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

⁷ The violence of the wicked will drag them away,

for they refuse to do what is just.

⁸ The way of a guilty person is crooked,

but the one who is pure does what is right.

⁹ It is better to live on a corner of the roof

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰ The appetite of the wicked craves evil;

his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

¹¹ When the mocker is punished, the naive become wise,

and when the wise person is instructed, he lays hold of knowledge.

¹² The righteous person watches the house of the wicked person;

he brings wicked people to disaster.

¹³ The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he also will cry out, but he will not be answered.

¹⁴ A gift in secret appeases anger

and a concealed gift appeases strong wrath.

¹⁵ When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous person,

but it brings terror to workers of iniquity.

¹⁶ The one who wanders from the way of understanding,

he will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;

the one who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸ A wicked person is ransom for the righteous,

and the treacherous person is ransom for the upright.

¹⁹ It is better to live in the desert

than with a quarreling and angry wife.

²⁰ Desirable treasure and oil are kept in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish person swallows it all up.

²¹ The one who does right and is kind—

this person finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²² A wise man scales the city of the mighty ones,

and he brings down the stronghold in which they trusted.

²³ Whoever guards his mouth and tongue

keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴ The proud and haughty person—"Mocker" is his name—

acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵ The desire of the lazy person kills him,

for his hands refuse to work.

²⁶ All day long he craves and craves more,

but the righteous person gives and does not hold back.

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

it is even more detestable when he brings it with evil motives.

²⁸ A false witness will perish,

but the one who listens will speak for all time.

²⁹ A wicked man makes his face hard,

but the upright is certain about his ways. ¹

³⁰ There is no wisdom, there is no understanding, and there is no advice

that can stand against Yahweh.

³¹ The horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but the victory belongs to Yahweh.

¹Some ancient copies of the Hebrew text have but the upright thinks about his way .

Chapter 22

¹ A good name is to be chosen over great riches

and favor is better than silver and gold.

² Rich and poor people have this in common—

Yahweh is the maker of all of them.

³ The prudent sees trouble and hides himself,

but the naive go on and suffer because of it.

⁴ The reward for humility and fear of Yahweh

is riches, honor, and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares lie in the path of the perverse;

whoever guards his life will keep far from them.

⁶ Teach a child the way he should go

and when he is old he will not turn away from that instruction.

⁷ Rich people rule over poor people

and one who borrows is a slave to the one who lends.

⁸ He who sows injustice will reap trouble

and the rod of his fury will fade away.

⁹ The one who has a generous eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁰ Drive away the mocker, and out goes strife;

disputes and dishonor will cease.

¹¹ The one who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious,

he will have the king for his friend.

¹² The eyes of Yahweh keep watch over knowledge,

but he overthrows the words of the treacherous.

¹³ The lazy person says, "There is a lion in the street!

I will be killed in the open places."

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;

Yahweh's anger is stirred up against anyone who falls into it.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far away.

¹⁶ The one who oppresses poor people to increase his wealth,

or gives to rich people, will come to poverty.

¹⁷ Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise

and apply your heart to my knowledge,

¹⁸ for it will be pleasant for you if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So your trust may be in Yahweh,

I teach them to you today—even to you.

²⁰ Have I not written for you thirty sayings

of instruction and knowledge,

²¹ to teach you truth in these trustworthy words,

so you may give trustworthy answers

to those who sent you?

²² Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

or crush the needy at the gate,

²³ for Yahweh will plead their case,

and he will rob of life those who robbed them.

²⁴ Do not make a friend of someone who is ruled by anger

and you must not go with one who rages,

²⁵ or you will learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare.

²⁶ Do not be one who strikes hands in making a pledge,

or who puts up security for debts.

²⁷ If you lack the means to pay,

what could stop someone from taking away your bed from under you?

²⁸ Do not remove the ancient boundary stone

that your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled at his work? He will stand before kings;

he will not stand before common people.

Chapter 23

¹ When you sit to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you,

² and put a knife to your throat

if you are a person who likes to eat a lot of food.

³ Do not crave his delicacies,

for it is the food of lies.

⁴ Do not work too hard to gain wealth;

be wise enough to know when to stop.

⁵ Will you let your eyes light upon it? It will be gone,

for it will surely take up wings like an eagle

and fly off to the sky.

⁶ Do not eat the food of one with an evil eye—

and do not crave his delicacies,

⁷ for he is the kind of man

who counts the price of the food.

"Eat and drink!" he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

⁸ You will vomit up the little you have eaten

and you will have wasted your compliments.

⁹ Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone

or encroach on the fields of orphans,

¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong

and he will plead their case against you.

¹² Apply your heart to instruction

and your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³ Do not withhold instruction from a child,

for if you beat him with the rod, he will not die.

¹⁴ It is you who must beat him with the rod

and save his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

¹⁶ my kidneys will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of Yahweh all the day.

¹⁸ Surely there is a future

and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹ Hear—you!—my son, and be wise

and direct your heart in the way.

²⁰ Do not associate with those who drink much wine,

or with gluttonous eaters of meat,

²¹ for the drunkard and the glutton become poor

and slumber will clothe them with rags.

²² Listen to your father who begot you

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³ Buy the truth, but do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

²⁴ The father of the righteous person will greatly rejoice,

and he who begets a wise child will be glad in him.

²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad

and let her who bore you rejoice.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart

and let your eyes observe my ways.

²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit,

and an immoral woman is a narrow well.

²⁸ She lies in wait like a robber

and she increases the number of the treacherous among humanity.

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰ Those who linger over wine,

those who try the mixed wine.

³¹ Do not look at the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

³² In the last it bites like a serpent

and it stings like an adder.

³³ Your eyes will see strange things

and your heart will utter perverse things.

³⁴ You will be as one who sleeps on the high seas

or lies down on the top of a mast.

³⁵ "They hit me," you will say, "but I was not hurt.

They beat me, but I did not feel it.

When will I wake up?

I will seek another drink."

Chapter 24

¹ Do not be envious of those who are evil,

nor desire to associate with them,

² because their hearts plot violence

and their lips talk about trouble.

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 A warrior of wisdom is strong,

and a man of knowledge increases his strength;

⁶ for with guidance you can wage your war

and with many advisors there is victory.

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool;

in the gate he does not open his mouth.

⁸ There is one who plans to do evil—

people call him a master of schemes.

⁹ A foolish plan is sin

and a mocker is an abomination to people.

¹⁰ If you become weak with fear in the day of trouble,

then your strength is small.

¹¹ Rescue those who are being taken away to death

and hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter.

¹² If you say, "Behold, we knew nothing about this,"

does not the one who weighs the heart understand what you are saying?

The one who guards your life, does he not know it?

Will God not give to each one what he deserves?

¹³ My son, eat honey because it is good,

because the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

¹⁴ Such is wisdom for your soul—

if you find it, there will be a future

and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait like the wicked person who attacks the house of the righteous person.

Do not destroy his home!

¹⁶ For the righteous person falls down seven times and rises again,

but wicked people stumble at calamity.

¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemy falls

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

¹⁸ or Yahweh will see and disapprove

and turn away his wrath from him.

¹⁹ Do not be angry because of evildoers,

and do not envy wicked people,

²⁰ for the evil person has no future

and the lamp of wicked people will go out.

²¹ Fear Yahweh, and fear the king, my son;

do not associate with those who rebel against them,

²² for suddenly their disaster will come,

and who knows the extent of the destruction that will come from both of them?

²³ These also are sayings of the wise.

Partiality in judging a case at law is not good.

²⁴ Whoever says to the wicked person, "You are a righteous person,"

will be cursed by peoples and abhorred by nations.

²⁵ But those who discipline the wicked will have delight

and gifts of goodness will come to them.

²⁶ The one who gives a straight answer

gives a kiss on the lips.

²⁷ Prepare your outdoor work,

and make everything ready for yourself in the field;

after that, build your house.

²⁸ Do not bear witness against your neighbor without cause

and do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹ Do not say, "I will do to him what he has done to me;

I will pay him back for what he has done."

³⁰ I went by the field of a lazy person,

past the vineyard of the man having no sense.

³¹ Thorns had grown up everywhere,

the ground was covered with nettles,

and its stone wall was broken down.

³² Then I saw and considered it;

I looked and received instruction.

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest—

³⁴ and poverty comes marching upon you,

and your needs like an armed soldier.

Chapter 25

¹ These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,

but the glory of kings to search it out.

³ Like the heavens are for height and the earth is for depth,

so the heart of kings is unsearchable.

⁴ Remove the dross from the silver

and a metal worker can use the silver in his craft.

⁵ Even so, remove wicked people from the presence of the king

and his throne will be established by doing what is right.

⁶ Do not honor yourself in the king's presence

and do not stand in the place designated for great people.

⁷ It is better for him to say to you, "Come up here,"

than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.

What you have witnessed,

⁸ do not bring quickly to trial.

For what will you do in the end

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹ Argue your case between you and your neighbor himself

and do not reveal another's secret,

¹⁰ or else the one who hears you will bring shame upon you

and an evil report about you that cannot be silenced.

¹¹ Apples of gold in settings of silver

is a word spoken in the right situation.

¹² A gold ring or jewelry made of fine gold

is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.

¹³ Like the cold of snow at harvest time

is a faithful messenger for those who sent him;

he brings back the life of his masters.

¹⁴ Clouds and wind without rain

is the one who boasts about a gift he does not give.

¹⁵ With patience a ruler can be persuaded

and a soft tongue can break a bone.

¹⁶ If you find honey, eat just enough—

otherwise, having too much of it, you vomit it up.

¹⁷ Do not set your foot in your neighbor's house too often;

he may become tired of you and hate you.

¹⁸ A man who bears false witness against his neighbor

is like a club used in war, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ An unfaithful man in whom you trust in a time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

²⁰ Like a person who takes off a garment in cold weather,

or like vinegar poured upon carbonate of soda,

is the one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

²² for you will shovel coals of fire on his head

and Yahweh will reward you.

²³ As surely as the north wind brings rain,

so a tongue that tells secrets will result in angry faces.

²⁴ It is better to live on a corner of the roof

than in a house shared with a quarreling wife.

²⁵ Like cold waters to one who is thirsty,

so is good news from a far country.

²⁶ Like a fouled spring or a ruined fountain

is a righteous person tottering before wicked people.

²⁷ It is not good to eat too much honey;

that is like searching for honor after honor. ¹

²⁸ A person without self-control

is like a city breached and without walls.

¹Many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult verse.

Chapter 26

¹ Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

so a fool does not deserve honor.

² As the sparrow flutters and the swallow darts when they fly,

so an undeserved curse does not alight.

³ A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey

and a rod is for the back of fools.

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,

or you will become like him.

⁵ Answer a fool and join in on his folly,

so he will not become wise in his own eyes.

⁶ Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷ Like the legs of a paralytic which hang down

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸ Like tying a stone in a sling

is giving 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 Like an archer who wounds all those around him

is one who hires a fool or hires anyone who passes by.

¹¹ As a dog returns to his own vomit,

so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹² Do you see someone who is wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³ The lazy person says, "There is a lion on the road!

There is a lion between the open places!"

¹⁴ As the door turns on its hinges,

so is the lazy person upon his bed.

¹⁵ The lazy person puts his hand into the dish

and yet he has no strength to lift it up to his mouth.

¹⁶ The lazy person is wiser in his own eyes

than seven men who respond with good judgment.

¹⁷ Like one who takes hold of the ears of a dog

is a passerby who becomes angry at a dispute that is not his own.

¹⁸ Like a madman who throws

firebrands, arrows, and death

¹⁹ is the one who deceives his neighbor

and says, "Was I not telling a joke?"

²⁰ For lack of wood, the fire goes out;

and where there is no gossiper, quarreling ceases.

²¹ As charcoal is to burning coals and wood is to fire,

so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

²² The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

²³ Like the glaze overlaying an earthen vessel,

so are burning lips and an evil heart.

²⁴ One who hates others disguises his feelings with his lips

and he lays up deceit within himself.

²⁵ He will speak graciously, but do not believe him,

for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶ Though his hatred is covered with deception,

his wickedness will be revealed in the assembly.

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall into it

and the stone will roll back on the one who pushed it.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates the people it crushes

and a flattering mouth brings about ruin.

Chapter 27

¹ Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

² Let someone else praise you and not your own mouth;

a stranger and not your own lips.

³ Consider the heaviness of a stone and the weight of sand—

the provocation of a fool is heavier than both.

⁴ There is the cruelty of rage and the flood of anger,

but who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵ Better is a rebuke that is clearly seen

than hidden love.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds caused by a friend,

but many are the kisses of an enemy.

⁷ A person who has eaten to the full rejects even a honeycomb,

but to the hungry person, every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest

is a man who strays from where he lives.

⁹ Perfume and incense make the heart rejoice,

but the sweetness of a friend comes from his sincere counsel. ¹

¹⁰ Do not abandon your friend and your friend's father,

and do not go to your brother's house on the day of your calamity.

Better is a neighbor who is nearby

than a brother who is far away.

¹¹ Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice;

then I will give back an answer to the one who mocks me.

¹² The prudent sees trouble and hides himself,

but the naive go on and suffer for it.

¹³ Take a garment of one who has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an immoral woman.

¹⁴ Whoever gives his neighbor a blessing with a loud voice early in the morning,

that blessing will be considered to be a curse!

¹⁵ A quarreling wife is like

the constant dripping on a rainy day;

¹⁶ restraining her is like restraining the wind,

or trying to catch oil in your right hand.

¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron;

in the same way, a man sharpens his friend.

¹⁸ The one who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and the one who protects his master will be honored.

¹⁹ Just as water reflects a person's face,

so a person's heart reflects the person.

²⁰ Just as Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

so a man's eyes are never satisfied.

²¹ A crucible is for silver and a furnace is for gold;

and a person is tested when he is praised.

²² Even if you crush a fool

with the pestle—along with the grain—

yet his foolishness will not leave him.

²³ Be sure you know the condition of your flocks

and be concerned about your herds,

²⁴ for wealth is not forever.

Does a crown endure for all generations?

²⁵ You should know when the hay is gone and the new growth appears,

and the time when the grass from the hills is gathered in.

²⁶ Those lambs will provide your clothing

and the goats will provide the price of the field.

²⁷ There will be goats' milk for your food

—the food for your household—

and nourishment for your servant girls.

¹Many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult verse.

Chapter 28

¹ The wicked people run away when no one chases them,

but righteous people are as bold as a young lion.

² Because of the transgression of a land, it has many rulers,

but with a man of understanding and knowledge, it will last a long time.

³ A poor person who oppresses other poor people

is like a beating rain that leaves no food.

⁴ Those who abandon the law praise wicked people,

but those who keep the law fight against them.

⁵ Evil men do not understand justice,

but those who seek Yahweh understand everything.

⁶ It is better for a poor person who walks in his integrity

than for a rich person who is crooked in his ways.

⁷ He who keeps the law is a son who has understanding,

but one who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸ The one who makes his fortune by usury and interest

gathers his wealth for another who will be gracious to the poor.

⁹ If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,

even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰ Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way

will fall into his own pit,

but the blameless will have a good inheritance.

¹¹ The rich person may be wise in his own eyes,

but a poor person who has understanding will find him out.

¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory;

but when the wicked arise, people are sought out.

¹³ The one who hides his sins will not prosper,

but the one who confesses them and abandons them will be shown mercy.

¹⁴ The one who always lives with reverence is blessed,

but whoever hardens his heart will fall into trouble.

¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a charging bear

is a wicked ruler over poor people.

¹⁶ The ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,

but the one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

¹⁷ If a man is burdened with a person's blood,

he will be a fugitive until death

and no one will help him.

¹⁸ Whoever walks with integrity will be kept safe,

but the one whose way is crooked will suddenly fall.

¹⁹ The one who works his land will have plenty of food,

but whoever follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

²⁰ A faithful man will have great blessings,

but the one who gets rich quickly will not go unpunished.

²¹ It is not good to show partiality,

but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

²² A stingy man hurries after riches,

but he does not know that poverty will come upon him.

²³ Whoever disciplines someone, afterward will find more favor from him

than from the one who flatters him with his tongue.

²⁴ Whoever robs his father and his mother and says, "That is no sin,"

he is the companion of the one who destroys.

²⁵ A greedy man stirs up conflict,

but the one who trusts in Yahweh will prosper.

²⁶ One who trusts in his own heart is a fool,

but whoever walks in wisdom will be delivered.

²⁷ The one who gives to the poor will lack nothing,

but whoever closes his eyes to them will receive many curses.

²⁸ When the wicked arise, people hide themselves;

but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Chapter 29

¹ A person who has received many rebukes but who stiffens his neck

will be broken in a moment beyond healing.

² When righteous people increase, the people rejoice,

but when a wicked person is the ruler, the people sigh.

³ Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice,

but he who keeps company with prostitutes destroys his wealth.

⁴ The king establishes the land by justice,

but the one who demands bribes throws it down.

⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor

is spreading a net for his feet.

⁶ In the sin of an evil person is a trap,

but the righteous person sings and rejoices.

⁷ The righteous person knows the rights of the poor;

the wicked person does not understand such knowledge.

⁸ Mockers set a city on fire,

but those who are wise turn away wrath.

⁹ When a wise person has a legal dispute with a fool,

he rages and laughs, and there will be no rest.

¹⁰ Men of bloodshed hate the one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright.

¹¹ A fool brings forth all his spirit,

but a wise man soothes it back.

¹² If a ruler pays attention to lies,

all his officials will be wicked.

¹³ The poor person and the oppressor are similar,

for Yahweh gives light to the eyes of them both.

¹⁴ If a king judges the poor by the truth,

his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵ The rod and correction give wisdom,

but a child freed from discipline puts his mother to shame.

¹⁶ When wicked people are in power, transgression increases,

but righteous people will see the downfall of those wicked people.

¹⁷ Discipline your son and he will give you rest;

he will bring delight into your life.

¹⁸ Where there is no prophetic vision the people run wild,

but the one who keeps the law is blessed.

¹⁹ A slave will not be corrected by words,

for though he understands, there will be no response.

²⁰ Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹ One who pampers his slave from youth,

at the end of it there will be trouble.

²² An angry person stirs up strife

and a master of rage commits many sins.

²³ A person's pride brings him low,

but one who has a humble spirit will be given honor.

²⁴ One who shares with a thief hates his own life;

he hears the curse and says nothing.

²⁵ The fear of man makes a snare,

but the one who trusts in Yahweh will be protected.

²⁶ Many are those who seek the face of the ruler,

but from Yahweh is justice for a person.

²⁷ An unjust man is an abomination to righteous people,

but the one whose way is upright is an abomination to the wicked person.

Chapter 30

¹ The words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden.

This man declares to Ithiel,

to Ithiel and Ucal: ¹

² Surely I am more like an animal than any human,

and I do not have the understanding of a human being.

³ I have not learned wisdom,

nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is the name of his son?

Surely you know!

⁵ Every word of God is tested;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

⁶ Do not add to his words,

or he will discipline you,

and you will be proved to be a liar.

⁷ Two things I ask of you;

do not withhold them from me before I die:

⁸ Put vanity and lies far away from me.

Give me neither poverty nor riches,

just let me eat the food that is my portion.

⁹ For if I have too much, I might deny you

and say, "Who is Yahweh?"

Or if I become poor, I might steal

and profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Do not slander a slave before his master,

or he will curse you and you will be held guilty.

¹¹ There is a generation that curses their father

and does not bless their mother.

¹² There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes,

and yet they are not washed of their filth.

¹³ There is a generation whose eyes are raised up,

and how high are their eyelids lifted up!

¹⁴ There is a generation whose teeth are swords

and whose jawbones are knives,

so they may devour the poor from the earth

and the needy from among humanity.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters:

"Give and give," they cry.

There are three things that are never satisfied,

four that never say, "Enough":

¹⁶ Sheol; the barren womb;

land that is never satisfied with water;

and the fire that never says, "Enough!"

¹⁷ The eye that mocks a father

and scorns obedience to a mother

will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley

and will be eaten by the vultures.

¹⁸ There are three things that are too wonderful for me,

four that I do not understand:

¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky;

the way of a snake on a rock;

the way of a ship in the heart of the sea;

and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and she wipes her mouth

and says, "I have not behaved wickedly."

²¹ Under three things the earth trembles,

and under four it cannot bear up:

²² a slave when he becomes king;

a fool when he is filled with food;

²³ a hated woman when she marries;

and a slave girl when she takes the place of her mistress.

²⁴ Four things on earth are small

and yet they are very wise:

²⁵ the ants are creatures that are not strong,

but they prepare their food in the summer;

²⁶ the rock badgers are not mighty creatures,

but they make their homes in the rocks.

²⁷ Locusts have no king,

but all of them march in rank.

²⁸ As for the lizard, you can hold it in your two hands,

yet it is found in kings' palaces.

²⁹ There are three things that are stately in their stride

and four that are stately in how they walk:

³⁰ a lion, strongest among wild animals—

it does not turn away from anything;

³¹ a strutting rooster; a goat;

and a king whose soldiers are beside him.

³² If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil—

put your hand over your mouth.

³³ As churning milk makes butter

and as one's nose will produce blood if it is twisted,

so deeds done in anger produce conflict.

¹The second line of some ancient Greek translations of the ancient Hebrew reads This man declares: I am weary. I am weary and helpless. They appear to have translated the Hebrew names Ithiel and Ucal into the Greek as weary and helpless .

Chapter 31

¹ The words of King Lemuel—a burden his mother taught him.

² What, my son? What is it, son of my womb?

What do you want, son of my vows?

³ Do not give your strength to women,

or your ways to those who destroy kings.

⁴ It is not for kings, Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to crave strong drink,

⁵ because when they drink they forget what has been decreed,

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

⁶ Give strong drink to a person who is perishing

and wine to those in bitter distress.

⁷ He will drink and he will forget his poverty

and he will not remember his trouble.

⁸ Speak for those who cannot speak,

for the causes of all who are perishing.

⁹ Speak out and judge by the measure of what is right

and plead the cause of poor and needy people.

¹⁰ Who can find a capable wife?

Her value is far more than jewels.

¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will never be poor.

¹² She does good things for him and not evil

all the days of her life.

¹³ She searches for wool and flax

and works with the delight of her hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships;

she brings her food from far away.

¹⁵ She rises while it is night

and gives food to her household,

and she distributes portions to her female servants.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She girds herself with strength

and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸ She knows what will make a good profit for her;

all night long her lamp is not extinguished.

¹⁹ She puts her hands on the spindle,

and her hands grasp the twisting thread.

²⁰ She reaches out with her hand to poor people;

she reaches out with her hands to needy people.

²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed,

and she wears clothes of fine purple linen.

²³ Her husband is known at the gates,

when he sits with the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,

and she supplies sashes to the merchants.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and honor,

and she laughs at the future.

²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom

and the law of kindness is on her tongue.

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,

and her husband praises her, saying,

²⁹ "Many women have done well,

but you surpassed them all."

³⁰ Elegance is deceptive, beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears Yahweh, she will be praised.

³¹ Give her the fruit of her hands

and let her works praise her in the gates.

¹Many modern translations interpret the last part of this verse in different ways: and many concubines, and everything that pleases men or and everything that pleases people .

¹Instead of God makes human beings seek hidden things , other modern translations interpret this line in different ways.

²Some modern translations have Who knows the spirit of mankind, which goes upward, and the spirit of animals, which goes downward into the earth?

¹Instead of will meet all his obligations , many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult passage.

¹Some scholars translate the Hebrew as: No one is ruler over the wind so as to stop the wind .

²Some modern translations have to his own hurt .

³Many modern translations have different interpretations of this difficult verse: I saw wicked people come and go into the holy place. They proudly spoke in the city about the things they had done. This also is meaningless . Other modern translations have I saw wicked people come and go into the holy place. They were praised in the city for the things they had done. This also is meaningless .

¹Some modern translations follow ancient translations which have the good and the bad . In this way, they make the phrase complete. Translators may decide to imitate them.

¹Some modern translations have As you do not know the path of the spirit to the baby's bones in the pregnant womb .

¹The ancient Greek and Latin translations and other ancient translations of the Hebrew copies reads he turned away .

²The Hebrew text: yielding aromatic scents. This phrase may possibly be read as: garden beds made of balsam .

¹The meaning of Shulammite is uncertain. It may mean you perfect woman or you woman from Shulam .

²The meaning of Mahanaim is uncertain. It may be the name of a place or "two armies." Two of the possible meanings of this last phrase of verse 13 are on the dance of Mahanaim and on the dance between two armies .

¹Some other ancient Hebrew copies are translated: How beautiful, you are a beloved one .

²Some copies of the ancient Greek translation and other ancient translations of the Hebrew copies have: over my lips and teeth .

³The Hebrew could be read as either in the villages or among the henna blossoms .

¹Some scholars read a play on the Hebrew word for "peace" and translate the Hebrew either: I am in his eyes as one who brings peace or: so I have found favor in his eyes .

Isaiah

Chapter 1

¹ The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

² Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth;

for Yahweh has spoken:

"I have nourished and brought up children,

but they have rebelled against me.

³ The ox knows his owner,

and the donkey his master's feeding trough,

but Israel does not know,

Israel does not understand."

⁴ Woe! Nation, sinners,

a people weighed down with iniquity,

offspring of evildoers,

sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned Yahweh,

they have despised the Holy One of Israel,

they have estranged themselves from him.

⁵ Why are you still being beaten?

Why do you rebel more and more?

The whole head is sick,

the whole heart is weak.

⁶ From the sole of the foot to the head

there is no health;

only wounds, and bruises,

and fresh open wounds;

they have not been closed, cleansed, bandaged,

nor treated with oil.

⁷ Your country is ruined;

your cities are burned;

your fields—in your presence,

strangers are destroying them—

abandoned devastation, overthrown by strangers.

⁸ The daughter of Zion is left

like a hut in a vineyard,

like a shed in a garden of cucumbers,

like a besieged city.

⁹ If Yahweh of hosts had not left for us a few survivors,

we would have been like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah.

¹⁰ Hear the word of Yahweh,

you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah:

¹¹ "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?"

says Yahweh.

"I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams,

and the fat of fatted beasts;

and in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats

I do not delight.

¹² When you come to appear before me,

who has required this of you, to trample my courts?

¹³ Bring no more meaningless offerings;

incense is an abomination to me;

your new moon and Sabbath assemblies—

I cannot tolerate these wicked assemblies.

¹⁴ I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts;

they are a burden to me; I am tired of enduring them.

¹⁵ So when you spread out your hands in prayer,

I hide my eyes from you;

even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood.

¹⁶ Wash, cleanse yourselves;

remove the evil of your deeds from my sight;

stop being evil;

¹⁷ learn to do good;

seek justice, make straight the oppression, ¹

give justice to the fatherless,

defend the widow."

¹⁸ "Come now, and let us reason together,"

says Yahweh;

"though your sins are like scarlet,

they will be white like snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they will be like wool.

¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good of the land,

²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel,

the sword will devour you,"

for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.

²¹ How the faithful city

has become a prostitute!

She who was full of justice—

she was full of righteousness,

but now she is full of murderers.

²² Your silver has become impure,

your wine mixed with water.

²³ Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves;

everyone loves bribes

and runs after payoffs.

They do not defend the fatherless,

nor does the widow's legal plea come before them.

²⁴ Therefore this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts,

the Mighty One of Israel:

"Woe to them! I will comfort myself concerning my adversaries

and avenge myself against my enemies;

²⁵ I will turn my hand against you,

refine away your dross as with lye,

and take away all your dross.

²⁶ I will restore your judges as at the first,

and your counselors as at the beginning;

after that you will be called

the city of righteousness,

a faithful town."

²⁷ Zion will be redeemed by justice,

and her repentant ones by righteousness.

²⁸ Rebels and sinners will be crushed together,

and those who abandon Yahweh will be done away with.

²⁹ "For you will be ashamed of the sacred oak trees

that you desired,

and you will be embarrassed by the gardens

that you have chosen.

³⁰ For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers,

and like a garden that has no water.

³¹ The strong man will be like tinder,

and his work like a spark;

they will both burn together,

and no one will quench them."

¹Instead of make straight the oppression , some of the ancient Hebrew copies have a phrase that may mean, help the oppressed .

Chapter 2

¹ The things that Isaiah son of Amoz saw in a vision, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² It will be in the last days

that the mountain of the house of Yahweh

will be established as the highest of the mountains,

and it will be raised up above the hills,

and all the nations will flow to it.

³ Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

so he may teach us some of his ways,

and we may walk in his paths."

For out of Zion will go the law,

and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.

⁴ He will judge between the nations

and will render decisions for many peoples;

they will hammer their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation will not lift up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war any longer.

⁵ House of Jacob, come,

and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.

⁶ For you have abandoned your people,

the house of Jacob,

because they are filled with customs from the east

and they practice divination like the Philistines,

and they shake hands with sons of foreigners.

⁷ Their land is full of silver and gold,

and there is no limit to their wealth;

their land also is full of horses,

nor is there limit to their chariots.

⁸ Their land also is full of idols;

they worship the craftsmanship of their own hands,

things that their own fingers have made.

⁹ People bow down,

and men abase themselves.

So do not raise them up.

¹⁰ Go into the rocky places and hide in the ground

from the terror of Yahweh

and from the glory of his majesty.

¹¹ The lofty gaze of man will be abased,

and the haughtiness of men will be brought down,

and Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.

¹² For there will be a day of Yahweh of hosts

against everyone who is proud and raised up,

and against everyone who is arrogant—

and he will be abased—

¹³ and against all the cedars of Lebanon

that are high and lifted up,

and against all the oaks of Bashan.

¹⁴ That day of Yahweh of hosts

will be against all the high mountains,

and against all the hills that are lifted up,

¹⁵ and against every high tower,

and against every impregnable wall,

¹⁶ and against all the ships of Tarshish,

and against all delightful sailing vessels.

¹⁷ The pride of man will be brought down,

and the haughtiness of men will be abased;

Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.

¹⁸ The idols will completely pass away.

¹⁹ Men will go into the caves of the rocks

and the holes of the ground,

from the terror of Yahweh,

and from the glory of his majesty,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

²⁰ On that day people will throw away

their idols of silver and of gold

that they have made for themselves to worship—

they will throw them away to the moles and bats.

²¹ The people will go into the crevices in the rocks

and into the clefts of the ragged rocks,

from the terror of Yahweh

and from the glory of his majesty,

when he rises to terrify the earth.

²² Stop trusting in man,

whose life-breath is in his nostrils,

for what does he amount to?

Chapter 3

¹ See, the Lord Yahweh of hosts

is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah

support and staff:

the whole supply of bread

and the whole supply of water,

² the mighty man and the warrior,

the judge and the prophet,

the one who practices divination and the elder,

³ the captain of fifty

and the respected citizen,

the counselor, the expert craftsman

and the skillful enchanter.

⁴ "I will place mere youths as their leaders,

and the young will rule over them.

⁵ The people will be oppressed,

every one by another,

and every one by his neighbor;

the child will act arrogantly toward the elderly,

and the degraded will challenge the honorable.

⁶ A man will even take hold of his brother

in his father's house and say,

'You have a coat; be our ruler,

and let this ruin be in your hands.'

⁷ On that day he will shout and say,

'I will not be a healer;

I have no bread or clothing.

You will not make me ruler of the people.'"

⁸ For Jerusalem has stumbled,

and Judah has fallen,

because their speech and their actions are against Yahweh,

rebelling against the eyes of his glory.

⁹ The look on their faces witnesses against them;

and they tell of their sin like Sodom;

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

For they have completed a catastrophe for themselves.

¹⁰ Tell the righteous person that it will be well,

for they will eat the fruit of their deeds.

¹¹ Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him,

for what his hands have earned will be done to him.

¹² My people—children are their oppressors,

and women rule over them.

My people, those who guide you lead you astray

and confuse the direction of your path.

¹³ Yahweh stands up for an accusation;

he is standing to accuse the people.

¹⁴ Yahweh will come with judgment

against the elders of his people and their leaders:

"You have ruined the vineyard;

the plunder from the poor is in your houses.

¹⁵ Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?"

This is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁶ Yahweh says that because the daughters of Zion are proud,

they walk with their necks extended,

with flirting eyes, walking with tiny steps as they go,

making tinkling sounds from bracelets on their ankles.

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will form scabs

on the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and Yahweh will make them bald.

¹⁸ On that day the Lord will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, head bands, the crescent ornaments, ¹⁹ the ear pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; ²⁰ the headscarves, the ankle chains, the sashes, and the perfume boxes, and the amulets.

²¹ He will remove the rings and the nose jewels; ²² the festive robes, the mantles, the veils, and the handbags; ²³ the hand mirrors, the fine linen, the head pieces, and the wraps.

²⁴ Instead of sweet perfume there will be stench;

and instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of well-arranged hair, baldness;

and instead of a robe, a covering of sackcloth;

and branding instead of beauty.

²⁵ Your men will fall by the sword,

and your strong men will fall in war.

²⁶ Jerusalem's gates will lament and mourn;

and she will be alone and sit upon the ground.

Chapter 4

¹ On that day seven women

will take hold of one man and say,

"Our own food we will eat,

our own clothing we will wear.

But let us take your name

to remove our shame."

² On that day the branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and delight of the escaped remnant in Israel.

³ It will happen that the one who is left in Zion and the one who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is written down as living in Jerusalem. ⁴ This will happen when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will have cleansed the blood stains from the midst of Jerusalem, by means of the spirit of judgment and the spirit of flaming fire.

⁵ Then over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, Yahweh will create cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; it will be a canopy over all the glory. ⁶ It will be a shelter for shade in the daytime from the heat, and a refuge and a cover from the storm and rain.

Chapter 5

¹ Let me sing for my well beloved,

a song of my beloved about his vineyard.

My well beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

² He spaded it, removed the stones,

and planted it with an excellent kind of vine.

He built a tower in the middle of it,

and also built a winepress.

He waited for it to produce grapes,

but it only produced wild grapes.

³ So now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

⁴ What more could have been done for my vineyard,

that I have not done for it?

When I looked for it to produce grapes,

why did it produce wild grapes?

⁵ Now I will tell you

what I will do to my vineyard:

I will remove the hedge,

I will turn it into a pasture,

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled down.

⁶ I will lay it waste,

and it will not be pruned nor hoed.

Instead, briers and thorns will spring up.

I will also command the clouds

not to rain on it.

⁷ For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts

is the house of Israel,

and the man of Judah

his pleasant planting;

he waited for justice, but instead, there was killing;

for righteousness, but, instead, a shout for help.

⁸ Woe to those who join house to house,

who join field to field,

until no room remains,

and you alone remain in the land!

⁹ Yahweh of hosts told me,

many houses will be desolate,

even great and impressive ones,

without any inhabitant.

¹⁰ For a ten-yoke vineyard will yield only one bath,

and one homer of seed will yield only an ephah.

¹¹ Woe to those who rise up early in the morning

to obtain strong drink,

those who linger late into the night

until wine inflames them.

¹² They have harp and lute,

tambourine, flute, and wine at their feasts,

but they do not honor what Yahweh has done

or respect the work of his hands.

¹³ Therefore my people have gone into captivity

for lack of understanding;

their honored leaders are famished,

and their common people have nothing to drink.

¹⁴ Therefore Sheol has made its appetite greater

and has opened its mouth very wide;

their elite, the people, their leaders, and the revelers

and those who are happy among them, descend into Sheol.

¹⁵ People bow low,

and men abase themselves.

the eyes of the lofty will be abased.

¹⁶ Yahweh of hosts will be exalted in his justice,

and God the Holy One will show himself holy by his righteousness.

¹⁷ Then the sheep will feed as in their own pasture,

and in the ruins, lambs will graze as foreigners. ¹

¹⁸ Woe to those who pull along iniquity with useless cords

and who pull along sin as if it were with a cart rope.

¹⁹ Woe to those who say, "Let God hurry,

let him work quickly, so we can see it happen;

and let the plans of the Holy One of Israel come,

so that we may know them."

²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good,

and good evil;

who represent darkness as light,

and light as darkness;

who represent bitter as sweet,

and sweet as bitter!

²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

and prudent in their own understanding!

²² Woe to those who are champions at drinking wine,

and masters at mixing strong drinks;

²³ who acquit the wicked for a bribe,

and deprive those in the right of what is right!

²⁴ Therefore as the tongue of fire devours stubble,

and as chaff goes down in flame,

so their root will rot,

and their blossom will blow away like dust.

This will happen because they have rejected

the law of Yahweh of hosts,

and because they have despised

the word of the Holy One of Israel.

²⁵ Therefore the anger of Yahweh is kindled against his people.

He has reached out with his hand against them

and has punished them.

The mountains tremble,

and their corpses are like garbage in the streets.

In all these things, his anger does not subside;

his hand is still stretched out.

²⁶ He will lift up a signal flag for faraway nations

and will whistle for those at the end of the earth.

Look, they will come

speedily and promptly.

²⁷ None tire or stumble among them;

none slumbers or sleeps.

Nor are their belts loose,

or the thongs of their sandals broken.

²⁸ Their arrows are sharp

and all their bows are bent;

their horses' hooves are like flint,

and their chariot wheels like storms.

²⁹ Their roaring will be like a lion;

they will roar like young lions.

They will growl and seize the prey

and drag it away, with none to rescue.

³⁰ On that day they will roar against the prey

as the sea roars.

If anyone looks over the land,

he will see darkness and suffering;

even the light will be made dark by the clouds.

¹Some modern translations have and in the ruins of the rich, lambs will graze .

Chapter 6

¹ In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne; he was high and elevated, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were the seraphim; each one had six wings; with two each covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

³ Each one called to another and said,

"Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of hosts!

The whole earth is full of his glory."

⁴ The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voices of those who were crying out, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am doomed because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, because my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh, Yahweh of hosts!"

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me; he had a glowing coal in his hand, that he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt has been taken away, and your sin atoned for."

⁸ I heard the voice of the Lord say, "Whom will I send; who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am; send me." ⁹ He said, "Go and tell this people,

'Hearing, you will hear, but you will not understand;

seeing, you will see, but you will not know.'

¹⁰ Make the heart of this people insensitive,

and their ears dull, and blind their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart, and then turn and be healed."

¹¹ Then I said, "Lord, how long?" He answered,

"Until cities crash into ruins

and are without inhabitants,

and the houses are without people,

and the land falls into a desolate waste,

¹² and until Yahweh has sent the people far away,

and the whole land is completely abandoned.

¹³ Even if a tenth of the people remain in it,

it will again be destroyed;

as a terebinth or an oak is cut down and whose trunk remains,

the holy seed is in its stump."

Chapter 7

¹ During the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not prevail against it. ² It was reported to the house of David that Aram was allied with Ephraim. His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest shake in the wind. ¹

³ Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-Jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to Launderer's Field. ⁴ Tell him, 'Be careful, remain calm, do not be afraid or intimidated by these two smoldering firebrands, by the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of Pekah son of Remaliah.

⁵ Aram, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have planned evil against you; they have said, ⁶ "Let us attack Judah and terrify her, and let us break into her and set up our king there, the son of Tabeel."

⁷ The Lord Yahweh says,

"It will not take place;

it will not happen,

⁸ because the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

Within sixty-five years,

Ephraim will be shattered and will no longer be a people.

⁹ The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son.

If you do not remain firm in faith,

surely you will not remain secure."'"

¹⁰ Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, ¹¹ "Ask a sign of Yahweh your God; ask for it in Sheol below or in the height above." ¹² But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test Yahweh."

¹³ So Isaiah replied, "Listen, house of David. Is it not enough for you people to test the patience of people? Must you also test the patience of my God? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you people a sign: See, the young woman will conceive, bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will eat curds and honey when he knows to refuse the evil and choose the good.

¹⁶ For before the child knows to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be desolate. ¹⁷ Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house days unlike any since Ephraim seceded from Judah—he will bring on you the king of Assyria."

¹⁸ At that time Yahweh will whistle for a fly from the distant streams of Egypt, and for a bee from the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ They will all come and settle down into all the gorges, into the clefts of the rocks, on all the thornbushes, and onto all the pastures.

²⁰ At that time the Lord will shave with a razor that was hired beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the legs; it will also sweep away the beard. ²¹ On that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, ²² and because of the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds, for everyone left in the land will eat curds and honey.

²³ At that time, where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be nothing but briers and thorns. ²⁴ Men will go there to hunt with bows, because all the land will be briers and thorns. ²⁵ They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, for fear of the briers and thorns; but it will be a place where cattle and sheep graze.

¹Instead of that Aram was allied with Ephraim , some scholars translate the Hebrew to read: that Aram had camped in Ephraim .

Chapter 8

¹ Yahweh said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it, 'Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.' ² I will summon faithful witnesses to attest for me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah."

³ I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. ⁴ For before the child knows to cry, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."

⁵ Yahweh spoke to me again,

⁶ "Because this people has refused

the gentle waters of Shiloah

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,

⁷ therefore the Lord is about to bring up on them

the waters of the River, mighty and many,

the king of Assyria and all his glory.

It will come up over all its channels

and overflow its banks.

⁸ The River will sweep onward into Judah,

flooding and passing on, until it reaches to your neck.

Its outstretched wings will fill the breadth of your land,

Immanuel."

⁹ You peoples will be broken to pieces.

Listen, all you distant countries:

gird yourselves and be broken to pieces;

gird yourselves and be broken to pieces.

¹⁰ Form a plan, but it will not be carried out;

issue the command, but it will not be carried out,

for God is with us.

¹¹ Yahweh spoke to me, with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people.

¹² Do not call conspiracy

anything that this people calls conspiracy,

you will not fear what they fear,

and do not be terrified.

¹³ It is Yahweh of hosts whom you will honor as holy;

he is the one you must fear,

and he is the one you must dread.

¹⁴ He will become a sanctuary;

but he will be a stone of striking,

and a stone of stumbling—

for both the houses of Israel,

and he will be a trap and a snare

to the people of Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Many will stumble over it

and fall and be broken,

and be ensnared and captured.

¹⁶ Bind up my testimony,

seal the official record, and give it to my disciples.

¹⁷ I will wait for Yahweh,

who hides his face from the house of Jacob;

I will trust in him.

¹⁸ See, I and the sons whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who lives on Mount Zion.

¹⁹ They will say to you, "Consult with sorcerers and spiritists," the ones who chirp and mutter incantations. But should a people not consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not say such things, it is because they have no light of dawn.

²¹ They will pass through the land greatly distressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will become angry and curse their king and their God, as they turn their faces upward. ²² They will look at the earth and see distress, darkness, and gloom that causes anguish. They will be banished to thick darkness.

Chapter 9

¹ The gloom will be dispelled from her who was in anguish. In an earlier time he humiliated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make it glorious, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

² The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who have lived in the land of the shadow of death,

the light has shone on them.

³ You have multiplied the nation;

you have increased their joy.

They rejoice before you like the joy at harvest time,

as men rejoice when they divide the plunder.

⁴ For the yoke of his burden,

the beam across his shoulder,

the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken to pieces as on the day of Midian.

⁵ For every boot treading in the tumult

and the garments rolled in blood

will be burned,

fuel for the fire.

⁶ For to us a child has been born,

to us a son has been given;

and the government will be on his shoulder;

and his name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

as he rules on the throne of David,

and over his kingdom,

to establish it and sustain it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time onward and for evermore.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.

⁸ The Lord sent a word against Jacob,

and it fell on Israel.

⁹ All the people will know,

even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,

who say in pride

and with an arrogant heart,

¹⁰ "The bricks have fallen,

but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;

the sycamores have been cut down,

but we will put cedars in their place."

¹¹ Therefore Yahweh will raise up against him Rezin,

his adversary, and will stir up his enemies,

¹² the Arameans on the east, and the Philistines on the west.

They will devour Israel with open mouth.

In all these things, his anger does not subside;

his hand is still stretched out.

¹³ Yet the people will not turn to him who struck them,

nor will they seek Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁴ Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail,

palm branch and reed, in one day.

¹⁵ The elder and the noble man are the head;

and the prophet that teaches lies is the tail.

¹⁶ Those who lead this people lead them astray,

and those who are led by them are swallowed up.

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will not rejoice over their young men

nor will he have compassion on their fatherless and widows,

since every one is godless and an evildoer,

and every mouth speaks foolish things.

In all these things, his anger does not subside;

his hand is still stretched out.

¹⁸ Wickedness burns like a fire;

it devours the briers and thorns;

it even burns the thickets of the forest,

which rise in a column of smoke.

¹⁹ Through the fury of Yahweh of hosts

the land is scorched,

and the people are like fuel for the fire.

No man spares his brother.

²⁰ They will grab food on the right hand

but still be hungry;

they will eat food on the left hand

but will not be satisfied.

Each will even eat the flesh of his own arm. ¹

²¹ Manasseh will devour Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh;

and they together will attack Judah.

In all these things, his anger does not subside;

his hand is still stretched out.

¹Instead of the flesh of his own arm , some scholars understand the Hebrew here to mean the flesh of his own children .

Chapter 10

¹ Woe to those who decree unjust decrees

and write unjust laws.

² They deprive the needy of justice,

rob the poor of my people of their rights,

plunder widows,

and make the fatherless their prey!

³ What will you do on judgment day

when the destruction comes from far away?

To whom will you flee for help,

and where will you leave your wealth?

⁴ Nothing remains, and you crouch among the prisoners

or fall among the killed.

In all these things, his anger does not subside;

his hand is still stretched out.

⁵ Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,

the staff by whom I wield my fury!

⁶ I send him against a godless nation

and against the people who bear my overflowing wrath.

I order him to take the plunder, to take the prey,

and to trample them like mud in the streets.

⁷ But this is not what he intends,

nor does he think this way.

It is in his heart to destroy

and eliminate many nations.

⁸ For he says, "Are not all my princes kings?

⁹ Is not Kalno like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad?

Is not Samaria like Damascus?

¹⁰ As my hand has overcome idolatrous kingdoms,

whose carved figures were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

¹¹ just as I did to Samaria and her worthless idols,

will I not also do the same to Jerusalem and to her idols?"

¹² When the Lord has finished his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and his prideful looks. ¹³ For he says,

"By my strength and by my wisdom I acted.

I have understanding,

and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples.

I have stolen their treasures,

and like a bull I have brought down the inhabitants.

¹⁴ My hand has seized, as from a nest,

the wealth of nations,

and as one gathers abandoned eggs,

I gathered all the earth.

None fluttered their wings

or opened their mouth or chirped."

¹⁵ Will the ax boast about itself against the one who wields it?

Will the saw praise itself more than the one who cuts with it?

It is as if a rod could lift up those who raise it,

or as if a staff could lift up a person.

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh of hosts

will send emaciation among his elite warriors;

and under his glory there will be kindled

a burning like fire.

¹⁷ The light of Israel will become a fire,

and his Holy One a flame;

it will burn and devour his thorns and briers

in one day.

¹⁸ Yahweh will consume the glory of his forest

and of his fruitful land, both soul and body;

it will be like when a sick man's life wastes away.

¹⁹ The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few,

that a child could count them.

²⁰ On that day, the remnant of Israel,

the family of Jacob that has escaped,

will no longer rely on the one

who defeated them,

but will indeed depend on Yahweh,

the Holy One of Israel.

²¹ A remnant of Jacob

will return to the mighty God.

²² For though your people, Israel, are like the sand of the seashore,

only a remnant of them will return.

Destruction is decreed,

as overflowing righteousness demands.

²³ For the Lord Yahweh of hosts is about to carry out

the destruction determined throughout the land.

²⁴ Therefore the Lord Yahweh of hosts says,

"My people who live in Zion,

do not fear the Assyrian.

He will strike you with the rod

and raise his staff against you, as the Egyptians did.

²⁵ Do not fear him,

for in a very short time

my anger against you will end,

and my anger will lead to his destruction."

²⁶ Then Yahweh of hosts will wield a whip against them,

as when he defeated Midian at the rock of Oreb.

He will raise his rod over the sea and lift it up

as he did in Egypt.

²⁷ On that day, his burden is lifted from your shoulder

and his yoke from off your neck,

and the yoke will be destroyed

because of fatness. ¹

²⁸ The enemy has come to Aiath

and has passed through Migron;

at Mikmash he has stored his provisions.

²⁹ They have crossed over the pass

and they lodge at Geba.

Ramah trembles

and Gibeah of Saul has fled.

³⁰ Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim!

Pay attention, Laishah!

Answer her, Anathoth!

³¹ Madmenah is fleeing,

and the inhabitants of Gebim run for safety.

³² This very day he will halt at Nob

and shake his fist

at the mountain of the daughter of Zion,

the hill of Jerusalem.

³³ Behold, the Lord Yahweh of hosts

will lop off the boughs with a terrifying crash;

the tallest trees will be cut down,

and the lofty will be brought down.

³⁴ He will chop down the thickets of the forest with an ax,

and Lebanon in his majesty will fall.

¹The last line of this verse is difficult because it does not seem to fit the context. Some modern translations leave out because of fatness . Other modern translations have and the yoke will be destroyed from off your neck. He has gone up from Rimmon . Here He means the Assyrian king and his army.

Chapter 11

¹ A shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.

² The Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of instruction and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.

³ His delight will be the fear of the Lord;

he will not judge by what his eyes see,

nor decide by what his ears hear.

⁴ Instead, he will judge the poor with righteousness

and decide fairly for the humble of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.

⁵ Righteousness will be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt around his hips.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,

and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;

the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together,

and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow and the bear will graze together,

and their young will lie down together.

The lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ A baby will play over the hole of the asp,

and the weaned child will put his hand on the den of the adder.

⁹ They will not hurt nor destroy

on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of knowledge of Yahweh,

as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ On that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a signal flag for the peoples. The nations will seek him out, and his resting place will be glorious. ¹¹ On that day, the Lord will again extend his hand to recover the remnant of his people who remain in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.

¹² He will set up a signal flag for the nations

and will gather the outcasts of Israel

and the dispersed of Judah

from the four corners of the earth.

¹³ He will turn aside the envy of Ephraim,

and hostilities of Judah will be cut off.

Ephraim will not envy Judah,

and Judah will no longer be hostile to Ephraim.

¹⁴ Instead they will swoop down on the Philistine hills on the west,

and together they will plunder the people of the east.

They will possess Edom and Moab,

and the people of Ammon will obey them.

¹⁵ Yahweh will completely destroy

the gulf of the Sea of Egypt.

With his scorching wind he will wave his hand

over the Euphrates River

and will divide it into seven streams,

so it can be crossed over in sandals.

¹⁶ There will be a highway for the remnant of his people

that return from Assyria,

as there was for Israel in their coming up

from the land of Egypt.

Chapter 12

¹ On that day you will say,

"I will give thanks to you, Yahweh.

For though you were angry with me,

your wrath has turned away,

and you have comforted me.

² See, God is my salvation;

I will trust and will not fear,

for Yah, yes, Yahweh is my strength and song.

He has become my salvation." ¹

³ With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

⁴ On that day you will say,

"Give thanks to Yahweh and call upon his name;

declare his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim that his name is exalted.

⁵ Praise Yahweh in song, for he has done majestic things;

let this be known throughout the earth.

⁶ Cry aloud and shout for joy, you inhabitants of Zion,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

Chapter 13

¹ A declaration about Babylon, that Isaiah son of Amoz received:

² On the bare mountain set up a signal flag,

cry aloud to them,

wave your hand for them

to go into the gates of the nobles.

³ "I have commanded my consecrated ones;

I have summoned my mighty ones to vent my anger—

those who rejoice in my triumph.

⁴ The noise of a multitude in the mountains,

as of many people!

The noise of a tumult of the kingdoms

like many nations gathered together!

Yahweh of hosts is mustering

the army for the battle.

⁵ They come from a far country,

from way over the horizon.

It is Yahweh with his instruments of indignation,

to destroy the whole land.

⁶ Wail, for the day of Yahweh is near;

it comes with destruction from the Almighty.

⁷ Therefore all hands hang limp,

and every heart melts.

⁸ They will be terrified;

pain and agony will seize them,

like a woman in labor.

They will look in amazement at one another;

their faces will be aflame.

⁹ See, the day of Yahweh comes

with cruel wrath and overflowing anger,

to make the land a desolation

and to exterminate the sinners from it.

¹⁰ The stars of heaven and the constellations

will not give their light.

The sun will be darkened even from dawn,

and the moon will not shine.

¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil

and the wicked for their iniquity.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud

and will abase the arrogance of the ruthless.

¹² I will make men more rare than fine gold

and mankind harder to find than the pure gold of Ophir.

¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

by the fury of Yahweh of hosts,

and on the day of his fierce anger.

¹⁴ Like a hunted gazelle or like a sheep

with no one to gather them,

every man will turn toward his own people

and will flee to his own land.

¹⁵ Every one who is found will be thrust through,

and every one who is swept up will die by the sword.

¹⁶ Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes.

Their houses will be plundered and their wives raped.

¹⁷ Look, I am about to stir up the Medes to attack them,

who will not be concerned about silver,

nor do they delight in gold.

¹⁸ Their bows will strike down the young men;

they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb

and they will not look with pity on children.

¹⁹ Then Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms,

the splendor of Chaldean arrogance,

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

²⁰ It will never be inhabited

or lived in from generation to generation.

The Arab will not pitch his tent there,

nor will shepherds have their flocks rest there.

²¹ But wild animals of the desert will lie there.

Their houses will be full of owls;

and ostriches and wild goats will skip about there.

²² Hyenas will cry in their fortresses,

and jackals in the beautiful palaces.

Her time is near,

and her days will not be delayed.

Chapter 14

¹ Yahweh will have compassion on Jacob;

he will again choose Israel

and restore them into their own land.

Foreigners will join with them

and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

² The nations will bring them to their own place.

Then the house of Israel will take possession of them

in the land of Yahweh as male servants and female servants.

They will take captive those who had captured them,

and they will rule over their oppressors.

³ On the day that Yahweh gives you rest from your suffering and anguish, and from the hard labor which you were required to perform, ⁴ you will sing this taunt song against the king of Babylon,

"How the oppressor has come to an end,

the proud fury ended! ¹

⁵ Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked,

the scepter of those rulers,

⁶ that struck the peoples in wrath

with unceasing blows,

that ruled the nations in anger,

with an attack that was unrestrained.

⁷ The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;

they begin celebrating with singing.

⁸ Even the cypress trees rejoice over you

with the cedars of Lebanon;

they say, 'Since you are laid low,

no woodcutter comes up to cut us down.'

⁹ Sheol below is eager

to meet you when you go there.

It arouses the dead for you,

all the leaders of the earth,

making them rise up from their thrones,

all the kings of the nations.

¹⁰ They all will speak and say to you,

'You have become as weak as us.

You have become like us.

¹¹ Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol

with the sound of your lutes.

Maggots are spread under you,

and worms cover you.'

¹² How you are fallen from heaven,

daystar, son of the dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who made the nations weak!

¹³ You had said in your heart,

'I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne

above the stars of God,

and I will sit on the mount of assembly,

in the far reaches of the north.

¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High God.'

¹⁵ Yet you are now brought down to Sheol,

to the depths of the pit.

¹⁶ Those who see you will gaze at you

and they will pay attention to you.

They will say, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

¹⁷ who made the world like a wilderness, who overthrew its cities

and did not let his prisoners go home?'

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations,

all of them lie down in honor, each one in his own tomb.

¹⁹ But you are cast out of your grave

like an abhorrent branch.

Those who were killed cover you like a garment,

those pierced by the sword,

who go down to the stones of the pit

like a trampled corpse.

²⁰ You will not join them in burial,

because you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

The offspring of evildoers will never be mentioned again."

²¹ Prepare your slaughter for his children,

for the iniquity of their ancestors,

so they will not rise up and possess the earth

and fill the whole world with cities.

²² "I will rise up against them—

this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.

I will cut off from Babylon name, descendant, and posterity—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

²³ I will also make her into a possession of owls,

and into pools of water,

and I will sweep her with the broom of destruction—

this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts."

²⁴ Yahweh of hosts has sworn,

"Surely, as I have intended, so it will come about;

and as I have purposed, so it will be:

²⁵ I will break the Assyrian in my land,

and on my mountains trample him underfoot.

Then his yoke will be lifted from off them

and his burden from off their shoulder."

²⁶ This is the plan that has been devised for the whole earth,

and this is the hand that is raised over all the nations.

²⁷ For Yahweh of hosts has planned this; who will stop him?

His hand is raised, and who will turn it back?

²⁸ In the year that king Ahaz died this declaration came:

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,

that the rod that struck you is broken.

For out of the serpent's root will grow an adder,

and his offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.

³⁰ The firstborn of the poor will graze their sheep in my pastures,

and the needy will lie down in safety.

I will kill your root with famine

that will put to death all your survivors.

³¹ Wail, gate; cry, city;

all of you will melt away, Philistia.

For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,

and there is no straggler in his ranks.

³² How will they respond

to the messengers of that nation?

"Yahweh has founded Zion,

and in her the afflicted of his people will find refuge."

¹Because the Hebrew translated as proud fury ended is very difficult, other modern scholars and translations have tried other meanings such as: the golden city ended , the turmoil ended , the hostility ended , or the arrogance ended , and others.

Chapter 15

¹ A declaration about Moab.

Indeed, in one night

Ar of Moab is laid waste and destroyed;

indeed, in one night

Kir of Moab is laid waste and destroyed.

² They have gone up to the temple,

the people of Dibon went up to the heights to weep;

Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba.

All their heads are shaved bare

and all their beards are cut off.

³ In their streets they wear sackcloth;

on their housetops and in the square

everyone wails, melting in weeping.

⁴ Heshbon and Elealeh call out for help;

their sound is heard as far as Jahaz.

So the armed men of Moab cry out for help;

they tremble within themselves.

⁵ My heart cries out for Moab;

her fugitives flee to Zoar

and to Eglath Shelishiyah.

They go up the ascent of Luhith weeping;

on the road to Horonaim

they raise a cry of distress over their destruction.

⁶ The waters of Nimrim are a desolation;

the grass is withered;

the vegetation has dried up;

there is no more green grass.

⁷ The abundance they have grown and stored

they carry away over the brook of the poplars.

⁸ The cry has gone around the territory of Moab;

the wailing as far as Eglaim and Beer Elim.

⁹ For the waters of Dimon are full of blood;

but I will bring even more upon Dimon.

A lion will attack those who escape from Moab

and also those remaining in the land.

Chapter 16

¹ Send rams to the ruler of the land

from Selah in the wilderness,

to the mount of the daughter of Zion.

² As wandering birds,

as a scattered nest,

so the women of Moab are

at the fords of the Arnon River.

³ "Give instruction, execute justice;

provide some shade like night in the middle of the day;

hide the outcasts;

do not betray the fugitives.

⁴ Let them live among you, the outcasts from Moab;

be a hiding place for them from the destroyer."

For the oppression will stop,

and destruction will cease,

those who trample will disappear from the land.

⁵ A throne will be established in covenant faithfulness;

and one from David's tent will faithfully sit there.

He will judge as he seeks justice and does righteousness.

⁶ We have heard of Moab's pride, his arrogance,

his boasting, and his anger.

But his boastings are empty words.

⁷ So Moab wails for Moab—they all wail!

Mourn, you who are utterly destroyed,

for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.

⁸ The fields of Heshbon have dried up

as well as the vines of Sibmah.

The rulers of the nations

have trampled the choice vines

that reached to Jazer

and spread into the desert.

Its shoots spread abroad;

they went over to the sea.

⁹ Indeed I will weep along with Jazer

for the vineyard of Sibmah.

I will water you with my tears,

Heshbon and Elealeh.

For on your fields of summer fruits and harvest

I have ended the shouts of joy.

¹⁰ Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruit tree groves;

and there is no singing, or shouts in the vineyards.

No one treads out wine in the presses,

for I have put an end to the shouts of the one who treads.

¹¹ So my heart sighs like a harp for Moab,

and my inward being for Kir Hareseth.

¹² When Moab wears himself out on the high place

and enters his sanctuary to pray,

his prayers will accomplish nothing.

¹³ This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab previously. ¹⁴ Again Yahweh speaks, "Within three years, the glory of Moab will be dishonored; in spite of his many people, the remnant will be very few and insignificant."

Chapter 17

¹ A declaration about Damascus.

Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city,

and it shall be a fallen ruin.

² The cities of Aroer will be abandoned.

They will be places for flocks to lie down,

and no one will frighten them.

³ Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,

the kingdom from Damascus,

and the remnant of Aram—

they will be like the glory of the people of Israel—

this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.

⁴ It will come about on that day

that the glory of Jacob will become thin,

and the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

⁵ It will be as when a harvester gathers the standing grain,

and his arm reaps the heads of grain.

It will be as when one gleans heads of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

⁶ Gleanings will be left,

however, as when the olive tree is shaken:

two or three olives in the top of the uppermost bough,

four or five in the highest branches of a fruitful tree—

this is the declaration of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

⁷ On that day men will look toward their Maker,

and their eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.

⁸ They will not look to the altars,

the work of their hands,

nor will they look to what their fingers have made,

the Asherah poles or the sun images.

⁹ On that day their strong cities will be like the abandoned wooded slopes on the hill summits, which were abandoned because of the people of Israel, and they will become a desolation.

¹⁰ For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,

and have ignored the rock of your refuge.

So you plant pleasant plants,

and set out vine branches received from a stranger.

¹¹ But though on the day you plant them you hedge them in,

and though in the morning your seed grows,

the harvest will fail on a day of grief

and of desperate sorrow.

¹² Woe! The uproar of many peoples,

who roar like the roaring of the seas,

and the rushing of nations,

who rush like the rushing of mighty waters!

¹³ The nations will roar like the rushing of many waters,

but he will rebuke them and they will flee far away,

they will be chased before the wind like chaff on the mountains,

and like weeds whirling before a storm.

¹⁴ In the evening, see, terror!

Before the morning they will be gone!

This is the portion of those who loot us,

the lot of those who rob us.

Chapter 18

¹ Woe to the land of the rustling of wings,

which is along the rivers of Cush;

² who send ambassadors by the sea,

in vessels of papyrus on the waters.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation tall and smooth,

to a people feared far and near,

a nation strong and treading down,

whose land the rivers divide.

³ All you inhabitants of the world

and you who live on the earth,

when a signal flag is lifted up on the mountains, look;

and when the ram's horn is blown, listen.

⁴ This is what Yahweh said to me,

"I will quietly observe from my home,

like the simmering heat in sunlight,

like a cloud of mist in the heat of harvest.

⁵ Before the harvest, when the blossoming is over,

and the flower is ripening into a grape,

he will cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks,

and he will cut down and take away the spreading branches.

⁶ They will be left together for the birds of the mountains

and for the animals of the earth.

The birds of prey will spend the summer on them,

and all the animals of the earth will spend harvest time on them."

⁷ At that time tribute will be brought to Yahweh of hosts

from a people tall and smooth,

from a people feared far and near,

nation strong and trampling down,

whose land the rivers divide,

to the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, to Mount Zion.

Chapter 19

¹ A declaration about Egypt.

See, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud

and is coming to Egypt;

the idols of Egypt quake before him,

and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within themselves.

² "I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians:

A man will fight against his brother,

and a man against his neighbor;

city will be against city,

and kingdom against kingdom.

³ The spirit of Egypt will be weakened from within.

I will destroy his advice,

though they sought the advice of idols,

dead men's spirits, sorcerers, and spiritists.

⁴ I will give the Egyptians

into the hand of a severe master,

and a strong king will rule over them—

this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts."

⁵ The waters of the sea will dry up,

and the river will dry up and become empty.

⁶ The rivers will become foul;

the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up;

the reeds and flags will wither away.

⁷ The reeds along the Nile,

at the mouth of the Nile,

and every sown field beside the Nile will become parched,

will be driven away, and will be no more.

⁸ The fishermen will wail and mourn,

and all who cast a hook into the Nile will mourn,

and those who spread nets on the waters will waste away.

⁹ The workers in combed flax

and those who weave white cloth will turn pale.

¹⁰ The cloth workers of Egypt will be crushed;

all who work for wages will be grieved within themselves.

¹¹ The princes of Zoan

are completely foolish.

The advice of the wisest advisors of Pharaoh

has become stupid.

How can you say to Pharaoh,

"I am the son of wise men, a son of ancient kings?"

¹² Where then are your wise men?

Let them tell you and make known

what Yahweh of hosts plans concerning Egypt.

¹³ The princes of Zoan have become fools,

the princes of Memphis are deceived;

they have made Egypt go astray,

who are the cornerstones of her tribes. ¹

¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of distortion into her midst,

and they have led Egypt astray in all she does,

like a drunk staggering in his vomit.

¹⁵ There is nothing anyone can do for Egypt,

whether head or tail, palm branch or reed.

¹⁶ In that day, the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the upraised hand of Yahweh of hosts that he raises over them. ¹⁷ The land of Judah will become a cause of staggering to Egypt. Whenever anyone reminds them of her, they will be afraid, because of the plan of Yahweh of hosts, that he is planning against them.

¹⁸ In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to Yahweh of hosts. One of these will be called The City of the Sun. ²

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a stone pillar at the border to Yahweh. ²⁰ It will be as a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.

²¹ Yahweh will become known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will acknowledge Yahweh on that day. They will worship with sacrifices and offerings, and will make vows to Yahweh and fulfill them. ²² Yahweh will afflict Egypt, afflicting and healing. They will return to Yahweh; he will hear their prayer and will heal them.

²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come to Egypt, and the Egyptian to Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

²⁴ In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; ²⁵ Yahweh of hosts will bless them and say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people; Assyria, the work of my hands; and Israel, my inheritance."

¹The name Memphis , is used in most modern translations, and that name represents the place in Egypt that is known in Hebrew as Noph .

²Instead of The City of the Sun , which probably refers to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, some ancient and modern translations have The City of Destruction .

Chapter 20

¹ In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, he fought against Ashdod and took it. ² At that time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah son of Amoz and said, "Go and remove the sackcloth from your waist, and take your sandals off your feet." He did so, walking naked and barefoot.

³ Yahweh said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years, it is a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Cush— ⁴ in this way the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

⁵ They will be dismayed and ashamed, because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their glory. ⁶ The inhabitants of these coasts will say on that day, 'Indeed, this was our source of hope, where we fled for help to be rescued from the king of Assyria, and now, how can we escape?'"

Chapter 21

¹ A declaration about the desert by the sea.

Like stormwinds sweeping through the Negev it comes

passing through from the wilderness, from a terrible land.

² A severe vision has been given to me:

the treacherous man deals treacherously,

and the destroyer destroys.

Go up and attack, Elam; besiege, Media;

I will stop all her groaning.

³ Therefore my loins are filled with pain;

pains like the pains of a woman in labor

have taken hold of me;

I am bowed down by what I heard;

I am disturbed by what I saw.

⁴ My heart pounds; I shake with fear.

Twilight was my desire, but it brought me terror.

⁵ They prepare the table,

they spread rugs and eat and drink;

arise, princes,

anoint your shields with oil.

⁶ For this is what the Lord said to me,

"Go, post a watchman;

he must report what he sees.

⁷ When he sees a chariot, a pair of horsemen,

riders on donkeys, and riders on camels,

then he must pay attention

and be very alert."

⁸ The watchman cries out, ¹

"Lord, on the watchtower I stand all day, every day,

and at my post I stand all night long."

⁹ Here comes a chariot with a man and a pair of horsemen.

He calls out, "Babylon has fallen, fallen,

and all the carved figures of its gods

are broken to the ground."

¹⁰ My threshed and winnowed ones,

children of my threshing floor!

What I have heard from Yahweh of hosts,

the God of Israel, I have declared to you.

¹¹ A declaration about Dumah.

One calls to me from Seir,

"Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?"

¹² The watchman said,

"The morning comes and also the night.

If you want to ask, then ask;

and come back again."

¹³ A declaration about Arabia.

In the wilderness of Arabia you spend the night,

you caravans of Dedanites.

¹⁴ Bring water for the thirsty;

inhabitants of the land of Tema,

meet the fugitives with bread.

¹⁵ For they have fled from the sword,

from the drawn sword,

from the bent bow,

and from the weight of war.

¹⁶ For this is what the Lord said to me, "Within a year, as a laborer hired for a year would see it, all the glory of Kedar will end. ¹⁷ Only a few of the archers, the warriors of Kedar will remain," for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken.

¹Instead of The watchman cries out which is attested by ancient Hebrew copies, but there are some ancient Hebrew copies that have A lion cries out . The second reading, lion , appears to be a misspelling of the Hebrew for watchman .

Chapter 22

¹ A declaration about the Valley of Vision:

What is the reason that you have all gone up

to the housetops?

² Is it so you may hear a city full of noises,

a town full of revelry?

Your dead were not killed with the sword,

and they did not die in battle.

³ All your rulers fled away together,

but they were captured without using a bow;

all of them were captured together,

though they had fled far away.

⁴ Therefore I said, "Do not look at me,

I will weep bitterly;

do not try to comfort me concerning the destruction

of the daughter of my people."

⁵ For there is a day of tumult, treading down,

and confusion for the Lord Yahweh of hosts,

in the Valley of Vision,

a breaking down of the walls,

and people crying out to the mountains.

⁶ Elam takes up the quiver,

with chariots of men and horsemen,

and Kir lays the shield bare.

⁷ It will come about that your choicest valleys

will be full of chariots,

and the horsemen will take their positions at the gate.

⁸ He took away the protection of Judah;

and you looked in that day

to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.

⁹ You saw the breaches of the city of David,

that they were many,

and you collected the water

of the lower pool.

¹⁰ You counted the houses of Jerusalem,

and you tore down the houses to fortify the wall.

¹¹ You made a reservoir between the two walls

for the water of the old pool.

But you did not consider the city's maker,

who had planned it long ago.

¹² The Lord Yahweh of hosts called on that day

for weeping, for mourning,

for shaved heads, and the wearing of sackcloth.

¹³ But look, there is celebration and gladness,

killing cattle and slaughtering sheep,

eating meat and drinking wine:

"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die."

¹⁴ This was revealed in my ears by Yahweh of hosts:

"Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you,

even when you die,"

says the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁵ The Lord Yahweh of hosts, says this,

"Go to this administrator, to Shebna,

who is over the house, and say,

¹⁶ 'What are you doing here and who gave you permission

to cut out a tomb for yourself,

hewing out a grave on the heights

and carving out a resting place in the rock?'"

¹⁷ See, Yahweh is about to throw you, a mighty man,

about to throw you down; he will grasp you tightly.

¹⁸ He will surely wind you round and round,

and toss you like a ball into a vast country.

There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be;

you will be the shame of your master's house!

¹⁹ "I will force you out of your office and from your station.

You will be pulled down.

²⁰ It will come about on that day that I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹ I will clothe him with your tunic and put on him your sash, and I will transfer your authority into his hand. He will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; he will open, and none will shut; he will shut, and none will open.

²³ I will fasten him, a peg in a secure place, and he will become a seat of glory for his father's house. ²⁴ They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and descendants, every small container from the cups to all the jugs.

²⁵ On that day—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts—the peg driven in a firm place will give way, break off, and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off—for Yahweh has spoken.

Chapter 23

¹ A declaration about Tyre:

Wail, you ships of Tarshish;

Tyre has been devastated,

with neither home nor harbor;

from the land of Cyprus

it has been revealed to them. ¹

² Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast;

the merchant of Sidon,

who travels over the sea, has filled you. ²

³ Upon the great waters

was the grain of Shihor,

the harvest of the Nile was her produce;

and it became the commerce of the nations.

⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken,

the fortress of the sea. He says,

"I have not labored nor given birth,

nor have I raised young men nor brought up young women."

⁵ When the report comes to Egypt,

they will be grieved concerning Tyre.

⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;

wail, you inhabitants of the coast.

⁷ Has this happened to you, the joyful city,

whose origin is from ancient times,

whose feet carried her far away

to foreign places to settle?

⁸ Who has planned this against Tyre,

the giver of crowns,

whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are the honored ones of the earth?

⁹ Yahweh of hosts has planned it

to dishonor her pride and all her glory,

to shame all her honored ones of the earth.

¹⁰ Plow your land, as one plows the Nile,

daughter of Tarshish.

There is no longer a marketplace in Tyre. ³

¹¹ Yahweh has reached out with his hand over the sea,

and he has shaken the kingdoms;

he has given a command concerning Phoenicia,

to destroy the strongholds.

¹² He said, "You will not rejoice again,

oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;

arise, pass over to Cyprus;

but neither there you will have rest."

¹³ See the land of the Chaldeans.

This people has ceased to be;

the Assyrians have made it

a wilderness for wild animals.

They set up their siege towers;

they demolished its palaces;

they made it a heap of ruins.

¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish;

for your refuge has been destroyed.

¹⁵ In that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of a king. After the end of seventy years there will happen in Tyre something like in the song of the prostitute.

¹⁶ Take a harp, go about the city,

you forgotten prostitute;

play it well, sing many songs,

so that you may be remembered.

¹⁷ It will come about that after seventy years, Yahweh will help Tyre, and she will start making her prostitute's wages again by doing the work of a prostitute, and she will offer her services to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ Her profits and prostitute's wages will be set apart to Yahweh. They will not be stored up or kept in the treasury, for her profits will be given to those who live in Yahweh's presence and will be used to supply them with abundant food and so they can have the best quality clothing.

¹Instead of Cyprus , some modern translations keep Kittim , the Hebrew name for this island.

²Some ancient and modern translations have Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who travel over the sea, have filled you or Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast and you merchants of Sidon, whom those who travel over the sea have filled .

³The Hebrew is difficult here. Instead of ULB, Plow your land , some scholars have translated the Hebrew to mean Cross over your land or Flood your land .

Chapter 24

¹ Look, Yahweh is about to empty the earth,

to devastate it, mar its surface, and scatter its inhabitants.

² It will come about that, as with the people, so with the priest;

as with the servant, so with his master;

as with the servant girl, so with her mistress;

as with the buyer, so with the seller;

as with the creditor, so with the debtor;

as with the receiver of interest, so with the giver of interest.

³ The earth will be completely devastated and completely plundered;

for Yahweh has spoken this word.

⁴ The earth mourns and withers, the world shrivels up and withers,

the prominent people of the earth waste away.

⁵ The earth is polluted by its inhabitants

because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes,

and broken the everlasting covenant.

⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,

and its inhabitants are found guilty.

The inhabitants of the earth burn up, and few people are left.

⁷ The new wine mourns, the vine wastes away,

all the merry-hearted groan.

⁸ The happy sound of the tambourines stops,

and the revelry of those who rejoice;

the joy of the harp ceases.

⁹ They no longer drink wine and sing,

and the strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

¹⁰ The city of chaos has been broken down;

every house is closed up and empty.

¹¹ There is a crying in the streets because of the wine;

all joy is darkened, the gladness of the land has disappeared.

¹² In the city is left a desolation,

and the gate is broken into a ruin.

¹³ For this is how it will be on the whole earth

among the nations,

as when an olive tree is beaten,

as the gleanings when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴ They will lift up their voices

and shout the majesty of Yahweh,

and will joyfully shout from the sea.

¹⁵ Therefore in the east glorify Yahweh,

and in the isles of the sea give glory

to the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹⁶ From the farthest part of the earth we have heard songs,

"Glory to the righteous one!"

But I said, "I have wasted away,

I have wasted away, woe is me!

The treacherous have dealt treacherously;

yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously."

¹⁷ Terror, the pit, and the snare

are upon you, inhabitants of the earth.

¹⁸ He who flees from the sound of terror

will fall into the pit,

and he who comes up out of the middle of the pit

will be caught in the snare.

The windows of the heavens will be opened,

and the foundations of the earth will shake.

¹⁹ The earth will be completely broken, the earth ripped apart;

the earth will be violently shaken.

²⁰ The earth will stagger like a drunkard,

and it will sway back and forth like a hut.

Its sin will be heavy on it

and it will fall and never rise again.

²¹ On that day Yahweh will punish

the host of the heaven in the heavens,

and the kings of the earth on the earth.

²² They will be gathered together,

prisoners in a pit,

and will be shut up in a prison;

and after many days they will be punished.

²³ Then the moon will be ashamed,

and the sun disgraced,

for Yahweh of hosts will reign

on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

and before his elders in glory.

Chapter 25

¹ Yahweh, you are my God;

I will exalt you, I will praise your name;

for you have done wonderful things,

things planned long ago, in perfect faithfulness.

² For you have made a city a heap,

a fortified city a ruin;

a palace of foreigners is no longer a city;

it will never be rebuilt.

³ Therefore a strong people will glorify you;

a city of ruthless nations will fear you.

⁴ For you have been a place of safety

for the one who is poor,

a shelter for the one who is needy in his distress—

a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.

When the breath of the ruthless

was like a storm against a wall,

⁵ and like heat in a dry land,

you subdued the noise of foreigners,

as the heat is subdued by the shade of a cloud,

so the song of the ruthless ones is answered.

⁶ On this mountain Yahweh of hosts

will make for all peoples a feast of tender meats,

a feast of choice wines,

of tender meats filled with marrow,

of refined choice wines.

⁷ He will destroy on this mountain

the covering over all peoples,

the web woven over all the nations.

⁸ He will swallow up death forever,

and the Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears

from off all faces;

the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for Yahweh has spoken it.

⁹ It will be said on that day,

"Look, this is our God;

we have waited for him, and he will save us.

This is Yahweh; we have waited for him,

we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

¹⁰ For on this mountain the hand of Yahweh will rest;

and Moab will be trampled down in his place,

even as straw is trampled down in a pit filled with manure.

¹¹ They will spread their hands in the midst of it,

as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim.

But Yahweh will bring down their pride

in spite of the skill of their hands.

¹² The stronghold of your fortress walls he will bring down,

he will abase,

he will cause to fall to the ground, to the dust.

Chapter 26

¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;

God has made salvation its walls and ramparts.

² Open the gates,

that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.

³ The mind that is stayed on you,

you will keep him in perfect peace, for he trusts in you.

⁴ Trust in Yahweh forever;

for in Yah, Yahweh is an everlasting rock. ¹

⁵ For he will bring down those

who live in the high place, the lofty city.

He will abase it.

He will abase it to the ground;

he will cause it to fall to the dust.

⁶ It will be trampled down

by the feet of the poor and the treading of the needy.

⁷ The path of the righteous is level,

Righteous One; the path of the righteous you make straight.

⁸ Yes, in the path of your judgments,

Yahweh, we wait for you;

your name and your reputation are our desire.

⁹ I have longed for you in the night;

yes, my spirit within me seeks you earnestly.

For when your judgments come on the earth,

the inhabitants of the world learn about righteousness.

¹⁰ Let favor be shown to the wicked one,

but he will not learn righteousness.

In the land of uprightness he acts wickedly

and does not see the majesty of Yahweh.

¹¹ Yahweh, your hand is lifted up,

but they do not notice.

But they will see your zeal for the people and be put to shame,

because fire of your adversaries will devour them.

¹² Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us;

for indeed, you have also performed all our works for us.

¹³ Yahweh our God, other masters besides you have ruled over us;

but we praise your name alone.

¹⁴ They are dead, they will not live;

they are deceased, they will not arise.

Indeed, you came in judgment and destroyed them,

and made every memory of them to perish.

¹⁵ You have increased the nation, Yahweh,

you have increased the nation; you are honored;

you have extended all the borders of the land.

¹⁶ Yahweh, in trouble have they looked to you;

they whispered prayers when your discipline was on them. ²

¹⁷ As a pregnant woman nears the time for her to give birth,

when she is in pain and cries out in her labor pains,

so we have been before you, Lord.

¹⁸ We have been pregnant, we have been in labor,

but it is as if we have only given birth to wind.

We have not brought salvation to the earth,

and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.

¹⁹ Your dead will live; their dead bodies will arise.

Awake and sing for joy, you who live in the dust;

for your dew is the dew of light,

and the earth will bring forth its dead.

²⁰ Go, my people, enter into your rooms

and shut your doors behind you;

hide for a short time,

until the indignation has passed by.

²¹ For, look, Yahweh is about to come out of his place

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

the earth will uncover her bloodshed,

and will no longer conceal those she killed.

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²This is a difficult verse and is translated in several ways by different modern English translations.

Chapter 27

¹ On that day

Yahweh with his hard, great and fierce sword

will punish Leviathan the slithering serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent,

and he will kill the monster that is in the sea.

² In that day:

A vineyard of wine, sing of it.

³ "I, Yahweh, am its protector;

I water it every moment.

I guard it night and day

so no one will hurt it.

⁴ I am not angry,

Oh, that there were briers and thorns!

In battle I would march against them;

I would burn them all together;

⁵ unless they take hold of my refuge

and make peace with me; let them make peace with me.

⁶ In the coming day, Jacob will take root;

Israel will blossom and bud;

and they will fill the surface of the world with fruit."

⁷ Has Yahweh attacked Jacob and Israel

as he attacked those nations who attacked them?

Have Jacob and Israel been killed

as their killers were killed?

⁸ In exact measure you have contended,

sending Jacob and Israel away;

he drove them away with his severe breath

in the day of the east wind. ¹

⁹ So in this way, the iniquity of Jacob will be atoned for,

for this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:

when he will make all the altar stones

as chalk and crushed to pieces,

and no Asherah poles or incense altars

will remain standing.

¹⁰ For the fortified city is desolate,

the habitation is deserted and abandoned like the wilderness.

There a calf feeds, and there he lies down

and consumes its branches.

¹¹ When the boughs are withered, they will be broken off.

Women will come and make fires with them,

for this is not a people of understanding.

Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them,

and he who made them will not be merciful to them.

¹² It will come about on that day that Yahweh will thresh from the Euphrates River to the Brook of Egypt and you, the people of Israel, will be gathered together one by one. ¹³ On that day a great ram's horn will be blown; and the perishing ones in the land of Assyria will come, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt. They will worship Yahweh on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

¹Instead of In exact measure , many modern translations have an idea similar to By driving them away .

Chapter 28

¹ Woe to the proud garland crown

that is worn by each of the drunkards of Ephraim,

and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,

the garland that is set on the head of the lush Valley

of those who are overcome with wine!

² Behold, the Lord sends one who is mighty and strong;

like a storm of hail and a destructive windstorm,

like a driving rain and overflowing waters;

and he will throw each garland crown down to the ground.

³ The proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim

will be trodden underfoot.

⁴ The fading flower of his glorious beauty,

which is on the head of the rich valley,

will be as the first ripe fig before the summer,

that, when someone sees it,

while it is yet in his hand, he swallows it down.

⁵ In that day Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful crown

and a diadem of beauty for the remainder of his people,

⁶ a spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,

and strength for those who turn back their enemies at their gates.

⁷ But even these reel with wine,

and stagger with strong drink.

The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,

and they are swallowed up by wine.

They stagger with strong drink,

staggering in vision and reeling in decision.

⁸ Truly, all tables are covered with filthy vomit,

so that there is no clean place.

⁹ To whom will he teach knowledge,

and to whom will he explain the message?

To those who are weaned from milk

or to those just taken from the breasts?

¹⁰ For it is

command upon command, command upon command;

rule upon rule, rule upon rule;

here a little, there a little.

¹¹ Indeed, with mocking lips and a foreign tongue

he will speak to this people.

¹² In the past he said to them

"This is the rest, give rest to him who is weary;

and this is the refreshing,"

but they would not listen.

¹³ So the word of Yahweh will be to them

command upon command, command upon command;

rule upon rule, rule upon rule;

here a little, there a little;

so that they may go and fall backward,

and be broken, ensnared, and captured.

¹⁴ So listen to the word of Yahweh, you who mock,

you who rule over this people who are in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ This will happen because you said,

"We have made a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have reached an agreement.

So when the overwhelming whip passes through,

it will not reach us.

For we have made a lie our refuge,

and taken shelter in falsehood."

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says,

"See, I will lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.

He who believes will not be ashamed.

¹⁷ I will make justice the measuring stick,

and righteousness the plumbline.

Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

¹⁸ Your covenant with death will be dissolved,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.

When the raging flood passes through,

you will become its trampling place.

¹⁹ Whenever it passes through, it will overwhelm you,

and morning by morning it will pass through

and by day and night it will come.

When the message is understood,

it will cause terror.

²⁰ For the bed is too short for a man to stretch out on,

and the blanket too narrow for him to wrap himself in."

²¹ Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim;

he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon

to do his work, his strange work,

and perform his strange deed.

²² Now therefore do not mock,

or your bonds will be tightened.

I have heard from the Lord Yahweh of hosts,

a decree of destruction on the earth.

²³ Pay attention and listen to my voice;

be attentive and listen to my words.

²⁴ Does a farmer who plows all day to sow, only plow the ground?

Does he continually break up and harrow the field?

²⁵ When he has prepared the ground,

does he not scatter caraway seed, sow the cumin,

put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the right place,

and the spelt at its edges? ¹

²⁶ His God instructs him;

he teaches him wisely.

²⁷ Moreover, the caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge,

nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cumin;

but caraway is beaten out with a stick,

and cumin with a rod.

²⁸ Bread grain is crushed,

but the one who grinds it does not thresh it forever.

The wheel of his cart and his horses would destroy it,

so he does not continue to grind it.

²⁹ This too comes from Yahweh of hosts,

who gives wonderful counsel

and whose sound wisdom is great.

¹The identification of some of these spices is in doubt, so different translations may have a different list of spices than here. In addition, other modern translations give different meaning to the expressions translated in the ULB as in rows and in the right place , because these expressions are uncertain in Hebrew.

Chapter 29

¹ Woe to Ariel, Ariel,

the city where David encamped!

Add year to year;

let the festivals come round.

² But I will besiege Ariel,

and she will be mourning and lamenting;

and she will be to me like Ariel.

³ I will encamp against you in a circle

and will lay siege against you with a garrison,

and I will raise siege works against you.

⁴ You will be abased and will speak from the ground;

your speech will be bowed down from the dust.

Your voice will sound like a spirit that speaks from the ground,

and out of the dust your speech will whisper.

⁵ The great number of your invaders will become like fine dust,

and the multitude of the ruthless ones as chaff that passes away.

It will happen suddenly, in an instant.

⁶ Yahweh of hosts will come to you

with thunder, earthquake, great noise,

with strong winds and violent storm, and the flames of a devouring fire.

⁷ It will be like a dream, a vision of the night:

A horde of all the nations will fight against Ariel

and her stronghold.

They will attack her and her fortifications to press upon her.

⁸ It will be like when a hungry man dreams he is eating,

but when he awakes, his stomach is empty.

It will be like when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking

and he awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched.

Yes, so will be the great number of nations

that fights against Mount Zion.

⁹ Astonish yourselves and be astonished;

blind yourselves and be blind!

Be drunk, but not with wine;

stagger, but not with strong drink.

¹⁰ For Yahweh has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep.

He has closed your eyes, the prophets,

and has covered your heads, the seers.

¹¹ All revelation has become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men might give to one who is learned, saying, "Read this." He also says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." ¹² If the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."

¹³ The Lord said,

"This people comes close to me with their mouths

and honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

Their honor for me

is only a commandment of men that has been taught.

¹⁴ Therefore, see, I will proceed to do a marvelous thing

among this people, wonder after wonder.

The wisdom of their wise men will perish,

and the understanding of their prudent men will disappear."

¹⁵ Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from Yahweh,

and whose deeds are in darkness.

They say, "Who sees us, and who knows us?"

¹⁶ You turn things upside down!

Should the potter be considered like clay,

so that the thing that is made should say about him who made it,

"He did not make me,"

or the thing formed say about him who formed it,

"He does not understand"?

¹⁷ In just a little while,

Lebanon will be turned into a field,

and the field will become a forest.

¹⁸ On that day the deaf will hear the words of a book,

and the eyes of the blind will see out of the deep darkness.

¹⁹ The oppressed will again rejoice in Yahweh,

and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰ For the ruthless will cease, and the mocker will vanish.

All those who love to do evil will be eliminated,

²¹ who by a word make a man out to be an offender.

They lay a snare for him who seeks justice at the gate

and put the righteous down with empty lies.

²² Therefore this is what Yahweh says concerning the house of Jacob—Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham,

"Jacob will no longer be ashamed,

nor will his face be pale.

²³ But when he sees his children, the work of my hands,

they will make my name holy.

They will make holy the name of the Holy One of Jacob

and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

²⁴ Those who err in spirit will gain understanding,

and complainers will accept instruction."

Chapter 30

¹ "Woe to the rebellious children—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

They make plans, but not from me;

they make alliances with other nations,

but they were not directed by my Spirit,

so they add sin to sin.

² They set out to go down into Egypt,

but have not asked for my direction.

They seek protection from Pharaoh

and take refuge in the shadow of Egypt.

³ Therefore Pharaoh's protection will be your shame,

and the refuge in Egypt's shade, your humiliation,

⁴ although their princes are at Zoan,

and their messengers have come to Hanes.

⁵ They will all be ashamed

because of a people who cannot help them,

who are neither help nor aid,

but a shame, and even a disgrace."

⁶ A declaration about the animals of the Negev:

Through the land of trouble and anguish,

of the lioness and the lion,

the viper and fiery flying serpent,

they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,

and their treasures on the camels' humps,

to a people who cannot help them.

⁷ For Egypt's help is vain and empty;

therefore I have called her Rahab, who sits still.

⁸ Now go, write it in their presence on a tablet,

and inscribe it on a scroll,

that it may be preserved

for the time to come as a testimony.

⁹ For these are a rebellious people, lying children,

children who will not hear the instruction of Yahweh.

¹⁰ They say to the seers, "Do not see;"

and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us;

speak flattering words to us,

prophesy illusions.

¹¹ Turn aside from the way, stray off the path;

cause the Holy One of Israel

to cease speaking before our face."

¹² Therefore the Holy One of Israel says,

"Because you reject this word

and trust in oppression and deceit and lean on it,

¹³ so this iniquity will be to you

like a broken part ready to fall, like a bulge in a high wall

whose fall will happen suddenly, in an instant."

¹⁴ It will break as a potter's vessel is broken;

he will not spare it,

so that there will not be found among its pieces a shard

with which to scrape fire from the hearth,

or to scoop up water out of the cistern.

¹⁵ For this is what the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel says,

"In returning and resting you will be saved;

in quietness and in trust will be your strength.

But you were not willing.

¹⁶ You said, 'No, for we will flee on horses,'

so you will flee;

and, 'We will ride upon swift horses,'

so those who pursue you will be swift.

¹⁷ One thousand will flee at the threat of one;

at the threat of five you will flee

until your remnant will be

like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,

or like a signal flag on a hill."

¹⁸ Yet Yahweh is waiting to be gracious to you,

therefore he is ready to show you mercy.

For Yahweh is a God of justice;

blessed are all those who wait for him.

¹⁹ For a people will live in Zion, in Jerusalem, and you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer you.

²⁰ Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, even so, your teacher will not hide himself anymore, but you will see your teacher with your own eyes. ²¹ Your ears will hear a word behind you saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

²² You will desecrate your carved figures overlaid with silver and your gold cast figures. You will throw them away like a menstrual rag. You will say to them, "Get out of here."

²³ He will give the rain for your seed when you sow the ground, and bread with abundance from the ground, and the crops will be abundant. In that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures. ²⁴ The oxen and the donkeys, who plow the ground, will eat seasoned feed that has been winnowed with a shovel and a fork.

²⁵ On every high mountain and on every high hill, there will be flowing brooks and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter when the towers fall. ²⁶ The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the sunlight of seven days. Yahweh will bind up the breaking of his people and heal the bruises of his wounding them.

²⁷ Look, the name of Yahweh comes from a distant place,

burning with his anger and in dense smoke.

His lips are full of fury,

and his tongue is like a devouring fire.

²⁸ His breath is like an overflowing torrent

that reaches up to the middle of the neck,

to sift the nations with the sieve of worthlessness.

His breath is a bridle in the jaws of the peoples

to cause them to wander away.

²⁹ You will have a song

as in the night when a holy feast is observed,

and gladness of heart,

as when one goes with a flute to the mountain of Yahweh,

to the Rock of Israel.

³⁰ Yahweh will make the splendor of his voice heard

and show the motion of his arm

in raging anger and flames of fire,

with windstorm, rainstorm, and hailstones.

³¹ For at the voice of Yahweh, Assyria will be dismayed;

he will strike them with a staff.

³² Every stroke of the appointed rod

that Yahweh will lay on them

will be accompanied with the music of tambourines and harps

as he battles, waving his weapons, and fights with them.

³³ For a place of burning was prepared long ago.

Indeed, it is prepared for the king,

and God has made it deep and wide.

The pile is ready with a fire and much wood.

The breath of Yahweh, like a stream of sulfur,

will set it on fire.

Chapter 31

¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help

and lean on horses,

and trust in chariots (for they are many)

and in horsemen (for they are mighty).

But they are not concerned about the Holy One of Israel,

nor do they seek Yahweh!

² Yet he is wise, and he will bring disaster

and will not retract his words.

He will arise against the evil house

and against the helpers of those who behave wickedly.

³ Egypt is a man and not God,

their horses flesh and not spirit.

When Yahweh reaches out with his hand,

both the one who helps will stumble,

and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.

⁴ This is what Yahweh says to me,

"As a lion, even a young lion, growls over its torn prey,

when a group of shepherds is called out against it,

but it is not frightened by their voices,

nor does it creep away from their sound;

thus Yahweh of hosts will descend

to fight on Mount Zion, on that hill.

⁵ Like birds in flight,

so Yahweh of hosts will protect Jerusalem;

he will protect and rescue

as he passes over it and preserves it.

⁶ Return to him from whom you have deeply turned away, people of Israel. ⁷ For in that day each one will throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold that your own hands have made as a sin.

⁸ Assyria will fall by the sword;

a sword not wielded by man will consume him.

He will flee from the sword,

and his young men will be forced to do hard labor.

⁹ They will lose all confidence because of terror,

and his princes will be afraid

at the sight of Yahweh's signal flag—

this is the declaration of Yahweh—

whose fire is in Zion and whose firepot is in Jerusalem."

Chapter 32

¹ Look, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.

² Each one will be like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a land of weariness.

³ Then the eyes of those who see will not be dim,

and the ears of those who hear will hear attentively.

⁴ The rash will think carefully with understanding,

and the stutterer will speak distinctly and with ease.

⁵ The fool will no longer be called honorable,

nor the deceiver called principled.

⁶ For the fool speaks folly,

and his heart plans evil

and godless actions,

and he speaks wrongly against Yahweh.

He makes the hungry empty,

and the thirsty he causes to lack drink.

⁷ The deceiver's methods are evil.

He devises wicked schemes

to destroy the poor with deceitful words,

even when the poor say what is right.

⁸ But the honorable man makes honorable plans;

and because of his honorable actions he will stand.

⁹ Rise up, you women who are at ease,

and listen to my voice;

you carefree daughters,

give ear to my word.

¹⁰ For in a little more than a year

your confidence will be broken,

you carefree women,

for the grape harvest will fail,

the ingathering will not come.

¹¹ Tremble, you women who are at ease;

be troubled, you confident ones;

take off your fine clothes and make yourselves bare;

gird your loins with sackcloth.

¹² You will wail for the pleasant fields,

for the fruitful vines.

¹³ The land of my people

will be overgrown with thorns and briers,

even in all the joyful houses in the jubilant city.

¹⁴ For the palace will be abandoned,

the crowded city will be deserted;

the hill and the watchtower will become caves forever,

a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks;

¹⁵ until the Spirit is poured on us from on high,

and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,

and the fruitful field is considered as a forest.

¹⁶ Then justice will reside in the wilderness;

and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.

¹⁷ The work of righteousness will be peace;

and the result of righteousness,

quietness and confidence forever.

¹⁸ My people will live in a peaceful habitation,

in secure homes, and in quiet resting places.

¹⁹ Though hail flattens the forest

and the city is completely brought down,

²⁰ you will be blessed

when you sow your seed beside every stream

and let the foot of the ox and donkey range free.

Chapter 33

¹ Woe to you, destroyer who has not been destroyed!

Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed!

When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed.

When you stop betraying, they will betray you.

² Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you;

be our arm every morning,

our salvation in the time of trouble.

³ At the loud noise the peoples flee;

when you arise, the nations are scattered.

⁴ Your plunder is gathered as the locusts gather;

as locusts leap, men leap on it.

⁵ Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place.

He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶ He will be the stability in your times,

abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.

⁷ Look, their envoys cry in the streets;

the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

⁸ The highways are deserted;

there are no more travelers.

Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised,

and mankind is not respected. ¹

⁹ The land mourns and wastes away;

Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; ²

Sharon is like a desert plain;

and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

¹⁰ "Now will I arise," says Yahweh;

"now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.

¹¹ You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble;

your breath is a fire that will consume you.

¹² The peoples will be burned to lime,

as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.

¹³ You who are far away, hear what I have done;

and, you who are near, acknowledge my might."

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid;

trembling has seized the godless ones.

Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire?

Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?

¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks honestly;

who despises the gain of oppression,

who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe,

who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed,

and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—

¹⁶ this is the man who will dwell on the heights,

his stronghold will be the fortress among the cliffs,

his food will be given,

and his water will be in steady supply.

¹⁷ Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;

they will see a land off in the distance.

¹⁸ Your heart will recall the terror;

where is the scribe,

where is he who weighed the money?

Where is he who counted the towers?

¹⁹ You will no longer see the defiant people,

people who mock you

in a language that you do not understand.

²⁰ Look at Zion, the city of our feasts;

your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation,

a tent that will not be removed,

whose stakes will never be pulled up

nor will any of its cords be broken.

²¹ There Yahweh in majesty will be with us,

in a place of broad rivers and streams,

where no warship with oars will travel,

and no large ships will sail.

²² For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver,

Yahweh is our king; he will save us.

²³ Your riggings are slack;

they cannot hold the mast in place;

they cannot spread the sail;

when the plunder of abundant prey is divided,

even the lame will take away booty.

²⁴ The inhabitants will not say, "I am sick;"

the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.

¹Some ancient Hebrew copies have the word for cities , but this is seen by many scholars to be a corruption of the more likely Hebrew word for witnesses , which is the ULB translation.

²The word mourns can be also be read as dries up . The two Hebrew words are spelled the same. Isaiah 24:4 is similar, and the meaning there is clearly dries up .

Chapter 34

¹ Come near, you nations, and listen;

pay attention, you people!

The earth and all that fills it must listen,

the world and all its produce.

² For Yahweh is angry with all the nations,

and furious against all their armies;

he has completely destroyed them,

he has handed them over to the slaughter.

³ The bodies of their dead will be thrown out.

The stench of the dead bodies will be everywhere;

and the mountains will soak up their blood.

⁴ All the host of heaven will waste away,

and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;

and all their stars will fade away,

as the leaf fades from off the vine,

and as the overripe figs from the fig tree.

⁵ For when my sword will have drunk its fill in heaven;

look, it will now come down on Edom,

on the people I am setting apart for destruction.

⁶ The sword of Yahweh is dripping with blood

and covered with fat,

dripping with the blood of lambs and goats,

covered with the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah

and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

⁷ Wild oxen will fall with them,

and young bulls with the mighty ones.

Their land will be drunk with blood,

and their dust made fat with fatness.

⁸ For it will be a day of vengeance for Yahweh

and a year when he will pay them back for the cause of Zion.

⁹ The streams of Edom will be turned into pitch,

her dust into sulfur,

and her land will become burning pitch.

¹⁰ It will burn night and day;

its smoke will rise forever;

from generation to generation it will be a wasteland;

no one will pass through it forever and ever.

¹¹ But wild birds and animals will live there;

the owl and the raven will make their nest in it.

He will stretch over it the measuring line of ruin

and the plumbline of destruction.

¹² Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom,

and all her princes will be nothing.

¹³ Thorns will overgrow her palaces,

nettles and thistles her fortresses.

It will be a habitation of jackals,

a place for ostriches.

¹⁴ The wild animals of the desert and the hyenas will meet there,

and the wild goats will cry to one another.

Nocturnal animals will settle there

and find for themselves a resting place.

¹⁵ Owls will make nests, lay and hatch their eggs,

hatch and protect their young.

Yes, there hawks will gather,

each one with its mate.

¹⁶ Search through the scroll of Yahweh;

not one of these will be missing.

None will lack for a mate; for his mouth has commanded it,

and his spirit has gathered them.

¹⁷ He has cast lots for their places,

and his hand has measured it out for them by a cord.

They will possess it forever;

from generation to generation they will live there.

Chapter 35

¹ The wilderness and the Arabah will be glad;

and the desert will rejoice and blossom.

Like the rose,

² it will blossom abundantly

and rejoice with joy and joyful shouting;

the glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of Yahweh,

the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the weak hands,

and make steady the knees that shake.

⁴ Say to those with a fearful heart,

"Be strong, do not fear!

Look, your God will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind will see,

and the ears of the deaf will hear.

⁶ Then the lame man will leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue will shout for joy,

for water breaks out in the Arabah,

and streams in the wilderness.

⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the place where jackals lived,

in their resting place, will be grass with reeds and rushes.

⁸ A highway will be there called The Holy Way.

The unclean will not travel it.

But it will be for him who walks in it.

No fool will go on it.

⁹ No lion will be there, no ferocious beast will be on it;

they will not be found there,

but the redeemed will walk there.

¹⁰ The ransomed of Yahweh will return

and come with singing to Zion,

and everlasting joy will be on their heads;

gladness and joy will overtake them;

sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Chapter 36

¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² Then the king of Assyria sent the chief commander from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. He approached the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the launderers' field, and stood by it. ³ The Israelite officials who went out of the city to talk with them were Hilkiah's son Eliakim, the palace administrator, Shebna the king's secretary, and Asaph's son Joah, who wrote down the government decisions.

⁴ The chief commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah that the great king, the king of Assyria, says, 'What is the source of your confidence? ⁵ You speak only useless words, saying there is counsel and strength for war. Now in whom are you trusting? Who has given you courage to rebel against me?

⁶ Look, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed that you use as a walking staff, but if a man leans on it, it will stick into his hand and pierce it. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to anyone who trusts in him. ⁷ But if you say to me, "We are trusting in Yahweh our God," is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?

⁸ Now therefore, I want to make you a good offer from my master the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to find riders for them.

⁹ How could you resist even one captain of the least of my master's servants? You have put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen! ¹⁰ Now then, have I traveled up here without Yahweh to fight against this land and destroy it? Yahweh said to me, "Attack this land and destroy it."'"

¹¹ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in the Aramean language, Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah in the ears of the people who are on the wall." ¹² But the chief commander said, "Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who will have to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?"

¹³ Then the chief commander stood and shouted in a loud voice in the language of Judah, saying, "Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ¹⁴ The king says, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you. ¹⁵ Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, "Yahweh will surely rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."'

¹⁶ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and drink from the water in his own cistern. ¹⁷ You will do this 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 Do not let Hezekiah mislead you, saying, 'Yahweh will rescue us.' Has any of the gods of the peoples rescued them from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power? ²⁰ Among all the gods of these lands, is there any god who has rescued his land from my power, as if Yahweh could save Jerusalem from my power?"

²¹ But the people remained silent and did not respond, for the king's command was, "Do not answer him." ²² Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of the chief commander.

Chapter 37

³ They said to him, "Hezekiah says, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to give birth to her child. ⁴ It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of the chief commander, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Now lift up your prayer for the remnant that is still here.'"

⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, ⁶ and Isaiah said to them, "Say to your master: 'Yahweh says, "Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me. ⁷ Look, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and go back to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"

⁸ Then the chief commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had gone away from Lachish. ⁹ Then Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Cush and Egypt had mobilized to fight against him, so he sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a message: ¹⁰ "Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah, 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, "Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

¹¹ See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them completely. So will you be rescued? ¹² Have the gods of the nations rescued them, the nations that my fathers destroyed: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?'"

¹⁴ Hezekiah received this letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it before him. ¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh: ¹⁶ "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, you who sit above the cherubim, you are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

¹⁷ Turn your ear, Yahweh, and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁸ It is true, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.

¹⁹ They have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, just wood and stone. So the Assyrians have destroyed them. ²⁰ So now, Yahweh our God, save us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh alone."

²¹ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, "Yahweh, the God of Israel says, 'Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, ²² this is the word that Yahweh has spoken about him:

"The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you;

the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.

²³ Whom have you defied and insulted?

Against whom have you exalted your voice

and lifted up your eyes in pride?

Against the Holy One of Israel.

²⁴ By your servants you have defied the Lord

and have said, 'With the multitude of my chariots

I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,

to the highest elevations of Lebanon.

I will cut down its tall cedars

and choice cypress trees there,

and I will enter into its farthest high places,

its most fruitful forest.

²⁵ I have dug wells and drunk water; ¹

I dried up all the rivers of Egypt under the soles of my feet.'

²⁶ Have you not heard

how I determined it long ago

and worked it out in ancient times?

Now I am bringing it to pass.

You are here to reduce impregnable cities

into heaps of ruins.

²⁷ Their inhabitants, of little strength,

are dismayed and ashamed.

They are plants in the field, green grass,

the grass on the roof or in the field,

before the east wind.

²⁸ But I know your sitting down, your going out,

your coming in, and your raging against me.

²⁹ Because of your raging against me,

and because your arrogance has reached my ears,

I will put my hook in your nose, and my bit in your mouth;

I will turn you back the way you came."

³⁰ This will be the sign for you:

This year you will eat what grows wild,

and in the second year what grows from that.

But in the third year you must plant and harvest,

plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

³¹ The remnant of the house of Judah that survives

will again take root and bear fruit.

³² For from Jerusalem a remnant will come out;

from Mount Zion an escaped remnant will come.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.'"

³³ Therefore Yahweh says this about the king of Assyria:

"He will not come into this city

and he will not shoot an arrow here.

He will not come before it with shield

or build up a siege ramp against it.

³⁴ The way by which he came will be the same way he will leave;

he will not enter this city—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³⁵ For I will defend this city and rescue it

for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant."

³⁶ Then the angel of Yahweh went out and attacked the camp of the Assyrians, putting to death 185,000 soldiers. When the men arose early in the morning, dead bodies lay everywhere. ³⁷ So Sennacherib king of Assyria left Israel and went home and stayed in Nineveh.

³⁸ Later, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrok his god, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

¹Some ancient and modern translations have I have dug wells and drunk water in foreign lands .

Chapter 38

¹ In those days Hezekiah was sick to the point of dying. So Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him, and said to him, "Yahweh says, 'Set your house in order; for you will die, not live.'" ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh. ³ He said, "Please, Yahweh, I beg you, call to mind how I have faithfully walked before you with my whole heart, and how I have done what was good in your sight." Then Hezekiah wept loudly.

⁴ Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, ⁵ "Go and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, 'This is what Yahweh, the God of David your ancestor, says: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears. See, I am about to add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ Then I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.

⁷ This will be the sign to you from Yahweh, that I will do what I have promised. ⁸ Look, I will cause the shadow on the stairs of Ahaz to go back ten steps.'" So the shadow went back ten steps of the stairs on which it had advanced.

⁹ This was the written prayer of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and then recovered:

¹⁰ "I said that halfway through my life

I will go through the gates of Sheol;

I am sent there for the rest of my years.

¹¹ I said that I will no longer see Yah,

Yah in the land of the living; ¹

I will no longer look on mankind

or the inhabitants of the world. ²

¹² My dwelling place is removed

and carried away from me like a shepherd's tent;

I have rolled up my life like a weaver;

you are cutting me off from the loom;

between day and night you are ending my life.

¹³ I cried out ³ until the morning;

like a lion he breaks all my bones.

Between day and night you are ending my life.

¹⁴ Like a swallow I chirp;

I coo like a dove;

my eyes grow tired with looking upward.

Lord, I am oppressed; help me.

¹⁵ What can I say?

He has both spoken to me, and has done it;

I will walk slowly all my years

because of the bitterness of my soul.

¹⁶ Lord, the sufferings you send are good for me;

may my life be given back to me;

you have restored my life and health.

¹⁷ It was for my benefit

that I experienced such bitterness.

You have rescued me from the pit of destruction;

for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.

¹⁸ For Sheol does not thank you;

death does not praise you;

those who go down into the pit

do not hope in your trustworthiness.

¹⁹ The living person, the living person,

he is the one who gives you thanks, as I do this day;

a father makes known to children

your trustworthiness.

²⁰ Yahweh is about to save me,

and we will celebrate with music

all the days of our lives in the house of Yahweh."

²¹ Now Isaiah had said, "Let them take a lump of figs and put it on the boil, and he will recover." ²² Hezekiah also had said, "What will be the sign that I should go up to the house of Yahweh?"

¹Yah is a short form of the name Yahweh.

²the inhabitants of the world : Most modern translations have this meaning. Ancient Hebrew copies have the inhabitants of the place of non-existence (that is, brief existence).

³The Hebrew could be read: I cried out or I calmed myself .

Chapter 39

¹ At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered. ² Hezekiah was pleased by these things; he showed the messengers his storehouse of valuable things—the silver, the gold, the spices and precious oil, the storehouse of his weapons, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his kingdom, that Hezekiah did not show them.

³ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?" Hezekiah said, "They came to me from the distant country of Babylon." ⁴ Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my valuable things that I have not shown them."

⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of Yahweh of hosts: ⁶ 'Look, the days are about to come when everything in your palace, the things that your ancestors stored away until this present day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says Yahweh.

⁷ They will take away some of your own descendants, whom you will father, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'" ⁸ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh that you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and stability in my days."

Chapter 40

¹ "Comfort, comfort my people,"

says your God.

² "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem;

and proclaim to her

that her warfare has ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received double

from Yahweh's hand for all her sins."

³ A voice cries out,

"In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh;

make straight in the Arabah a highway for our God." ¹

⁴ Every valley will be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill will be brought low;

and the rugged land will be made level,

and the rough places a plain;

⁵ and the glory of Yahweh will be revealed,

and all people will see it together;

for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.

⁶ A voice says, "Cry."

Another answers, "What should I cry?"

"All flesh is grass,

and all their covenant faithfulness is like the flower of the field.

⁷ The grass withers and the flower fades

when the breath of Yahweh blows on it;

surely humanity is grass.

⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever."

⁹ Go up on a high mountain,

Zion, bearer of good news. ²

Shout out loud,

Jerusalem. You who bring good news, raise your voice, do not be afraid. ³

Say to the cities of Judah,

"Here is your God!"

¹⁰ Look, the Lord Yahweh comes as a victorious warrior,

and his strong arm rules for him.

See, his reward is with him,

and his recompense goes before him.

¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd,

he will gather in his arm the lambs,

and carry them close to his heart,

and will gently lead the ewes nursing their young.

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

measured the sky with the span of his hand,

held the dust of the earth in a basket,

weighed the mountains in scales,

or the hills in a balance?

¹³ Who has comprehended the mind of Yahweh,

or instructed him as his counselor?

¹⁴ From whom did he ever receive instruction?

Who taught him the correct way to do things,

and taught him knowledge,

or showed to him the way of understanding?

¹⁵ Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket,

and are regarded like the dust on the scales;

see, he weighs the isles as a speck.

¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient fuel,

nor its wild animals sufficient for a burnt offering.

¹⁷ All the nations are insufficient before him;

they are regarded by him as nothing and emptiness.

¹⁸ To whom then will you compare God?

To what idol will you liken him?

¹⁹ An idol! A craftsman casts it:

The goldsmith overlays it with gold

and forges silver chains for it.

²⁰ To make an offering

one chooses a wood that will not rot;

he seeks a skillful artisan

to make an idol that will not fall over.

²¹ Have 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 He is the one who sits above the horizon of the earth;

and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.

He stretches out the heavens like a curtain

and spreads them out as a tent to live in.

²³ He reduces rulers to nothing

and makes the rulers of the earth emptiness.

²⁴ They are barely planted, barely sown,

their stem has barely taken root in the earth,

when he blows upon them and they wither,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

²⁵ "To whom then will you compare me,

whom do I resemble?" says the Holy One.

²⁶ Look up at the sky!

Who has created all these stars?

He leads out their formations

and calls them all by name.

By the greatness of his might and by the strength of his power,

not one is missing.

²⁷ Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel,

"My way is hidden from Yahweh,

and my God is not concerned about my vindication"?

²⁸ Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, Yahweh,

the Creator of the ends of the earth,

does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his understanding.

²⁹ He gives strength to the tired;

and to the one who lacks might he gives power.

³⁰ Even young people become tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall:

³¹ but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength;

they will soar with wings like eagles;

they will run and not be weary;

they will walk and not faint.

¹Some older English translations have A voice cries out in the wilderness which follows Matthew 3:3.

²Instead of Go up on a high mountain, Zion, bearer of good news , some modern translations have You who are bearing good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain .

³Some modern translations have Jerusalem, proclaimer of good news . Some other modern translations have proclaim good news to Jerusalem .

Chapter 41

¹ "Listen before me in silence, you coastlands;

let the nations renew their strength;

let them come near and speak;

let us come near together to argue a dispute.

² Who has stirred up one from the east,

calling him in righteousness to his service?

He hands nations over to him

and helps him subdue kings.

He turns them to dust with his sword,

like windblown stubble with his bow.

³ He pursues them and passes by safely,

by a swift path that his feet scarcely touch.

⁴ Who has performed and accomplished these deeds?

Who has summoned the generations from the beginning?

I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last ones, I am he.

⁵ The isles have seen and are afraid;

the ends of the earth tremble;

they approach and come.

⁶ Everyone helps his neighbor,

and every one says to one another, 'Be encouraged.'

⁷ So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith,

and he who works with the hammer

encourages him who works with an anvil,

saying of the welding, 'It is good.'

They fasten it with nails so it will not topple over.

⁸ But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

the descendants of Abraham my friend,

⁹ I took you from the ends of the earth

and called you from the farthest places,

saying to you, 'You are my servant.'

I have chosen you and I have not rejected you.

¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you.

Do not be anxious, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, and I will help you,

and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹ See, they will be ashamed and disgraced,

all who have been angry with you;

they will be as nothing and will perish,

those who oppose you.

¹² You will seek and will not find

those who contended with you;

those who warred against you

will be like nothing, absolutely nothing.

¹³ For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand,

saying to you, 'Do not fear; I am helping you.'

¹⁴ Do not fear, Jacob you worm, and you men of Israel;

I will help you—this is the declaration of Yahweh,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵ Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge,

new and two-edged;

you will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like chaff.

¹⁶ You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away;

the wind will scatter them.

You will rejoice in Yahweh,

you will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷ The oppressed and needy look for water, but there is none,

and their tongues are parched for thirst;

I, Yahweh, will respond to their prayers;

I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

¹⁸ I will make streams to flow down the slopes,

and springs in the middle of the valleys;

I will make the desert into a pool of water,

and the dry land into springs of water.

¹⁹ In the wilderness I will set the cedar,

the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree.

I will set the cypress in the desert plain,

with the pines and the cypress box trees.

²⁰ I will do this so that the people

may see, learn, consider, and gain understanding together,

that the hand of Yahweh has done this,

that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹ 'Present your case,' says Yahweh,

'present your best arguments for your idols,'

says the King of Jacob.

²² Let them bring us their own arguments;

have them come forward and declare to us what will happen,

so we may know these things well.

Have them tell us of earlier predictive declarations,

so we can reflect on them and know how they were fulfilled.

²³ Tell things about the future,

that we may know if you are gods;

do something good or evil,

that we may be frightened and impressed.

²⁴ See, you idols are nothing and your deeds are nothing;

the one who chooses you is detestable.

²⁵ I have raised up one from the north, and he comes;

from the sun's rising I summon him who calls on my name,

and he will trample the rulers like mud,

like a potter who is treading on the clay.

²⁶ Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know?

Before this time, that we may say, 'He is in the right'?

Indeed none of them decreed it,

yes, none heard your words.

²⁷ I first said to Zion,

'Look here they are!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

²⁸ When I look, there is no one,

not one among them who can give good advice,

who, when I ask, can answer a word.

²⁹ Look, all of them are nothing,

and their deeds are nothing;

their cast metal figures are wind and emptiness.

Chapter 42

¹ Behold, my servant, whom I uphold;

my chosen one, in him I take delight.

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring justice to the nations.

² He will not cry out nor shout,

nor make his voice heard in the streets.

³ A crushed reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench:

he will faithfully execute justice.

⁴ He will neither grow faint nor be crushed

until he has established justice on the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

⁵ This is what God Yahweh says—

the one who created the heavens and stretched them out,

the one who made the earth and all its produce,

the one who gives breath to the people on it

and life to those who live on it:

⁶ "I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness

and will hold your hand.

I will keep you and set you as a covenant for the people,

as a light for the Gentiles,

⁷ to open the eyes of the blind,

to release the prisoners from the dungeon,

and from the house of imprisonment

those who sit in darkness.

⁸ I am Yahweh, that is my name;

and my glory I will not share with another

nor my praise with carved idols.

⁹ See, the previous things came to pass,

now I am about to declare new events.

Before they begin to occur I will tell you about them."

¹⁰ Sing to Yahweh a new song,

and his praise from the end of the earth;

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

the coastlands, and those who live there.

¹¹ Let the desert and the cities cry out,

the villages where Kedar lives, shout for joy!

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing;

let them shout from the mountaintops.

¹² Let them give glory to Yahweh

and declare his praise in the coastlands.

¹³ Yahweh will go out as a warrior;

as a man of war he will stir up his zeal.

He will shout, yes, he will roar his battle cries;

he will show his enemies his power.

¹⁴ I have kept quiet for a long time;

I have been still and restrained myself;

now I will cry out like a woman in labor;

I will gasp and pant.

¹⁵ I will lay waste mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation;

and I will turn the rivers into islands

and will dry up the marshes.

¹⁶ I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know;

in paths that they do not know I will lead them.

I will turn the darkness into light before them,

and make the crooked places straight.

These things I will do,

and I will not abandon them.

¹⁷ They will be turned back, they will be completely put to shame,

those who trust in carved figures,

who say to cast metal figures, "You are our gods."

¹⁸ Listen, you deaf;

and look, you blind, that you may see.

¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant?

Or deaf like my messenger I send?

Who is as blind as my covenant partner,

or blind as Yahweh's servant?

²⁰ You see many things, but do not comprehend;

ears are open, but no one hears.

²¹ It pleased Yahweh to praise his justice

and to make his law glorious.

²² But this is a people robbed and plundered;

they are all trapped in pits, held captive in prisons;

they have become prey with no one to rescue them,

and no one says, "Bring them back!"

²³ Who among you will listen to this?

Who will listen and hear in the future?

²⁴ Who gave Jacob over to the robber,

and Israel to the looters?

Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned,

in whose ways they refused to walk,

and whose law they refused to obey?

²⁵ Therefore he poured out on them

the heat of his anger and the violence of war,

Its flames encircled them, yet they did not understand;

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

Chapter 43

¹ But now this is what Yahweh says,

he who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel:

"Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name, you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire you will not be burned,

and the flames will not destroy you.

³ For I am Yahweh your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

⁴ Since you are precious and special in my sight, I love you;

therefore I will give people in exchange for you,

and other peoples in exchange for your life.

⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and gather you from the west.

⁶ I will say to the north, 'Hand them over;'

and to the south, 'Do not hold any back;'

Bring my sons from afar,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

⁷ everyone who is called by my name,

whom I have created for my glory,

whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.

⁸ Bring out the people who are blind,

even though they have eyes,

and the deaf,

even though they have ears.

⁹ All the nations gather together,

and the peoples assemble.

Who among them could have declared this

and announced to us earlier events?

Let them bring their witnesses so they can be justified;

let them listen and affirm, 'It is true.'

¹⁰ You are my witnesses—this is Yahweh's declaration—

and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe in me,

and understand that I am he.

Before me there was no god formed,

and there will be none after me.

¹¹ I, I am Yahweh,

and there is no savior but me.

¹² I have declared, saved, and proclaimed,

and there is no other god among you.

You are my witnesses—

this is Yahweh's declaration—I am God.

¹³ From this day on I am he,

and no one can rescue anyone from my hand.

I act, and who can turn it back?"

¹⁴ This is what Yahweh says,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

"For your sake I send to Babylon

and lead them all down as fugitives,

turning the Chaldeans' expressions of joy

into songs of lamentation.

¹⁵ I am Yahweh, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King."

¹⁶ This is what Yahweh says

(who opened a way through the sea

and a path in the mighty waters,

¹⁷ who led out the chariot and the horse,

the army and the mighty man. They fell down together;

they will never rise again;

they are extinguished, quenched like a burning wick.)

¹⁸ "Do not think about these former things,

nor consider the things of long ago.

¹⁹ Look, I am about to do a new thing;

now it begins to happen; do you not know it?

I will make a road in the desert

and streams of water in the wilderness.

²⁰ The wild animals of the field will honor me,

the jackals and the ostriches,

because I give water in the wilderness,

and rivers in the desert,

for my chosen people to drink,

²¹ this people whom I formed for myself,

that they might recount my praises.

²² But you have not called on me, Jacob;

you have become tired of me, Israel.

²³ You have not brought me

any of your sheep as burnt offerings,

or honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with grain offerings,

nor wearied you with demands for incense.

²⁴ You have bought me no sweet-smelling cane with money,

neither have you poured out to me the fat of your sacrifices;

but you have burdened me with your sins,

you have wearied me with your evil deeds.

²⁵ I, yes, I, am he who blots out your offenses for my own sake;

and I will not call to mind your sins any longer.

²⁶ Remind me of what happened. Let us debate together;

present your cause, that you may be proved to be in the right.

²⁷ Your first father sinned,

and your teachers have transgressed against me.

²⁸ Therefore I will defile the holy officials;

I will hand Jacob over to complete destruction,

and Israel to abusive humiliation."

Chapter 44

¹ Now listen, Jacob my servant,

and Israel, whom I have chosen:

² This is what Yahweh says,

he who made you and formed you in the womb

and who will help you: "Do not fear, Jacob my servant;

and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³ For I will pour water on the thirsty ground,

and flowing streams on the dry ground;

I will pour my Spirit on your offspring

and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴ They will spring up among the grass,

like willows by the streams of water.

⁵ One will say, 'I belong to Yahweh,'

and another will call out the name of Jacob,

and another will write on his hand 'Belonging to Yahweh,'

and name himself by the name of Israel."

⁶ This is what Yahweh says—

the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:

"I am the first, and I am the last;

and there is no God but me.

⁷ Who is like me? Let him announce it and explain to me

the events that occurred since I established my ancient people,

and let them declare the events to come.

⁸ Do not fear or be afraid.

Have I not declared to you long ago, and announced it?

You are my witnesses: Is there any God besides me?

There is no other Rock; I know of none."

⁹ All who fashion idols are nothing;

the things they delight in are worthless;

their witnesses cannot see or know anything,

and they will be put to shame.

¹⁰ Who would form a god

or cast an idol that is worthless?

¹¹ Look, all his associates will be put to shame;

the craftsmen are only men.

Let them assemble together; let them stand up;

they will tremble and be put to shame.

¹² The smith works with his tools,

forming it, working over the coals.

He shapes it with hammers

and works it with his strong arm.

He is hungry, and his strength wanes;

he drinks no water and becomes faint.

¹³ The carpenter measures the wood with a line,

and marks it with a stylus.

He shapes it with his tools

and marks it out with a compass.

He shapes it after the figure of a man,

like a glorious human, so it may stay in a house.

¹⁴ He cuts down cedars,

or chooses a cypress tree or an oak tree.

He makes it grow for himself among the trees in the forest.

He plants a fir tree and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵ Then a man uses it for a fire and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes from it a god and bows down to it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

¹⁶ He burns part of the wood for the fire,

roasting his meat over it. He eats and is satisfied.

He warms himself and says,

"Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire."

¹⁷ With the rest of the wood he makes a god, his carved image;

he bows down to it and reverences it,

and prays to it saying, "Rescue me, for you are my god."

¹⁸ They do not know, nor do they understand,

for their eyes are blind and cannot see,

and their hearts cannot gain understanding.

¹⁹ No one's heart remembers, and no one has the knowledge,

no one has the understanding to say,

"I have burned part of the wood in the fire;

yes, I have also baked bread upon its coals.

I have roasted meat over its coals and eaten.

Now should I make the other part

of the wood into an abomination?

Should I bow down to a block of wood?"

²⁰ It is as if he were eating ashes; his deceived heart misleads him.

He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,

"This thing in my right hand is a false god."

²¹ Think about these things, Jacob,

and Israel, for you are my servant:

I have formed you; you are my servant:

Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

²² I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your rebellious deeds,

and like a cloud, your sins;

return to me,

for I have redeemed you.

²³ Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done this;

shout for joy, you depths of the earth.

Break out into a shout of joy, you mountains,

you forest with every tree in it;

for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob,

and will show his glory in Israel.

²⁴ This is what Yahweh says, your Redeemer,

he who formed you from the womb:

"I am Yahweh, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who alone fashioned the earth.

²⁵ I who frustrate the omens of the empty talkers

and who disgrace those who interpret omens;

I who overturn the wisdom of the wise

and make their advice foolish.

²⁶ I, Yahweh, who confirmed the words of his servant

and brings to pass the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,'

and of the towns of Judah,

'They will be built again, and I will raise up their ruins';

²⁷ who says to the deep sea,

'Be dry, and I will dry up your currents.'

²⁸ Yahweh is the one who says of Cyrus,

'He is my shepherd, he will do my every wish;

he will decree about Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,'

and about the temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'"

Chapter 45

¹ This is what Yahweh says to his anointed,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold,

in order to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings,

and to open the doors before him, so that gates remain open:

² "I will go before you

and level the mountains;

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut in pieces their iron bars,

³ and I will give you the treasures of darkness

and riches hidden away,

that you may know that it is I, Yahweh, who call you by your name,

I, the God of Israel.

⁴ For Jacob my servant's sake,

and Israel my chosen,

I have called you by your name,

giving you a title of honor,

though you have not known me.

⁵ I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

there is no God but me.

I will gird you,

though you have not known me;

⁶ that people may know

from the rising of the sun, and from the west,

that there is no god but me:

I am Yahweh, and there is no other.

⁷ I form the light and create darkness;

I bring peace and create disaster;

I am Yahweh, who does all these things.

⁸ You heavens, rain down from above!

Let the skies rain down righteousness.

Let the earth absorb it,

that salvation may bear fruit,

and righteousness spring up together with it.

I, Yahweh, have created them both.

⁹ Woe to anyone who argues with the one who formed him,

to him who is like any other earthen pot

among all the earthen pots in the ground!

Does the clay say to the potter,

'What are you making?'

or 'Your work has no handles on it'?

¹⁰ Woe to him who says to a father,

What are you fathering?'

or to a woman,

'What are you giving birth to?'

¹¹ This is what Yahweh says,

the Holy One of Israel, his Maker:

'Why do you ask questions about what I will do for my children?

Do you command me concerning the work of my hands?'

¹² 'I made the earth

and created man on it.

It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I commanded all the stars to appear.

¹³ I stirred Cyrus up in righteousness,

and I will smooth out all his paths.

He will build my city;

he will let my exiled people go home,

and not for price nor bribe,'"

says Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁴ This is what Yahweh says,

"The produce of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush

with the Sabeans, men of tall stature,

will be brought to you.

They will be yours.

They will follow after you,

coming in chains.

They will bow down to you

and plead with you saying,

'Surely God is with you,

and there is no other except him.'"

¹⁵ Truly you are a God who hides yourself,

God of Israel, Savior.

¹⁶ They will all be ashamed and disgraced together;

those who carve idols will walk in humiliation.

¹⁷ But Israel will be saved by Yahweh

with an everlasting salvation;

you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.

¹⁸ This is what Yahweh says,

who created the heavens,

the true God

who created the earth and made it,

who established it.

He created it, not as a waste,

but designed it to be inhabited:

"I am Yahweh,

and there is no other.

¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret,

in some dark land;

I did not say to Jacob's descendants,

'Seek me in vain!'

I am Yahweh, who speaks what is right;

I declare the things that are upright.

²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come!

Gather together, you refugees from among the nations!

They have no knowledge, those who carry carved images

and pray to gods that cannot save.

²¹ Come close and declare it to me, bring the evidence!

Let them conspire together.

Who has shown this from long ago?

Who announced it?

Was it not I, Yahweh?

There is no God except me,

a just God and a Savior;

there is no one besides me.

²² Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

²³ By myself I swear,

speaking my just decree,

and it will not turn back:

'To me every knee will bend,

every tongue will swear.

²⁴ They will say of me, "In Yahweh alone

are righteousness and strength."'"

They will all be ashamed

who are angry at him.

²⁵ In Yahweh all the descendants of Israel will be justified;

they will take pride in him.

Chapter 46

¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low.

Their idols weigh down the animals who carry them,

and you load your cattle with heavy burdens

for weary animals.

² Together they bend low, kneel down;

they cannot rescue the images,

and they themselves have gone off into captivity.

³ Listen to me, house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been carried by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb.

⁴ Even to your old age I am he,

and until your hair is gray I will carry you.

I made you and I will bear you;

I will carry you and I will rescue you.

⁵ To whom will you compare me? Who do you think I resemble,

so that we may be compared?

⁶ People pour out gold from the bag

and weigh silver on the scale.

They hire a metalsmith, and he makes it into a god;

they bow down and worship it.

⁷ They lift it on their shoulder and carry it;

they set it in its place, and it stands in its place

and does not move from it.

They cry out to it, but it cannot answer

nor save anyone from his trouble.

⁸ Think about these things;

never ignore them, you rebels!

⁹ Think about the earlier things, those of times past,

for I am God, and there is no other,

I am God, and there is no one like me.

¹⁰ I announce the end from the beginning,

and beforehand what has not yet happened;

I say, "My plan will happen,

and I will do as I desire."

¹¹ I call a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my choice from a distant land;

yes, I have spoken; I will also accomplish it;

I have purposed, I will also do it.

¹² Listen to me, you stubborn people,

who are far from doing what is right.

¹³ I am bringing my righteousness near;

it is not far away,

and my salvation does not wait;

and I will give salvation to Zion

and my beauty to Israel.

Chapter 47

¹ Come down and sit in the dust,

virgin daughter of Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

daughter of the Chaldeans.

You will no longer be called

dainty and delicate.

² Take the millstone and grind flour;

remove your veil,

strip off your flowing robe, uncover your legs,

cross the streams.

³ Your nakedness will be uncovered,

yes, your shame will be seen:

I will take vengeance

and will not spare a man.

⁴ Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name,

the Holy One of Israel.

⁵ Sit in silence and go into darkness,

daughter of the Chaldeans;

for you will no longer be called

queen of kingdoms.

⁶ I was angry with my people;

I defiled my heritage

and gave them over into your hand,

but you showed them no mercy;

you placed a very heavy yoke on the old people.

⁷ You said, "I will rule forever

as sovereign queen."

You did not take these things to heart,

nor did you consider how they would turn out.

⁸ So now hear this, you who love pleasure

and sit securely;

you who say in your heart,

"I exist, and there is no one else like me;

I will never sit as a widow,

nor will I ever experience loss of children."

⁹ But these two things will come to you

in a moment in one day:

the loss of children and widowhood;

in full force they will come on you,

despite your sorceries

and your many incantations and amulets.

¹⁰ You have trusted in your wickedness;

you have said, "No one sees me";

your wisdom and your knowledge lead you astray,

but you say in your heart,

"I exist, and there is no one else like me."

¹¹ Disaster will overcome you;

you will not be able to drive it away with your incantations.

Destruction will fall on you;

you will not be able to ward it off.

Calamity will strike you suddenly,

before you know it.

¹² Persist in casting your spells

and your many sorceries

which you have faithfully recited since your childhood;

perhaps you will profit from them,

perhaps you will cause trembling.

¹³ You are tired out from so much counsel;

let those men stand up and save you—

those who chart the heavens and prophesy by the stars,

those who declare the new moons—

let them save you from what will happen to you.

¹⁴ See, they will become like stubble.

The fire will burn them up.

They will not save themselves

from the hand of the flame.

There are no coals to warm them

and no fire for them to sit by!

¹⁵ This is what they have become to you—

those with whom you have worked,

and you have bought and sold with them since your youth—

they wandered about each one in his own direction;

there is no one who can rescue you."

Chapter 48

¹ Hear this, house of Jacob,

who are called by the name Israel

and have come from the waters of Judah;

you who swear by the name of Yahweh

and invoke the God of Israel,

but not sincerely nor in a righteous manner.

² For they call themselves people of the holy city

and trust in the God of Israel.

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

³ "I have declared the things from long ago;

they came out from my mouth, and I made them known;

then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

⁴ Because I knew that you were obstinate,

your neck muscles tight as iron,

and your forehead like bronze,

⁵ therefore I declared these things to you beforehand;

before they happened I informed you,

so you could not say,

'My idol has done them,'

or 'My carved figure and my cast metal figure has ordained these things.'

⁶ You heard about these things; look at all this evidence;

and you, will you not admit what I said is true?

From now on, I am showing you new things,

hidden things that you have not known.

⁷ Now, and not from previously, they come into being,

and before today you have not heard about them,

so you will not be able to say,

'Yes, I knew about them.'

⁸ You never heard; you did not know;

these things were not unfolded to your ears beforehand.

For I knew that you have been very deceitful,

and that you have been a rebel from birth.

⁹ For the sake of my name I will defer my anger,

and for my honor I will hold back from destroying you.

¹⁰ Look, I refined you, but not as silver;

I have purified you in the furnace of affliction.

¹¹ For my own sake, for my own sake I will act;

for how can I allow my name to be profaned?

I will not give my glory to anyone else.

¹² Listen to me, Jacob,

and Israel, whom I called:

I am he;

I am the first, I also am the last.

¹³ Yes, my hand laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand spread out the heavens;

when I call to them,

they stand up together.

¹⁴ Assemble yourselves, all of you, and listen!

Who among you has announced these things?

Yahweh's ally will accomplish his purpose against Babylon.

He will carry out Yahweh's will against the Chaldeans.

¹⁵ I, I have spoken,

yes, I have summoned him,

I have brought him,

and he will succeed.

¹⁶ Come near to me, listen to this:

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; when it happens, I am there."

Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me, and his Spirit.

¹⁷ This is what Yahweh,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says,

"I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you how to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

¹⁸ If only you had obeyed my commandments!

Then your peace and prosperity would have flowed like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

¹⁹ Your descendants would have been as numerous as the sand,

and the offspring from your womb as numerous as the grains of sand;

their name would not have been cut off

nor blotted out from before me.

²⁰ Come out from Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

With the sound of a ringing cry announce it!

Make this known,

make it go out to the ends of the earth!

Say, 'Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob.'

²¹ They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;

he made the water to flow out of the rock for them;

he split open the rock,

and the waters gushed out.

²² There is no peace for the wicked—says Yahweh."

Chapter 49

¹ Listen to me, you coastlands!

Now pay attention, you distant peoples.

Yahweh has called me from birth by name,

when my mother brought me into the world.

² He has made my mouth like a sharp sword;

he hid me in the shadow of his hand;

he has made me into a polished arrow;

in his quiver he has hidden me.

³ He said to me, "You are my servant,

Israel, through whom I show my glory."

⁴ But I replied, "Though I thought I have labored in vain,

I have spent my energy for nothing,

yet my justice is with Yahweh,

and my reward is with my God."

⁵ Now Yahweh has spoken—

he who formed me from birth to be his servant,

to restore Jacob again to himself,

so that Israel would be gathered to him,

for I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,

and my God has become my strength—

⁶ and he says, "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and to restore the survivors of Israel.

I will make you a light to the Gentiles,

that you may be my salvation to the ends of the earth."

⁷ This is what Yahweh says,

the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,

to the one whose life is despised, hated by the nations,

and a slave of rulers,

"Kings will see you and arise,

and princes will see you and bow down,

because of Yahweh who is faithful,

even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

⁸ This is what Yahweh says,

"At a time I decide to show my favor I will answer you,

and in a day of salvation I will help you;

I will protect you,

and give you as a covenant for the people,

to rebuild the land,

to reassign the desolate inheritance.

⁹ You will say to the prisoners, 'Come out;'

to those in dark dungeons, 'Show yourselves.'

They will graze along the roads,

and on all the bare slopes will be their pasture.

¹⁰ They will not be hungry or thirsty;

nor will the heat or sun beat on them,

for he who has mercy on them will lead them;

he will guide them to springs of water.

¹¹ Then I will make all my mountains into a road,

and make my highways level."

¹² Look, these will come from far away,

some from the north and the west;

and others from the land of Sinim.

¹³ Sing, heavens, and be joyful,

earth; break into joyful shouting, you mountains!

For Yahweh comforts his people,

and will have compassion on his afflicted.

¹⁴ But Zion said, "Yahweh has abandoned me,

and the Lord has forgotten me."

¹⁵ "Can a woman forget her baby, nursing at her breast,

so she does not have compassion on the son she has borne?

Yes, they may forget,

but I will not forget you.

¹⁶ Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms;

your walls are continually before me.

¹⁷ Your children are hurrying back,

while those who destroyed you and made you desolate are going away.

¹⁸ Look around and see,

they are all gathering and coming to you.

As surely as I live—this is Yahweh's declaration—

you will surely wear them like jewelry,

and you will put them on like a bride.

¹⁹ Though you were a waste and desolate,

a land that was in ruins,

now you will be too small for the inhabitants,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

²⁰ The children born during the time of your bereavement

will say in your hearing,

'The place is too cramped for us,

make room for us, so we may live here.'

²¹ Then you will say in your heart,

'Who has borne these children for me?

I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and divorced.

Who has raised these children?

Look, I was left all alone;

where did these come from?'"

²² This is what the Lord Yahweh says,

"Look, I will raise my hand to the nations;

I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their bosoms

and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

²³ Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursemaids;

they will bow down to you with their faces to the earth

and lick the dust of your feet;

and you will know that I am Yahweh;

those who wait for me will not be put to shame."

²⁴ Can the booty be taken from the warrior,

or captives be rescued from the ruthless? ¹

²⁵ But this is what Yahweh says,

"Yes, the captives will be taken away from the warrior,

and booty will be rescued from the ruthless;

for I will oppose your adversary

and save your children.

²⁶ I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh;

and they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine.

Then all mankind will know

that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Jacob."

¹Instead of from the ruthless , the copies of the ancient Hebrew text have from the righteous , but most modern translations correct it to from the ruthless .

Chapter 50

¹ This is what Yahweh says,

"Where is the certificate of divorce

with which I divorced your mother?

To which of my creditors did I sell you?

Look, you were sold because of your iniquities,

and because of your rebellion your mother was sent away.

² Why did I come but there was no one there?

Why did I call but no one answered?

Was my hand too short to ransom you?

Was there no power in me to rescue you?

Look, at my rebuke I dry up the sea;

I make the rivers a desert;

their fish die for lack of water and rot.

³ I clothe the sky with darkness;

I cover it with sackcloth."

⁴ The Lord Yahweh has given me a tongue as one of those who are taught,

so that I speak a sustaining word to the weary one;

he awakens my ear to hear like those who are taught.

⁵ The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

nor did I turn away backward.

⁶ I gave my back to those who beat me,

and my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from acts of shame and spitting.

⁷ For the Lord Yahweh will help me;

therefore I am not disgraced;

so I have made my face like flint,

for I know that I will not be put to shame.

⁸ He who will justify me is close by.

Who will oppose me?

Let us stand and confront one another.

Who is my accuser?

Let him come near to me.

⁹ See, the Lord Yahweh will help me.

Who will declare me guilty?

See, they will all wear out like a garment;

the moth will eat them up.

¹⁰ Who among you fears Yahweh?

Who obeys the voice of his servant?

Who walks in deep darkness

without light?

He should trust in the name of Yahweh

and lean on his God.

¹¹ Look, all you who light fires,

who equip yourselves with torches:

walk in the light of your fire

and in the flames that you have ignited.

This is what you have received from me:

You will lie down in a place of pain.

Chapter 51

¹ Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek Yahweh:

look at the rock from which you were chiseled

and to the quarry from which you were cut.

² Look at Abraham, your father,

and to Sarah, who bore you;

for when he was a lone individual,

I called him. I blessed him and made him many.

³ Yes, Yahweh will comfort Zion;

he will comfort all her waste places;

her wilderness he made like Eden,

and her desert plains beside the Jordan River valley like the garden of Yahweh;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.

⁴ "Be attentive to me, my people;

and listen to me, my people!

For a law will go out from me,

and I will make my justice to be a light for the nations.

⁵ My righteousness is near;

my salvation will go out,

and my arm will judge the nations;

the coastlands will wait for me;

for my arm they will eagerly wait.

⁶ Lift up your eyes to the sky,

and look at the earth beneath,

for the heavens will vanish away like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and its inhabitants will die like flies.

But my salvation will continue forever,

and my righteousness will never stop working.

⁷ Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who have my law in your heart:

Do not fear the scorn of men,

nor be dismayed by their abuse.

⁸ For the moth will eat them up like a garment,

and the worm will eat them like wool;

but my righteousness will be forever,

and my salvation to all generations."

⁹ Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength,

arm of Yahweh.

Awake as in the days of old,

the generations of ancient times.

Is it not you who crushed Rahab,

you who pierced the sea monster?

¹⁰ Did you not dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

and make the depths of the sea into a way

for the redeemed to pass through?

¹¹ The ransomed of Yahweh will return

and come to Zion with cries of joy

and with gladness forever on their heads;

and gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and mourning will flee away.

¹² "I, I, am he who comforts you.

Why are you afraid of men, who will die,

the sons of mankind, who are made like grass?

¹³ Why have you forgotten Yahweh your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth?

You are in constant dread every day

because of the hot fury of the oppressor

when he decides to destroy.

Where is the fury of the oppressor?

¹⁴ The one who is bent down, Yahweh will hurry to release;

he will not die and go down to the pit, nor will he lack bread.

¹⁵ For I am Yahweh your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

¹⁶ I have placed my words in your mouth,

and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand,

that I may plant the heavens,

lay the foundations of the earth,

and say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

¹⁷ Awake, awake,

stand up, Jerusalem,

you who have drunk out of the hand of Yahweh

from the bowl of his anger;

you who have drunk out of the bowl,

down to the dregs from the cup of staggering.

¹⁸ There is no one among all the sons she has born

to guide her;

there is no one among all the sons that she has raised

to take her by the hand.

¹⁹ These two troubles happened to you—

who will grieve with you?—

desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword.

Who will comfort you? ¹

²⁰ Your sons have fainted;

they lie at every street corner,

like an antelope in a net;

they are filled with the anger of Yahweh,

the rebuke of your God.

²¹ But now hear this, you oppressed one

and drunken one, but not drunk with wine:

²² Your Lord Yahweh, your God,

who pleads the cause of his people, says this,

"See, I have taken the cup of staggering from your hand—

the bowl, which is the cup of my anger—

so that you will not drink it again.

²³ I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

those who have said to you,

'Lie down, that we may walk over you';

you made your back like the ground

and like the street for them to walk on."

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text and some modern translations have How will I comfort you? , most modern translations correct this passage to Who will comfort you?

Chapter 52

¹ Awake, awake,

put on your strength, Zion;

put on your beautiful garments,

Jerusalem, holy city;

for never again will the uncircumcised

or the unclean enter you.

² Shake yourself off from the dust;

arise and sit, Jerusalem;

take off the chain from your neck,

captive, daughter of Zion.

³ For this is what Yahweh says,

"You were sold for nothing,

and you will be redeemed without money."

⁴ For this is what the Lord Yahweh says,

"In the beginning my people went down to live temporarily in Egypt;

and Assyria has oppressed them for no good reason.

⁵ Now what do I have here—this is Yahweh's declaration—

seeing that my people are taken away for nothing?

Those who rule over them mock—this is Yahweh's declaration—

and my name is blasphemed continually

all day long. ¹

⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;

they will know in that day that I am the one who says,

"Yes, it is I!"

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,

who announces peace,

who bears good tidings,

who announces salvation,

who says to Zion,

"Your God reigns!"

⁸ Listen, your watchmen raise their voices,

together they shout for joy,

for they will see, every eye of theirs,

Yahweh's return to Zion.

⁹ Break out into joyful singing together,

you ruins of Jerusalem;

for Yahweh has comforted his people;

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Yahweh has bared his holy arm

in the sight of all the nations;

all the earth will see

the salvation of our God.

¹¹ Leave, leave, go out from there;

touch nothing unclean;

leave from her midst; purify yourselves,

you who carry the vessels of Yahweh.

¹² For you will not go out in a rush,

nor will you leave in a panic;

for Yahweh will go before you;

and the God of Israel will be your rearguard.

¹³ Look, my servant will act wisely;

he will be high and lifted up, and he will be exalted.

¹⁴ As many were horrified at you—

his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man,

and his form no longer looked like anything human.

¹⁵ Even so, my servant will sprinkle many nations

and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

For that which they had not been told, they will see,

and that which they had not heard, they will understand.

¹Instead of the ULB mock , which follows the Dead Sea Scrolls and the ancient Latin translation of the Hebrew copies; some ancient Hebrew copies have wail .

Chapter 53

¹ Who has believed our message,

and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

² For he grew up before Yahweh like a sapling,

and like a sprout out of parched earth;

he had no remarkable appearance or splendor;

when we saw him, there was no beauty to attract us.

³ He was despised and rejected by people;

a man of sorrows, and one familiar with pain.

Like one from whom men hide their faces,

he was despised; and we considered him insignificant.

⁴ But surely he has borne our sicknesses

and carried our sorrows;

yet we thought he was being punished by God,

struck by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced because of our rebellious deeds;

he was crushed because of our iniquities.

The punishment for our peace was on him,

and with his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all like sheep have gone astray;

we have each turned to his own way,

and Yahweh has placed on him

the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed; yet when he humbled himself,

he did not open his mouth;

as a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By coercion and judgment he was taken away.

As for his generation, who thought that he was cut off from the land of the living,

or that he was punished

for the transgression of my people?

⁹ They placed his grave with the criminals,

with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

nor had there been any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was Yahweh's will to crush him and make him ill.

When he makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring, he will prolong his days,

and Yahweh's purpose will be accomplished through him.

¹¹ After the suffering of his life,

he will see light and be satisfied by his knowledge. ¹

My righteous servant will justify many;

he will bear their iniquities. ²

¹² Therefore will I give him his portion among the multitudes,

and he will divide the plunder with the many,

because he exposed himself to death

and was numbered with the transgressors.

He bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.

¹Instead of After the suffering of his life , some modern translations have From the suffering of his life he will see the result .

²Many modern translations supply light . Some modern translations have By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many .

Chapter 54

¹ "Sing, you barren woman,

you who have not given birth;

break into joyful singing and cry aloud,

you who have never been in birth labor.

For the children of the desolate one

are more than the children of the married woman,"

says Yahweh.

² "Make your tent larger

and spread your tent curtains farther out,

unsparingly;

lengthen your ropes

and strengthen your stakes.

³ For you will spread out to the right hand and to the left,

and your descendants will conquer nations

and resettle desolate cities.

⁴ Do not fear for you will not be ashamed,

nor be discouraged for you will not be disgraced;

you will forget the shame of your youth

and you will remember no more the disgrace of your widowhood.

⁵ For your Maker is your husband;

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

he is called the God of the whole earth.

⁶ For Yahweh has called you back

as a wife abandoned and grieved in spirit,

like a woman married young and rejected,"

says your God.

⁷ "For a short time I abandoned you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

⁸ In a flood of anger

I hid my face from you for a moment;

but with everlasting covenant faithfulness

I will have mercy on you—

says Yahweh, the one who rescues you.

⁹ For this is like the waters of Noah to me:

as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again pass over the earth,

so have I sworn

that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.

¹⁰ Though the mountains may fall

and the hills be shaken,

yet my steadfast love will not turn away from you,

nor will my covenant of peace be shaken—

says Yahweh, who has mercy on you.

¹¹ Afflicted one, storm-driven and uncomforted one,

look, I will set your pavement in turquoise,

and lay your foundations with sapphires.

¹² I will make your pinnacles of rubies

and your gates of sparkling stones,

and your outer wall of beautiful stones.

¹³ Then all your children will be taught by Yahweh;

and the peace of your children will be great.

¹⁴ In righteousness you will be established,

and you will be far from oppression,

for you will not fear;

and you will be far from terror,

for it will not come near to you.

¹⁵ Look, if anyone stirs up trouble, it will not be from me;

anyone who stirs up trouble with you will fall in defeat.

¹⁶ See, I have created the craftsman,

who blows the burning coals

and forges weapons as his work,

and I have created the destroyer to destroy.

¹⁷ No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;

and you will condemn everyone who accuses you.

This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh,

and their vindication from me—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 55

¹ "Hey! Everyone who is thirsty,

come to the water,

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

² Why do you weigh out silver for what is not bread,

and why do you labor for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in fatness.

³ Turn your ears and come to me!

Listen, that you may live!

I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

my reliable, faithful love that I promised to David.

⁴ Look, I have placed him as a witness to the nations,

as a leader and commander to the peoples.

⁵ Look, you will call to a nation that you did not know;

and a nation that did not know you will run to you

because of Yahweh your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

who has glorified you."

⁶ Seek Yahweh while he may be found;

call on him while he is nearby.

⁷ Let the wicked leave his path,

and the man of sin his thoughts.

Let him return to Yahweh, and he will pity him,

and to our God, who will abundantly forgive him.

⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

⁹ for as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ For as the rain and snow

come down from heaven

and do not return there

unless they saturate the earth

and make it produce and sprout

and give seed to the farmer who sows and bread to the eater,

¹¹ so also my word will be that goes from my mouth—

it will not return to me empty,

but it will achieve the purpose

for which I sent it.

¹² For you will go out in joy

and be led along peacefully;

the mountains and the hills

will break out in joyful shouts before you,

and all the trees of the fields

will clap their hands.

¹³ Instead of the thornbushes, the cypress will grow;

and instead of the brier, the myrtle tree will grow,

and it will be for Yahweh, for his name,

as an everlasting sign

that will not be cut off."

Chapter 56

¹ This is what Yahweh says,

"Observe what is right, do what is just;

for my salvation is near,

and my righteousness is about to be revealed.

² Blessed is the man that does this,

and who holds it tightly.

He observes the Sabbath, not defiling it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil."

³ Let no foreigner who has become a follower of Yahweh say,

"Yahweh will certainly exclude me from his people."

The eunuch should not say,

"See, I am a dry tree."

⁴ For this is what Yahweh says,

"To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me,

and hold fast my covenant,

⁵ to them I will set up in my house and within my walls

a monument

that is better than having sons and of daughters.

I will give them an everlasting monument

that will never be cut off.

⁶ Also foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh—

to serve him,

and who love the name of Yahweh,

to be his servants,

every one who observes the Sabbath and who keeps from defiling it,

and who holds fast my covenant—

⁷ I will bring to my holy mountain

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar.

For my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations,

⁸ this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh,

who gathers the outcasts of Israel—

I will still gather others

in addition to them."

⁹ All you wild beasts of the field,

come and devour, all you beasts in the forest!

¹⁰ All their watchmen are blind,

they do not understand.

They are all silent dogs

who cannot bark.

They dream,

and lying down they love to sleep.

¹¹ The dogs have big appetites;

they can never get enough;

they are shepherds without discernment;

they have all turned to their own way,

each one covetous for unjust gain.

¹² "Come," they say, "let us get wine

and drink much strong drink.

Tomorrow will be like today,

a day great beyond measure."

Chapter 57

¹ The righteous perish,

but no one considers it,

and the people of covenant faithfulness are gathered away,

but no one understands

that the righteous is gathered

away from the evil.

² He enters into peace;

they rest in their beds,

those who walk in their uprightness.

³ But come here, you sons of the sorceress,

children of the adulterer and the woman who has prostituted herself.

⁴ Whom are you merrily mocking?

Against whom are you opening the mouth

and sticking out the tongue?

Are you not children of rebellion,

children of deceit?

⁵ You heat yourselves up sleeping together under the oaks,

under every green tree,

you who kill your children in the dry riverbeds,

under the rocky overhangs.

⁶ Among the smooth things of the river valley are the things that have been assigned to you.

They are the object of your devotion.

You pour out your drink offering to them

and raise up a grain offering.

Concerning these things should I repent?

⁷ You prepared your bed on a high mountain;

you also went up there to offer sacrifices.

⁸ Behind the door and the doorposts

you set up your symbols;

you deserted me, made yourselves naked, and went up;

you made your bed wide.

You made a covenant with them; you loved their beds;

you saw their private parts.

⁹ You went to Molech with oil

and increased your perfumes. ¹

You send your ambassadors far away;

you went down to Sheol.

¹⁰ You were tired from your long journey,

but you never said, "It is hopeless."

You found life in your hand;

therefore you did not weaken.

¹¹ "Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear?

Is that the reason that you have acted deceitfully,

so that you do not remember me

or think about me?

Is it because I was silent for so long

that you are no longer afraid of me?"

¹² I will proclaim all your righteous acts and tell all that you have done,

but they will not help you.

¹³ When you cry out,

let your collection of idols rescue you.

The wind will carry them all away,

a breath will carry them all away.

But he who takes refuge in me

will inherit the land

and will possess my holy mountain.

¹⁴ He will say,

'Build, build! Clear a way!

Remove all the stumbling blocks from the path of my people!'"

¹⁵ For this is what the high and elevated One says,

who lives eternally, whose name is holy,

"I live in the exalted and holy place,

with him also that is of a crushed and humble spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble ones,

and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

¹⁶ For I will not accuse forever,

nor will I be angry forever,

for then man's spirit would faint before me,

the lives that I have made.

¹⁷ Because of the sin of his violent gain,

I was angry, and I punished him; I hid my face and was angry,

but he went backward in the way of his heart.

¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him.

I will lead him and comfort and console those who mourn for him,

¹⁹ and I create the fruit of the lips.

Peace, peace, to those who are far off and to those who are near—

says Yahweh—I will heal them.

²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

which cannot rest,

and its waters churn up mire and mud.

²¹ There is no peace for the wicked one—says God."

¹Instead of to Molech , some scholars emend the Hebrew to read to the king .

Chapter 58

¹ "Cry loudly; do not hold back.

Lift up your voice like a ram's horn.

Confront my people with their rebellion,

and the house of Jacob with their sins.

² Yet they seek me daily

and delight in the knowledge of my ways,

like a nation that practiced righteousness

and did not abandon the law of their God.

They ask me for righteous judgments;

they take pleasure in the thought of God coming near.

³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say,

'but you do not see it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

but you do not notice?'

Look, on the day of your fast you find your own pleasure

and oppress all your laborers.

⁴ Look, you fast in quarreling and strife,

and to hit with your fist of wickedness;

you do not fast today

to make your voice heard above.

⁵ Is this really the kind of fast that I would want:

A day for anybody to humble himself,

for him to bow down his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself?

Do you really call this a fast,

a day that pleases Yahweh?

⁶ Is not this the fast that I choose:

To release wicked bonds,

to undo the ropes of the yoke,

to set the crushed ones free,

and to break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to break your bread with the hungry,

to bring the poor and homeless into your house,

to cloth the naked when you see them,

and not to hide yourself from your own relatives?

⁸ Then your light would be broken open like the sunrise,

and your healing would quickly sprout up;

your righteousness would go before you,

and the glory of Yahweh would be your rearguard.

⁹ Then you would call, and Yahweh would answer;

you would cry out for help, and he would say, 'Here I am.'

If you take away from among yourselves the yoke,

the accusing finger, and the speech of wickedness,

¹⁰ if you yourselves provide for the hungry

and satisfy the need of the distressed;

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your darkness will be like the noonday.

¹¹ Then Yahweh will lead you continually

and satisfy you in regions where there is no water,

and he will strengthen your bones.

You will be like a watered garden,

and like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

¹² Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;

you will raise up the ruins of many generations;

you will be called 'The repairer of the wall,'

'The restorer of streets to live on.'

¹³ Suppose that you turn back your feet from traveling on the Sabbath day,

and from doing your own pleasure on my holy day.

Suppose that you call the Sabbath a delight,

and that you call the matters of Yahweh holy and honored.

Suppose that you honor the Sabbath by leaving your own business,

and by not finding your own pleasure and by not speaking your own words.

¹⁴ Then you will find delight in Yahweh;

and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

I will feed you from the inheritance of Jacob your father—

for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."

Chapter 59

¹ Look, Yahweh's hand is not so short that it cannot save;

nor his ear so dull, that it cannot hear.

² Your iniquities, however,

have separated you from your God,

and your sins have made him hide his face from you

and from hearing you.

³ For your hands are stained with blood

and your fingers with iniquity.

Your lips speak lies

and your tongue speaks maliciously.

⁴ No one calls in righteousness,

and none pleads his case in truth.

They trust in empty words, and tell lies;

they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.

⁵ They hatch eggs of an adder

and weave a spider's web.

Whoever eats of their eggs dies,

and if an egg is crushed, it hatches into a viper.

⁶ Their webs cannot be used for garments,

nor can they cover themselves with their works.

Their works are works of sin,

and deeds of violence are in their hands.

⁷ Their feet run to evil,

and they run to pour out innocent blood.

Their thoughts are thoughts of sin;

violence and destruction are their roads.

⁸ The way of peace they do not know,

and there is no justice in their paths.

They have made crooked paths;

whoever travels these paths does not know peace.

⁹ Therefore justice is far from us,

nor does righteousness reach us.

We wait for light, but see darkness;

we look for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind,

like those who cannot see.

We stumble at noonday as in the twilight;

among the strong we are like dead men.

¹¹ We growl like bears

and moan like doves;

we wait for justice, but there is none;

for rescue, but it is far from us.

¹² For our many transgressions are before you,

and our sins testify against us;

for our transgressions are with us,

and we know our iniquities.

¹³ We have rebelled, denying Yahweh

and turning away from following our God.

We have spoken extortion and turning aside,

conceived complaining from the heart and words of lying.

¹⁴ Justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands far off;

for truth stumbles in the public square,

and uprightness cannot come near.

¹⁵ Trustworthiness has gone away,

and he who turns away from evil makes himself prey.

Yahweh saw it and was displeased

that there was no justice.

¹⁶ He saw that there was no man,

and was appalled that there was no one to intervene.

Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him,

and his righteousness sustained him.

¹⁷ He put on righteousness as a breastplate

and a helmet of salvation upon his head.

He clothed himself with garments of vengeance

and wore zeal as a mantle.

¹⁸ He repaid them for their deeds,

wrath on his adversaries,

recompense to his enemies;

he repaid recompense to the islands.

¹⁹ So they will fear the name of Yahweh from the west,

and his glory from the sun's rising;

for he will come as a rushing stream,

driven by the breath of Yahweh.

²⁰ "A redeemer will come to Zion

and to those who turn from their rebellious deeds in Jacob—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

²¹ As for me, this is my covenant with them—says Yahweh—my spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or go out of the mouth of your children, or go out of the mouths of your descendants—says Yahweh—from this time and forever."

Chapter 60

¹ Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of Yahweh has risen on you.

² Though darkness will cover the earth,

and thick darkness the nations;

yet Yahweh will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen on you.

³ Nations will come to your light,

and kings to your bright light that is rising.

⁴ Look all around and see.

They all gather themselves together and come to you.

Your sons will come from far,

and your daughters will be carried in their arms.

⁵ Then you will look and be radiant,

and your heart will rejoice and overflow,

because the abundance of the sea will be poured out to you,

the wealth of the nations will come to you.

⁶ Camel caravans will cover you,

the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;

all of them will come from Sheba;

they will bring gold and frankincense,

and will bring the good news of the praises of Yahweh.

⁷ All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you,

the rams of Nebaioth will serve your needs;

they will be acceptable offerings on my altar;

and I will glorify my glorious house.

⁸ Who are these who fly along like a cloud,

and like the doves to their shelters?

⁹ The coastlands look for me,

and the ships of Tarshish lead,

to bring your sons from far,

their silver and their gold with them,

for the name of Yahweh your God,

and for the Holy One of Israel,

because he has honored you.

¹⁰ Sons of foreigners will rebuild your walls,

and their kings will serve you;

though in my wrath I punished you,

yet in my favor I will have compassion on you.

¹¹ Your gates also will remain open continually;

they will not be shut day or night,

so that the wealth of the nations may be brought,

with their kings being led.

¹² Indeed, nations and kingdoms that will not serve you will perish;

those nations will be completely ruined.

¹³ The glory of Lebanon will come to you,

the cypress tree, the fir, and the cypress box tree together,

to beautify my sanctuary;

and I will glorify the place of my feet.

¹⁴ They will come to you to bow down, the sons of those who humbled you;

those who showed contempt for you will bow at the soles of your feet;

they will call you The City of Yahweh,

Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵ Instead of you remaining abandoned and hated,

with no one passing through you,

I will make you a thing of pride forever,

a joy from generation to generation.

¹⁶ You will also drink the milk of the nations,

and will nurse at the breast of kings;

you will know that I, Yahweh, 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 appoint peace as your governors,

and justice your rulers.

¹⁸ Violence will no longer be heard in your land,

neither devastation nor crushing within your borders;

but you will call your walls Salvation,

and your gates Praise.

¹⁹ The sun will no longer be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you;

but Yahweh will be your everlasting light,

and your God your glory.

²⁰ Your sun will no longer set,

nor will your moon withdraw and disappear;

for Yahweh will be your everlasting light,

and the days of your mourning will be ended.

²¹ All your people will be righteous;

they will take possession of the land for all time,

the branch of my planting,

the work of my hands,

that I may be glorified.

²² The least of you will become a thousand,

and the smallest one a mighty nation;

I, Yahweh, will swiftly accomplish these things

when the time comes.

Chapter 61

¹ The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me,

because Yahweh has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the afflicted.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.

² He has sent me to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor,

the day of vengeance of our God,

and to comfort all who mourn.

³ He has sent me—to give to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a turban instead of ashes,

oil of joy

instead of mourning,

a mantle of praise

in place of a spirit of dullness,

to call them oaks of righteousness,

the planting of Yahweh,

that he may be glorified.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins;

they will restore the former desolations.

They will restore the ruined cities,

the desolations from many former generations.

⁵ Foreigners will stand and feed your flocks,

and sons of foreigners will be your farmers and vineyard workers.

⁶ You will be called the priests of Yahweh;

they will call you servants of our God.

You will eat the wealth of the nations,

and you will boast in their riches.

⁷ Instead of your shame

you will have double;

and instead of dishonor

they will rejoice over their share.

So they will have a double share of their land;

everlasting joy will be theirs.

⁸ For I, Yahweh, love justice,

and I hate robbery and violent injustice.

I will faithfully repay them,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹ Their descendants will be known among the nations,

and their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will acknowledge them,

that they are the people whom Yahweh has blessed.

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh;

in my God I will be very glad.

For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;

he has clothed me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns himself with a turban,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹ For as the earth produces its sprouting plants,

and as the garden makes its planting grow,

so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness

and praise to sprout up in front of all the nations.

Chapter 62

¹ For Zion's sake I will not be silent,

and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,

until her righteousness proceeds brightly,

and her salvation as a burning torch.

² The nations will see your righteousness,

and all kings your glory.

You will be called by a new name

that Yahweh will choose.

³ You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Yahweh,

and a turban of kingship in the hand of your God.

⁴ It will no more be said of you, "Abandoned";

nor of your land any longer will it be said, "Desolate."

Indeed, you will be called "My delight is in her,"

and your land "Married,"

for Yahweh delights in you,

and your land will be married.

⁵ Truly, as a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons will marry you,

and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,

your God will rejoice over you.

⁶ I have put watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;

they are not silent day or night.

You who keep reminding Yahweh,

do not pause.

⁷ Do not allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem

and makes it a praise on earth.

⁸ Yahweh has sworn by his right hand

and by the arm of his strength,

"Surely I will no longer give your grain

as food for your enemies.

Foreigners will not drink your new wine,

for which you have worked.

⁹ For those who harvest the grain will eat it

and praise Yahweh,

and those who gather the grapes will drink the wine

in the courts of my holy sanctuary."

¹⁰ Come through, come through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people!

Build it, build the highway!

Gather out the stones!

Raise up a signal flag for the nations!

¹¹ Look, Yahweh announces

to the ends of the earth,

"Say to the daughter of Zion:

Look, your salvation is coming!

See, his reward is with him,

and his recompense is going before him."

¹² They will call you, "The holy people;

the redeemed of Yahweh,"

and you will be called "Sought after;

a city not abandoned."

Chapter 63

¹ Who is this who comes from Edom,

wearing red garments, from Bozrah?

Who is this, splendid in his clothing,

marching in the greatness of his strength?

"It is I, speaking in righteousness,

and mighty to save."

² Why are your clothes red,

and why do your garments look like you have been treading grapes in a winepress?

³ "I have trodden grapes in the winepress alone,

and no one from the nations joined me.

I trod them in my anger

and trampled them in my fury.

Their blood is spattered on my clothes

and stained all my clothes.

⁴ For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and the year for my redemption had arrived.

⁵ I looked, and there was no one to help.

I was appalled that there was none to help,

but my own arm brought victory for me,

and my strong anger drove me on.

⁶ I trampled down the peoples in my anger

and made them drunk in my wrath,

and I poured out their blood on the earth."

⁷ I will tell of the acts of Yahweh's covenant faithfulness,

the praises of Yahweh.

I will tell of all that Yahweh has done for us,

and of his great goodness to the house of Israel.

This compassion he has shown us because of his mercy,

and with many deeds of covenant faithfulness.

⁸ For he said, "For certain they are my people,

children who are not disloyal."

He became their Savior.

⁹ Through all their suffering, he suffered too,

and the angel from his presence saved them.

In his love and mercy he saved them,

and he lifted them up and carried them

through all the ancient times.

¹⁰ But they rebelled

and grieved his holy Spirit.

So he became their enemy

and fought against them.

¹¹ His people thought about the ancient times of Moses.

They said, "Where is God, who brought them up out of the sea

with the shepherds of his flock?

Where is God,

who put his holy Spirit among them?

¹² Where is God,

who made his glorious power go with the right hand of Moses,

and divided the water before them,

to make an everlasting name for himself?

¹³ Where is God, who led them through the deep water?

Like a horse running in the wilderness,

they did not stumble.

¹⁴ As the cattle that go down into the valley,

the Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest.

So you led your people,

to make yourself a glorious name.

¹⁵ Look down from heaven and take notice

from your holy and glorious habitation.

Where are your zeal and your mighty acts?

Your pity and your compassionate actions are kept from us.

¹⁶ For you are our Father,

though Abraham does not know us,

and Israel does not recognize us,

you, Yahweh, are our Father.

'Our Redeemer' has been your name from ancient times.

¹⁷ Yahweh, why do you make us wander from your ways

and harden our hearts so we do not fear you?

Return for your servants' sake,

the tribes of your inheritance.

¹⁸ Your holy people possessed your sanctuary for a short time,

but then our enemies trampled it.

¹⁹ We have become like those over whom you never ruled,

like those who were never called by your name."

Chapter 64

¹ "Oh, if you had split open the heavens and come down!

The mountains would have shaken at your presence,

² as when fire kindles the brushwood,

or the fire makes water boil.

Oh, that your name would be known by your adversaries,

that the nations would tremble at your presence!

³ Previously, when you did awesome things that we had not expected,

you came down, and the mountains trembled at your presence.

⁴ Since ancient times no one has heard or listened,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who takes action for the one who waits for him.

⁵ You come to help those who rejoice in doing what is right,

those who remember you in your ways.

You became angry with us because we sinned for a long time.

How will we be saved?

⁶ For we have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.

We have all withered like leaves;

our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.

⁷ There are none who calls on your name,

who makes an effort to take hold of you.

For you have hidden your face from us

and made us waste away in the hand of our iniquities.

⁸ Yet, Yahweh, you are our Father;

we are the clay. You are our potter;

and we all are the work of your hand.

⁹ Be not too angry, Yahweh,

nor remember our iniquity against us forever.

Please look at us all,

your people.

¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

¹¹ Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised you,

has been destroyed by fire, and all that was so dear is in ruins.

¹² How can you still hold back, Yahweh?

How can you remain silent and continue to humiliate us?"

Chapter 65

¹ "I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek.

I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!'

to a nation that did not call on my name.

² I have spread out my hands all day

to a stubborn people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

who have walked after their own thoughts and plans!

³ They are a people who continually provoke me,

offering sacrifices in gardens,

and burning incense on brick tiles.

⁴ They sit among the graves

and keep watch all night,

and eat pork with the broth of foul meat in their dishes.

⁵ They say, 'Stand away, do not come near to me,

for I am holier than you.'

These things are smoke in my nose,

a fire that burns all day long.

⁶ Look, it is written before me:

I will not keep quiet, for I will pay them back;

I will repay them into their laps,

⁷ for their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,"

says Yahweh.

"I will repay them for burning incense on the mountains

and for mocking me on the hills.

I will therefore measure out their past deeds

into their laps."

⁸ This is what Yahweh says,

"As when new wine is found in a cluster of grapes,

when one says, 'Do not ruin it,

for there is good in it,'

this is what I will do for my servants' sake:

I will not ruin them all.

⁹ I will bring descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah ones who will possess my mountains.

My chosen ones will possess the land,

and my servants will live there.

¹⁰ Sharon will become a pasture for the flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for my people who seek me.

¹¹ But you who abandon Yahweh,

who forget my holy mountain,

who prepare a table for Fortune,

and fill wine glasses of mixed wine for Destiny.

¹² I will appoint you for the sword,

and you will all bow down to the slaughter,

because when I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not listen.

But you did what was evil in my sight

and chose to do what displeases me."

¹³ This is what the Lord Yahweh says,

"Look, my servants will eat,

but you will be hungry;

look, my servants will drink,

but you will be thirsty;

look, my servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

¹⁴ Look, my servants will shout with joy

because of gladness of heart,

but you will cry because of the pain of the heart,

and will wail because of the crushing of the spirit.

¹⁵ You will leave behind your name

as a curse for my chosen ones to speak;

I, the Lord Yahweh, will kill you;

I will call my servants by another name.

¹⁶ Whoever pronounces a blessing on the earth

will be blessed by me, the God of truth.

Whoever takes an oath on the earth

will swear by me, the God of truth,

because the former troubles will be forgotten,

for they will be hidden from my eyes.

¹⁷ For see, I am about to create

new heavens and a new earth;

and the former things will not be remembered

or be brought to mind.

¹⁸ But you will be glad and rejoice forever

in what I am about to create.

See, I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,

and her people as a source of gladness.

¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem

and be glad over my people;

the sounds of weeping and cries of distress

will no longer be heard in her.

²⁰ Never again will an infant live there

only a few days;

nor will an old man die before his time.

One who dies at one hundred years old

will be considered a young person.

Anyone who fails to reach the age of one hundred years old

will be considered cursed.

²¹ They will build houses and inhabit them,

and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²² No longer will they build a house and another live in it;

they will not plant, and another eat;

for as the days of trees

will be the days of my people.

My chosen will fully outlive

the work of their hands.

²³ They will not labor in vain,

nor give birth to dismay.

For they are the children of those blessed by Yahweh,

and their descendants with them.

²⁴ Before they call, I will answer;

and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will graze together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox;

but dust will be the serpent's food.

They will no longer do evil or harm

on all my holy mountain,"

says Yahweh.

Chapter 66

¹ This is what Yahweh says,

"Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I may rest?

² My hand has made all these things;

that is how these things came to be—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

This is the man of whom I approve,

the broken and contrite in spirit,

and who trembles at my word.

³ He who slaughters an ox

also murders a man;

he who sacrifices a lamb

also breaks a dog's neck;

he who offers a grain offering

offers swine's blood;

he who offers a memorial of incense

also blesses wickedness.

They have chosen their own ways,

and they take pleasure in their abominations.

⁴ In the same way I will choose their own punishment;

I will bring on them what they fear,

because when I called, no one answered;

when I spoke, no one listened.

They did what was evil in my sight,

and chose to do what displeases me."

⁵ Hear the word of Yahweh,

you who tremble at his word,

"Your brothers who hate

and exclude you for my name's sake have said,

'May Yahweh be glorified,

then we will see your joy,'

but they will be put to shame.

⁶ A sound of battle tumult comes from the city,

a sound from the temple,

the sound of Yahweh

giving recompense to his enemies.

⁷ Before she goes into labor,

she gives birth;

before pain is upon her,

she gave birth to a son.

⁸ Who has heard of such a thing?

Who has seen such things?

Will a land be born in one day?

Can a nation be established in one moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor,

she gives birth to her children.

⁹ Do I bring a baby to the birth opening

and not permit the child to be born?—asks Yahweh.

Or do I bring a child to moment of delivery

and then hold it back?—asks your God."

¹⁰ Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,

all you who love her;

rejoice with her,

all you who mourned over her!

¹¹ For you will nurse and be satisfied;

with her breasts you will be comforted;

for you will drink them to the full

and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

¹² This is what Yahweh says,

"I am about to spread prosperity over her like a river,

and the riches of the nations like an overflowing stream.

You will nurse at her side, be carried in her arms,

and be dandled on her knees.

¹³ As a mother comforts her child,

so I will comfort you,

and you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

¹⁴ You will see this, and your heart will rejoice,

and your bones will sprout like the tender grass.

The hand of Yahweh will be made known to his servants,

but he will show his anger against his enemies.

¹⁵ For look, Yahweh is coming with fire,

and his chariots are coming like the windstorm

to bring the heat of his anger

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶ For Yahweh executes judgment on mankind

by fire and with his sword.

Those killed by Yahweh will be many.

¹⁷ They consecrate themselves and make themselves pure, so they may enter the gardens, following the one in the middle of those who eat the flesh of pig and abominable things like mice. ¹ "They will come to an end—this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁸ For I know their deeds and their thoughts. The time is coming when I will gather all nations and languages. They will come and will see my glory. ² ¹⁹ I will set a sign among them. Then I will send survivors from them to the nations: To Tarshish, the Libyans and Lydians, ³ who draw the bow, to Tubal, Greece, ⁴ and to the distant coastlands that have not heard reports about me nor seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.

²⁰ They will bring back all your brothers out of all the nations, as an offering to Yahweh. They will come on horses, and in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem—says Yahweh. For the people of Israel will bring a grain offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh. ²¹ Some of these I will even choose as priests and Levites—says Yahweh.

²² For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I will make will remain before me—this is Yahweh's declaration—so your descendants will remain, and your name will remain. ²³ From one month to the next, and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to bow down to me—says Yahweh.

²⁴ They will go out and see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me, for the worms that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not be quenched; and it will be an abhorrence to all flesh."

¹Modern translations provide various interpretations for this difficult verse.

²Modern translations provide various interpretations for this difficult verse.

³Some modern English translations read, Tarshish, Put, and Lud .

⁴Some modern English translations read, Javan .

Jeremiah

Chapter 1

¹ These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. ² The word of Yahweh came to him in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³ It also came in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem were taken away as prisoners.

⁴ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb, I chose you;

before you came out from the womb I set you apart;

I made you a prophet to the nations."

⁶ "Ah, Lord Yahweh!" I said, "I do not know how to speak, for I am too young."

⁷ But Yahweh said to me, "Do not say, 'I am too young.' You must go everywhere I send you, and you must say whatever I command you! ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to rescue you—this is Yahweh's declaration."

⁹ Then Yahweh reached out with his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, "Now, I have placed my word in your mouth. ¹⁰ I am appointing you today over nations and over kingdoms, to uproot and break down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant."

¹¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"

I said, "I see an almond branch."

¹² Yahweh said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to carry it out."

¹³ The word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying, "What do you see?"

I said, "I see a heated pot, whose surface is churning, tipping away from the north."

¹⁴ Yahweh said to me, "Disaster will be opened up out of the north on all who live in this land.

¹⁵ For I am calling all the tribes of the northern kingdoms—this is Yahweh's declaration.

They will come, and everyone will set his throne

at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,

against all the walls that surround it,

and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶ I will pronounce sentence against them

for all their evil in abandoning me,

in burning incense to other gods,

and in worshiping the works of their own hands.

¹⁷ Gird up your loins! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be shattered before them, or I will shatter you before them! ¹⁸ Behold! Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you, but they will not defeat you, for I will be with you to rescue you—this is Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 2

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem. Say, 'Yahweh says this:

I have called to mind on your behalf

the covenant faithfulness of your youth,

your love at the time when we were engaged,

when you went after me in the wilderness,

the land that was not sown.

³ Israel was set apart to Yahweh,

the firstfruits of his harvest!

All who ate from the firstfruits were held guilty;

disaster came upon them—

this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

⁴ Hear the word of Yahweh, house of Jacob,

all you clans of the house of Israel.

⁵ Yahweh says this,

"What did your fathers find wrong with me,

that they went far from following me?

That they went after useless idols

and became useless themselves?

⁶ They did not say,

'Where is Yahweh,

who brought us up from the land of Egypt?

Where is Yahweh,

who led us to the wilderness,

into the land of the Arabah and pits,

in a land of drought and utter darkness,

a land through which no one passes and where no one lives?'

⁷ But I brought you to the land of Carmel,

to eat its fruit and other good things!

Yet when you came,

you defiled my land,

you made my inheritance an abomination!

⁸ The priest did not say

'Where is Yahweh?'

and the experts in the law did not care about me!

The shepherds transgressed against me.

The prophets prophesied for Baal

and walked after unprofitable things.

⁹ So I will still accuse you—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

and I will accuse your sons' sons.

¹⁰ For cross over to the coasts of Cyprus ¹ and look.

Send messengers out to Kedar and find out

and see if there has ever before been anything like this.

¹¹ Has a nation exchanged gods,

even though they were not gods?

But my people have exchanged their glory

for what cannot help them. ²

¹² Shudder, heavens, because of this

Be shocked and very desolate—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹³ For my people have committed two evils against me:

They have abandoned the springs of living waters,

and they have dug out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

¹⁴ Is Israel a slave?

Was he born in his master's home?

So why has he become plunder?

¹⁵ Young lions roared against him.

They made a lot of noise

and made his land a horror.

His cities are destroyed

without any inhabitants.

¹⁶ Also, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

will shave your skull.

¹⁷ Did you not do this to yourselves

when you abandoned Yahweh your God,

while he was leading you along the way?

¹⁸ So now, why take the road to Egypt

and drink the waters of Shihor?

Why take the road to Assyria

and drink the waters of the Euphrates River?

¹⁹ Your wickedness rebukes you,

and your acts of apostasy punish you.

So think about it and understand

that it is wicked and bitter

when you abandon Yahweh your God,

and have no fear of me—

this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

²⁰ For in ancient days I broke your yoke;

I tore your fetters off you.

Still you said,

'I will not serve!'

On every high hill and beneath every leafy tree

you lay down as a prostitute.

²¹ I planted you as a choice vine,

completely from pure seed.

How then have you have changed yourself

into a corrupt, worthless vine?

²² For even if you clean yourself in the river

or wash with strong soap,

your iniquity is a stain before me—

this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh.

²³ How can you say,

'I am not defiled!

I have not walked after the Baals'?

Look at what you did in the valleys!

Consider what you have done—

you are a swift female camel

running here and there,

²⁴ a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

in her heat sniffing the wind!

Who can restrain her lust?

None of the males need wear themselves out pursuing her;

in her month they will find her.

²⁵ You must restrain your feet from becoming bare

and your throat from being thirsty!

But you have said, 'It is hopeless!

No, I love strangers and go after them!'

²⁶ Like the shame of a thief when he is found,

so the house of Israel will be ashamed—

they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and prophets!

²⁷ These are the ones who say to the tree,

'You are my father,'

and to the stone, 'You gave birth to me.'

For their back faces me and not their faces.

Nevertheless, they say in the time of troubles,

'Arise and save us!'

²⁸ Yet where are the gods that you made for yourselves?

Let them arise if they wish to save you in your time of troubles,

for your idols equal your cities in number, Judah!

²⁹ So why do you accuse me of doing wrong?

All of you have sinned against me—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

³⁰ I have punished your people in vain.

They would not accept discipline.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

like a destructive lion!

³¹ You who belong to this generation! Pay attention to my word, the word of Yahweh!

Have I been a wilderness to Israel?

Or a land of deep darkness?

Why would my people say,

'Let us wander around, we will not go to you anymore'?

³² Will a virgin forget her jewelry,

a bride her sash?

Yet my people have forgotten me

for days without number!

³³ How well you make your way to look for love.

You have even taught your ways to wicked women.

³⁴ The blood that was the life of innocent, poor people

has been found on your clothes.

These people were not discovered

in acts of burglary.

³⁵ Yet you say,

'I am innocent;

surely his anger has turned away from me.'

But look! I will bring down judgment on you

because you say, 'I have not sinned.'

³⁶ Why do you treat so very lightly

this change in your ways?

You will also be disappointed by Egypt,

just as you were by Assyria.

³⁷ You will also go out from there dejected,

with your hands on your head,

for Yahweh has rejected the ones whom you trusted,

so you will not be helped by them."

¹Some modern English translations read, Kittim .

²Instead of their glory , some ancient copies have my glory .

Chapter 3

¹ "If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him

and becomes another man's wife,

will he return to her again?

Would that land not be greatly polluted?

You have lived as a prostitute who has many lovers;

and would you return to me?—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

² Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and look!

Is there any place where you have not had illicit sex?

By the roadsides you sat waiting for your lovers,

as an Arab in the wilderness.

You have polluted the land

with your prostitution and wickedness.

³ So the showers have been withheld

and the spring rains have not come;

yet you have the forehead of a prostitute;

you refuse to be ashamed.

⁴ Have you not just now called to me: 'My Father!

My closest friend even from my youth!

⁵ Will he always be angry?

Will he always keep his wrath to the end?'

Look! This is what you have said,

but you do all the evil you can!"

⁶ Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Do you see what apostate Israel has done? She has gone up every high hill and under every leafy tree, and there she has acted like a prostitute. ⁷ I said, 'After she does all these things, she will return to me,' but she did not return. Then her faithless sister Judah saw these things.

⁸ So I saw that, in the same way that apostate Israel had committed adultery and I had sent her away and had given a certificate of divorce against her, her faithless sister Judah did not fear; she also went out and acted like a prostitute. ⁹ Her prostitution was nothing to her; she defiled the land, and she committed adultery with stones and trees. ¹⁰ Then after all of this, her faithless sister Judah returned to me, not with all her heart, but with a lie—this is Yahweh's declaration."

¹¹ Then Yahweh said to me, "Apostate Israel has been more righteous than faithless Judah! ¹² Go and proclaim these words to the north. Say,

'Return, apostate Israel!—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

I will not always be angry with you.

Since I am faithful—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

I will not stay angry forever.

¹³ Acknowledge your iniquity,

for you have transgressed against Yahweh your God;

you have shared your ways with strangers

under every leafy tree!

For you have not listened to my voice!—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁴ Return, faithless people!—this is Yawheh's declaration—I am your husband! I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion! ¹⁵ I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and insight.

¹⁶ Then it will happen that you will increase and bear fruit in the land in those days—this is Yahweh's declaration-they will no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of Yahweh!" This matter will no longer come up in their hearts or be remembered; it will not be missed, and another one will not be made.'

¹⁷ In that time they will proclaim about Jerusalem, 'This is Yahweh's throne,' and all the other nations will gather at Jerusalem in Yahweh's name. They will no longer walk in the stubbornness of their wicked hearts. ¹⁸ In those days, the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

¹⁹ As for me, I said,

'How I want to treat you as my son

and give you a delightful land,

an inheritance more beautiful

than what is in any other nation!'

I would have said, 'You will call me "my Father".'

I would have said

that you would not turn from following me.

²⁰ But like a woman faithless to her husband,

you have betrayed me, house of Israel—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

²¹ A voice is heard on the plains,

the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel!

For they have changed their ways;

they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

²² "Return, faithless people!

I will heal you of your apostasy!"

"Behold! We will come to you,

for you are Yahweh our God!

²³ Surely lies come from the hills,

a confusing noise from the mountains;

surely Yahweh our God

is the salvation of Israel.

²⁴ Yet since our youth shameful idols

have consumed the labor of our ancestors—

their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters!

²⁵ Let us lie down in shame.

May our shame cover us,

for we have sinned against Yahweh our God!

We ourselves and our ancestors,

from the time of our youth to this present day,

have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God!"

Chapter 4

¹ "If you return, Israel—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

then it should be to me that you return.

If you remove your detestable things from before me

and do not wander from me again,

² and if you are truthful, just, and righteous

when you swear, 'As Yahweh lives,'

then the nations will bless themselves in him,

and in him they will glory."

³ For Yahweh says this to each person in Judah and Jerusalem:

'Plow your own ground,

and do not sow among thorns.

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh,

and remove the foreskins of your heart,

men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or else my fury will break out like fire,

and burn with no one to quench it,

because of the wickedness of your practices.

⁵ Report in Judah and let it be heard in Jerusalem.

Say, "Blow the ram's horn in the land."

Proclaim, "Gather together.

Let us go to the fortified cities."

⁶ Lift up the signal flag and point it toward Zion,

and run for safety!

Do not stay, for I am bringing disaster

from the north and great crushing.

⁷ A lion is coming out from his thicket

and someone who will destroy nations is setting out.

He is leaving his place to bring horror to your land,

to turn your cities into ruins, where no one will live.

⁸ Because of this, gird yourselves with sackcloth,

lament and wail.

For the force of Yahweh's anger

has not turned away from us.

⁹ Then it will happen in that day—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

that the hearts of the king and his officials will die.

The priests will be appalled,

and the prophets will be astounded.'"

¹⁰ So I said, "Ah! Lord Yahweh. Surely you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'There will be peace for you.' Yet the sword is striking against their life."

¹¹ In that time it will be said of this people and Jerusalem, "A burning wind from the plains of the desert will make its way to the daughter of my people. It will not winnow or cleanse them. ¹² A wind far stronger than that will come at my command, and I will now pass sentence against them.

¹³ See, he comes up like clouds,

and his chariots are like a storm.

His horses are faster than eagles.

Woe to us, for we will be devastated!

¹⁴ Cleanse your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem,

so that you might be saved.

How long will wicked thoughts lodge within you?

¹⁵ For a voice is bringing news from Dan

and a report of trouble from the mountains of Ephraim.

¹⁶ Make the nations think about this:

See, announce to Jerusalem

that besiegers are coming from a distant land

to shout in battle against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷ They will be like the watchmen

of a cultivated field against her all around,

since she has been rebellious against me—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

¹⁸ and your conduct and your deeds

have done these things to you.

This will be your punishment.

How bitter it will be!

It will strike your very heart.

¹⁹ My heart! My heart!

I am in anguish in my heart.

My heart is turbulent within me.

I cannot keep quiet for I hear the sound of the horn,

an alarm for battle.

²⁰ Disaster follows after disaster;

for all the land lies in ruins.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my curtains in a moment.

²¹ How long will I see the signal flag?

Will I hear the sound of the horn?

²² For the foolishness of my people—

they do not know me.

They are stupid children,

and they have no understanding.

They are skilled at doing evil,

but they do not know how to do good.

²³ I saw the land. Behold!

It was formless and empty.

For there was no light for the heavens.

²⁴ I looked at the mountains.

Behold, they were trembling,

and all the hills were shaking about.

²⁵ I looked. Behold, there was no one,

and all the birds of the heavens had fled.

²⁶ I looked. Behold, the productive land was a wilderness

and all the cities had been pulled down before Yahweh,

before the fury of his wrath."

²⁷ This is what Yahweh says,

"All the land will become a devastation,

but I will not completely destroy it

²⁸ For this reason, the land will mourn,

and the heavens above will darken.

For I have declared my intentions;

I will not hold back;

I will not turn from carrying them out.

²⁹ Every city will flee from the noise of the horseman

and the archer with a bow;

they will run into the forests.

Every city will climb up into the rocky places.

The cities will be abandoned,

for there will be no one to inhabit them.

³⁰ Now that you have been devastated, what will you do? For though you are clothed in scarlet, and though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, and though you make your eyes look bigger with paint, you are making yourself beautiful in vain. The men who lusted for you now reject you. They are trying to take away your life.

³¹ So I hear the sound of anguish,

distress as in the birth of a firstborn child,

the sound of the daughter of Zion.

She is gasping for breath.

She spreads out her hands,

'Woe to me! I am fainting because of these murderers.'"

Chapter 5

¹ "Rush about through the streets of Jerusalem;

search in her city squares, too.

Then look and think about this:

If you can find a man or anyone who is acting justly

and trying to act faithfully,

then I will forgive Jerusalem.

² Although they say, 'As Yahweh lives,'

yet they are swearing falsely."

³ Yahweh, do your eyes not look for faithfulness?

You struck the people, but they do not feel pain.

You have completely defeated them,

but they still refuse to receive discipline.

They make their faces harder than rock,

for they refuse to repent.

⁴ So I said,

"Surely these are only poor people.

They are foolish, for they do not know Yahweh's ways

nor their God's decrees.

⁵ I will go to the important people

and declare God's messages to them,

for they at least know Yahweh's ways,

the decrees of their God."

But they all broke their yoke together;

they all tore apart the chains that bound them to God.

⁶ So a lion from a thicket will attack them.

A wolf from the Arabah will devastate them.

A leopard is watching their cities

Anyone who goes outside his city will be torn apart.

For their transgressions increase.

Their acts of apostasy are numerous.

⁷ Why should I pardon these people?

Your sons have abandoned me

and have made oaths by what are not gods.

I fed them fully

but they committed adultery

and walked in great number to the houses of prostitutes.

⁸ They were horses in heat.

They roamed about wanting to mate.

Each man neighed to his neighbor's wife.

⁹ So should I not punish them—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

and should I not avenge myself

on a nation that is like this?

¹⁰ Go up onto her vineyards' terraces and destroy.

But do not bring complete destruction to them.

Trim their vines,

since those vines do not come from Yahweh.

¹¹ For the houses of Israel and Judah

have completely betrayed me—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹² They have spoken falsely about Yahweh

and they said, "He will do nothing;

no harm will come upon us,

and we will not see sword or famine.

¹³ The prophets will become wind,

the word is not in them,

so let what they say be done to them."

¹⁴ So Yahweh, the God of hosts says this,

"Because you have said this, see,

I am about to place my word in your mouth.

It will be like a fire,

and this people will be like wood!

For it will consume them.

¹⁵ Behold! I am about to bring a nation

against you from far away, house of Israel—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

it is a lasting nation, an ancient nation!

It is a nation whose language you do not know,

nor will you understand what they say.

¹⁶ Its quiver is like an open tomb.

They are all soldiers.

¹⁷ They will eat up your harvest and your food.

They will devour your sons and daughters.

They will devour your flocks and herds.

They will devour your vines and fig trees.

They will beat down with a sword

your fortified cities in which you put your trust.

¹⁸ But even in those days—this is Yahweh's declaration—I do not intend to destroy you completely. ¹⁹ When you, Israel and Judah, say, 'Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?' then you, Jeremiah, will say to them, 'Just as you abandoned Yahweh and served foreign gods in your land, so you must also serve strangers in a land that is not your own.'

²⁰ Report this to the house of Jacob

and let it be heard in Judah. Say,

²¹ 'Hear this, you foolish people

who have no understanding;

you have eyes but you cannot see,

and you have ears but you cannot hear.

²² Do you not fear me—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

or tremble before my face?

I have placed a border of sand against the sea

an ongoing decree that it does not violate—

even though the sea rises and falls,

still it does not violate it.

Even though its waves roar,

they do not cross it.

²³ But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart.

They have turned aside and gone away.

²⁴ For they do not say in their hearts,

"Let us fear Yahweh our God,

the one who brings the rain—

the early rain and the late rains—

in their right time,

keeping the appointed weeks of the harvest for us."

²⁵ Your iniquities kept these things from happening.

Your sins have stopped good from coming to you.

²⁶ For wicked men are found with my people.

They watch as someone crouches to capture birds;

they set a trap and catch people.

²⁷ Like a cage full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit.

So they grow large and become rich.

²⁸ They have become fat;

they shine with well-being.

They crossed over all bounds of wickedness.

They do not plead the cause of the people,

or the cause of the orphan.

They prosper even though they have not

given justice to the needy.

²⁹ Should I not punish them for these things—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

and will I not take vengeance for myself

on a nation like this?

³⁰ An appalling and horrifying thing

has occurred in the land.

³¹ The prophets prophesy with deceit,

and the priests rule with their own power.

My people love it this way,

but what will happen in the end?'"

Chapter 6

¹ Find safety, people of Benjamin, by leaving Jerusalem.

Blow a ram's horn in Tekoa.

Raise up over Beth Hakkerem a signal,

since wickedness is appearing from the north;

a great crushing is coming.

² The daughter of Zion,

the beautiful and delicate woman, will be destroyed.

³ The shepherds and their flocks will go to them;

they will set up tents against her all around;

each man will shepherd with his own hand.

⁴ "Dedicate yourselves to the gods for the battle.

Arise, let us attack at noon.

Woe to us! For the daylight is fading away

and the evening shadows are falling.

⁵ But let us attack at night

and destroy her fortresses."

⁶ For Yahweh of hosts says this:

Cut her trees,

and heap up siege works against Jerusalem.

This is the right city to attack,

because it is filled with oppression.

⁷ As a well pours out fresh water,

so this city keeps producing wickedness.

Violence and devastation are heard within her;

sickness and wounds are continually before my face.

⁸ Accept discipline, Jerusalem,

or I will turn away from you

and make you into a ruin, an uninhabited land.'"

⁹ Yahweh of hosts says this,

"They will certainly glean the remnant of Israel like a vineyard.

Reach out again with your hand to pick grapes from the vines.

¹⁰ To whom should I declare and warn

so they will listen?

Look! Their ears are uncircumcised;

they are not able to pay attention!

Look! The word of Yahweh has come to them to correct them,

but they do not want it."

¹¹ But I am filled with Yahweh's fury.

I am tired of holding it in.

He said, to me,

"Pour it out on the children in the streets

and on the groups of young men.

For every man will be taken away with his wife;

and every old person heavy with years.

¹² Their houses will be turned over to others,

both their fields and their wives together.

For I will attack the inhabitants of the land with my hand—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹³ Yahweh declares that from the least to the greatest,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

From the prophet to the priest,

all of them practice deceit.

¹⁴ They have healed the brokenness of my people lightly,

saying, 'Peace, Peace,' when there is no peace.

¹⁵ Were they ashamed when they practiced abominations?

They were not ashamed;

they did not know how to blush!

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down

when they are punished, says Yahweh.

¹⁶ Yahweh says this,

"Stand at the road crossing and look;

ask for the ancient pathways.

'Where is this good way?'

Then go on it and find a resting place for yourselves.

But the people say,

'We will not go.'

¹⁷ I appointed for you watchmen to listen for the ram's horn.

But they said, 'We will not listen.'

¹⁸ Therefore, nations, listen!

See, you witnesses, what will happen to them.

¹⁹ Hear, earth!

See, I am about to bring disaster to this people,

the fruit of their thoughts,

because they paid no attention to my word

and they have rejected my law.

²⁰ What does this frankincense going up from Sheba mean to me

or these sweet smells from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable to me,

nor are your sacrifices.

²¹ So Yahweh says this,

'See, I am about to place a stumbling block against this people.

They will stumble over it-fathers and sons together.

Inhabitants and their neighbors will also perish.'

²² Yahweh says this,

'See, a people is coming from the land of the north,

a great nation is being stirred up from the farthest parts of the earth.

²³ They will pick up bows and spears.

They are cruel and have no compassion.

Their sound is like the sea roar,

and they are riding on horses,

set out in order as men for battle,

against you, daughter of Zion.'"

²⁴ We have heard the reports about them

and our hands fall limp in distress.

Anguish seizes us as a woman giving birth.

²⁵ Do not go out to the fields,

and do not walk on the roads,

for the swords of the enemy and terror are all around.

²⁶ Daughter of my people,

gird yourself with sackcloth and roll in ashes;

mourn with painful sobs as for an only son,

for the destroyer will suddenly come upon us.

²⁷ "I have made you, Jeremiah,

one who tests my people like one would test metal,

so you will inspect and test their ways.

²⁸ They are all the most stubborn of people,

who go about slandering others.

All of them are bronze and iron, acting corruptly.

²⁹ The bellows are scorched by the fire that is burning them;

the lead is consumed in the flames.

The refining continues among them,

but it is useless, because the evil is not removed.

³⁰ They will be called rejected silver,

for Yahweh has rejected them."

Chapter 7

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, ² "Stand at the gate of the house of Yahweh and proclaim this word! Say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, all you of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship Yahweh.

³ Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Make your ways and practices good, and I will let you continue to live in this place. ⁴ Do not entrust yourself to deceitful words and say, "Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh!"

⁵ For if you actually make your ways and practices good; if you completely execute justice between a man and his neighbor— ⁶ if you do not oppress the sojourner, the orphan, or the widow and do not pour out innocent blood in this place, and do not walk after other gods to your own harm— ⁷ then I will let you stay in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors from ancient times and forever.

⁸ Behold! You are entrusting yourselves to deceitful words that do not help you. ⁹ Do you steal, kill, and commit adultery? Do you swear deceitfully and offer incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you have not known? ¹⁰ Then do you come and stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, "We are saved," so you can do all of these abominations? ¹¹ Is this house, which carries my name, a den of bandits in your eyes? But behold, I have seen it—this is Yahweh's declaration.'

¹² 'So go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I allowed my name to stay there in the beginning, and look at what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³ So now, on account of your doing all of these practices—this is Yahweh's declaration—I spoke to you time and time again, but you did not listen. I summoned you, but you did not answer. ¹⁴ Therefore, what I did to Shiloh, I will also do to this house that is called by my name, the house in which you have trusted, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors. ¹⁵ For I will send you out from before me just as I had sent out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.'

¹⁶ As for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a cry of distress or say a prayer on their behalf, and do not petition me, for I will not listen to you. ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children are gathering wood and the fathers kindling the fire! The women are kneading dough to make cakes for the queen of the heavens and pour out drink offerings for other gods so that they will provoke me.

¹⁹ Are they truly provoking me?—this is Yahweh's declaration—is it not themselves whom they are provoking, so that shame is on them? ²⁰ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'See, my anger and wrath will gush out onto this place, on both man and animals, on the tree in the fields and the fruit on the ground. It will burn and never be extinguished.'

²¹ Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel says this: 'Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. ²² For when I brought your ancestors out from the land of Egypt, I did not require anything from them. I gave them no command about matters of burnt offerings and sacrifices. ²³ I only gave them this command, "Listen to my voice, and I will be your God and you will be my people. So walk in all the ways that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you."

²⁴ But they did not listen or incline their ear. They lived by their own stubborn plans of their wicked hearts, so they went backwards, not forward. ²⁵ Ever since the day when your ancestors went out from the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent every one of my servants, my prophets, to you. I persisted in sending them. ²⁶ But they did not listen to me or incline their ear. Instead, they stiffened their necks. They were more wicked than their ancestors.'

²⁷ So proclaim all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. Proclaim these things to them, but they will not answer you. ²⁸ Say to them: This is a nation that does not listen to the voice of Yahweh its God and does not receive discipline. Truth is destroyed and cut off from their mouths.

²⁹ Cut off your hair and shave yourself, and throw away your hair. Sing a dirge over the open places. For Yahweh has rejected and abandoned this generation in his rage. ³⁰ For the sons of Judah have done evil in my eye—this is Yahweh's declaration—they have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, in order to defile it.

³¹ Then they built the high place of Topheth that is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. They did this to burn their sons and daughters in fire—something that I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. ³² So see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when it will no longer be called Topheth or Valley of Ben Hinnom. It will be the Valley of Slaughter; they will bury bodies in Topheth until there is no room left.

³³ The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the skies and the wild animals of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. ³⁴ I will put an end to the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, for the land will become a desolation."

Chapter 8

¹ "At that time—this is Yahweh's declaration—they will bring out from the graves the bones of the kings of Judah and its officials, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ² Then they will spread them out in the light of the sun and moon and all the stars of the skies; these things in the sky that they have followed and served, that they have walked after and sought, and that they have worshiped. The bones will not be gathered or buried again. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth. ³ In every place where I have driven them, death will be chosen instead of life by all who remain from this evil family—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.

⁴ So say to them, 'Yahweh says this:

Does anyone fall and not get up?

Does anyone get lost and not try to return?

⁵ Why has this people, Jerusalem,

turned away in permanent apostasy?

They hold on to deceit

and refuse to repent.

⁶ I paid attention and listened,

but they did not speak right;

no one repented of his wickedness,

no one who says, "What have I done?"

All of them go where they wish,

like a horse rushing toward battle.

⁷ Even the stork in heaven knows the right times;

and the doves, swifts, and cranes.

They go on their migrations at the right time,

but my people do not know Yahweh's decrees.

⁸ How can you say,

"We are wise, for the law of Yahweh is with us"?

Indeed, see!

The deceitful pen of the scribes has created deceit.

⁹ The wise men will be ashamed.

They are dismayed and trapped.

Behold! They reject Yahweh's word,

so what use is their wisdom?

¹⁰ So I will give their wives to others,

and their fields to those who will possess them,

because from the least to the greatest,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain!

From the prophet to the priest,

all of them practice deceit.

¹¹ They have healed the brokenness of my people lightly,

saying, "Peace, Peace," when there is no peace.

¹² Were they ashamed when they practiced abominations?

They were not ashamed;

they did not know how to blush!

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when they are punished,

says Yahweh.

¹³ I will remove them completely—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

there will be no grapes on the vine,

nor will there be figs on the fig trees.

For the leaf will wither,

and what I have given to them will pass away.

¹⁴ Why are we sitting here?

Come together;

let us go to the fortified cities,

and we will become silent there in death.

For Yahweh our God will silence us.

He will make us drink poison,

since we have sinned against him.

¹⁵ We are hoping for peace,

but there will be nothing good.

We are hoping for a time of healing,

but see, there will be terror.

¹⁶ The snorting of his stallions is heard from Dan.

The whole earth shakes

at the sound of the neighing of his strong horses.

For they will come

and consume the land and its wealth,

the city and the ones living in it.

¹⁷ For see, I am sending out snakes among you,

adders that you cannot charm.

They will bite you—

this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹⁸ My sorrow has no end

and my heart is sick.

¹⁹ Behold! The cry for help of the daughter of my people

from a land far away!

Is Yahweh not in Zion?

Is her king no longer there?

Why then do they provoke me to anger with their carved figures

and their worthless foreign idols?

²⁰ The harvest has passed on, summer is over.

But we have not been saved.

²¹ I am hurt because of the hurt of the daughter of my people.

I mourn at the horrible things that have happened to her;

I am dismayed.

²² Is there no medicine in Gilead?

Is there no healer there?

Why will the healing of the daughter of my people not happen?

Chapter 9

¹ If only my head could produce water,

and my eyes be a fountain of tears!

For I wish to weep day and night for those

among the daughter of my people who have been killed.

² If only someone would give me a place for travelers in the wilderness to stay,

where I could go to abandon my people.

If only I could leave them,

since all of them are adulterers, a company of traitors!

³ "They bend their tongues like their bows for lies,

and it is not because of any faithfulness of theirs

that they grow strong on the earth.

For they go from one wicked act to another.

They do not know me." This is Yahweh's declaration.

⁴ Each of you, be on guard against your neighbor

and do not trust in any brother.

For every brother is certainly a deceiver,

and every neighbor walks in slander.

⁵ Each man mocks his neighbor

and does not speak the truth.

Their tongues teach deceitful things.

They are exhausted from committing iniquity.

⁶ Your dwelling is in the midst of deception;

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

⁷ Yahweh of hosts says this,

"See, I am about to refine them and test them,

for what else can I do, because of what my people have done?

⁸ Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deceit.

With their mouths they proclaim peace with their neighbors,

but with their hearts they lie in wait for them.

⁹ Should I not punish them because of these things—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

and should I not avenge myself on a nation that is like this?

¹⁰ I will sing a song of mourning and wailing for the mountains,

and a dirge will be sung for the meadows in the wilderness.

For they have been made desolate

and no one can pass through them,

and the lowing of the cattle is not heard.

The birds of the skies and the animals

have all fled away.

¹¹ So I will turn Jerusalem into piles of ruins,

a hideout for jackals.

I will make Judah's cities ruined places

without inhabitants."

¹² What man is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, and he will declare it? Why has the land perished and been made desolate like the wilderness that no one can pass through?

¹³ Yahweh says, "It is because they have abandoned my law that I set before them, because they do not listen to my voice or walk by it. ¹⁴ It is because they have walked by their stubborn hearts and have followed the Baals as their fathers taught them to do.

¹⁵ Therefore Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to make this people eat wormwood and drink poisonous water. ¹⁶ Then I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, neither they nor their ancestors. I will send out a sword after them until I have completely destroyed them.'"

¹⁷ Yahweh of hosts says this,

"Think about this: Summon

funeral singers; let them come.

Send out for women skilled at lamenting;

let them come.

¹⁸ Let them hurry and sing a mournful song over us,

so our eyes may run with tears and our eyelids flow with water.

¹⁹ For the sound of wailing is heard in Zion,

'How we are devastated.

We are greatly ashamed,

for we have abandoned the land

since they tore down our houses.'

²⁰ So you women, hear Yahweh's word;

pay attention to the messages that come from his mouth.

Then teach your daughters a mourning song,

and each neighbor woman a dirge.

²¹ For death has come through our windows;

it goes into our palaces.

It destroys children from outside,

and young men in the city squares.

²² Declare this, 'This is Yahweh's declaration—

the corpses of men will fall like dung in the fields,

and like grain stalks after the reapers,

and there will be no one to gather them.'"

²³ Yahweh says this,

"Do not let the wise man take pride in his wisdom,

or the warrior in his might.

Do not let the wealthy man take pride in his riches.

²⁴ For if a man takes pride in anything,

let it be in this, that he has insight and knows me.

For I am Yahweh, who acts with covenant loyalty,

justice and righteousness on earth.

For it is in these that I take pleasure—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

²⁵ "See, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will punish all the circumcised who are such only in their body. ²⁶ I will punish Egypt and Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all the desert people who cut the hair on the sides of their heads very short. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel has an uncircumcised heart."

Chapter 10

¹ "Hear the word that Yahweh is announcing to you, house of Israel. ² Yahweh says this,

'Do not learn the ways of the nations,

and do not be dismayed by the signs in the heavens,

for the nations are dismayed by these.

³ For the customs of these people are worthless.

Someone cuts down a tree from the forest.

It is the work of the hands of a craftsman using an axe.

⁴ Then they decorate it with silver and gold.

They strengthen it with hammer and nails so it will not fall over.

⁵ What they make with their hands is like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

because they, too, can say nothing,

and they have to be carried because they cannot walk.

Do not fear them, for they cannot bring about evil,

nor are they able to do anything good.'"

⁶ There is no one like you, Yahweh.

You are great, and your name is great in power.

⁷ Who does not fear you, king of the nations?

For this is what you deserve,

for there is no one like you among all the wise men of the nations

or all their royal kingdoms.

⁸ They are both brutish and stupid.

Their vain discipline—it is nothing but wood.

⁹ They bring hammered silver from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz made by artificers,

the hands of refiners.

Their clothes are blue and purple cloth.

Their skillful men made all of these things.

¹⁰ But Yahweh is the true God.

He is the living God and eternal king.

The earth quakes at his anger,

and the nations cannot endure his anger.

¹¹ You will speak to them like this, "The gods that did not make the heavens and earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens."

¹² But it was he who made the earth by his power,

and he established the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

¹³ His voice makes the roar of waters in the heavens,

and he brings up the mists from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain

and sends out wind from his storehouse.

¹⁴ Every man has become stupid, without knowledge.

Every metalworker is put to shame by his idols.

For his cast metal images are frauds;

there is no life in them.

¹⁵ They are useless, the work of mockers;

they will perish at the time of their punishment.

¹⁶ But God, the portion of Jacob, is not like these,

for he is the molder of all things.

Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

¹⁷ Gather your bundle and leave the land,

you people who have been living under the siege.

¹⁸ For Yahweh says this,

"See, I am about to throw the inhabitants of the land out this time.

I will cause them distress,

and they will find it to be so."

¹⁹ Woe to me!

Because of my broken bones, my wound is infected.

So I said,

"Surely this is agony, but I must bear it."

²⁰ My tent is devastated,

and all of my tent cords are cut in two.

They have taken my children away from me,

so they no longer exist.

There is no longer anyone to spread out my tent

or to raise up my tent curtains.

²¹ For the shepherds are stupid

and they do not seek Yahweh;

so they have not prospered,

and all their flock has been scattered.

²² The report of news has arrived, "See! It is coming,

a great earthquake is coming from the land of the north

to make the cities of Judah into ruins,

hideouts for jackals."

²³ I know, Yahweh,

that the way of a man does not come from himself.

No person walking directs his own steps.

²⁴ Discipline me, Yahweh, with justice,

not in your anger or you would destroy me.

²⁵ Pour your fury on the nations that do not know you

and on the families that do not call on your name.

For they have devoured Jacob and consumed him

so as to completely destroy him and demolish his habitation.

Chapter 11

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, ² "Listen to the words of this covenant, and declare them to each man in Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³ Say to them, 'Yahweh, God of Israel says this: Cursed is anyone who does not listen to the words of this covenant. ⁴ This is the covenant that I commanded your ancestors to keep the day I brought them out from the land of Egypt, from the furnace for smelting iron. I said, "Listen to my voice and do all of these things just as I have commanded you, for you will be my people and I will be your God." ⁵ Obey me so that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your ancestors, the oath that I would give them the land flowing with milk and honey, where you live today.'" Then I, Jeremiah, answered and said, "Let it be so, Yahweh!"

⁶ Yahweh said to me, "Proclaim all these things in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Say, 'Listen to the words of this covenant and carry them out. ⁷ For I have been giving solemn commands to your ancestors from the day I brought them up from the land of Egypt until this present time, persistently warning them and saying, "Listen to my voice."' ⁸ But they did not listen or incline their ear. Each person has been walking in the stubbornness of his wicked heart. So I brought all the curses in the covenant that I commanded them to obey, but the people still did not obey."

⁹ Next Yahweh said to me, "A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have returned to the iniquities of their earliest ancestors, who refused to listen to my word. They walked after other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant that I established with their ancestors.

¹¹ Therefore Yahweh says this, 'See, I am about to bring disaster on them, disaster from which they will not be able to escape. Then they will call out to me, but I will not listen to them. ¹² The cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and call out to the gods to which they had given offerings, but they will certainly not be saved by them at the time of their disaster. ¹³ For you Judah, the number of your gods has increased to equal the number of your cities. You have made the number of shameful altars in Jerusalem, incense altars for Baal, equal to the number of her streets.

¹⁴ So you yourself, Jeremiah, must not pray for this people. You must not cry for help or pray on their behalf. For I will not be listening when they call on me in their disaster.

¹⁵ Why is my beloved one

the one who has had so many wicked intentions,

in my house?

The meat of your sacrifices cannot help you.

You rejoice because of your evil actions.

¹⁶ In the past Yahweh called you a leafy olive tree,

beautiful with lovely fruit.

But he will light a fire on it that will sound like the roar of a storm;

its branches will be broken.

¹⁷ For Yahweh of hosts, the one who planted you, has decreed disaster against you because of the wicked acts that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have committed—they have angered me by giving offerings to Baal.'"

¹⁸ Yahweh made me know these things, so I know them. You, Yahweh, made me see their deeds. ¹⁹ I was like a gentle lamb being led to the slaughter. I did not know that they had formed plans against me,

"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit!

Let us cut him off from the land of the living

so his name will be no longer remembered."

²⁰ Yet Yahweh of hosts is the righteous judge

who examines the heart and the mind.

I will witness your vengeance against them,

for I have presented my case to you.

²¹ Therefore Yahweh says this concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life, "They say, 'You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will die by our hand.' ²² Therefore Yahweh of hosts says this, 'See, I am about to punish them. Their vigorous young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine. ²³ No remnant will be left for them, because I am bringing disaster against the people of Anathoth, a year of their punishment.'"

Chapter 12

¹ You are righteous, Yahweh,

whenever I bring disputes to you.

I must certainly tell you of my reason to complain:

Why do the ways of the wicked succeed?

All the treacherous are at ease.

² You planted them and they took root.

They continue to produce fruit.

You are near to them in their mouths,

but far away from their hearts.

³ Yet you, Yahweh, know me.

You see me and you test my heart toward you.

Take them away like sheep to the slaughter,

and set them apart for the day of slaughter!

⁴ How long will the land mourn

and the grass in the field be withered?

Because those who live in it are wicked,

the animals and the birds have been swept away,

because the people said,

"He will not see what happens to us."

⁵ Yahweh said, "Indeed, if you, Jeremiah,

have run with foot soldiers and they have tired you out,

how can you compete against horses?

And if you are confident only in a peaceful land,

how will you do in the majesty along the Jordan?

⁶ For even your brothers and your father's family

have betrayed you and have raised their voice against you.

Do not trust in them,

even if they say nice things to you.

⁷ I have abandoned my house;

I have abandoned my inheritance.

I have given my beloved into the hands of her enemies.

⁸ My inheritance has become to me

like a lion in a thicket;

she sets herself against me with her own voice,

so I hate her.

⁹ Has not my prized possession become a speckled bird,

that other birds of prey go against her all around?

Go and gather all the wild beasts

and bring them to devour her.

¹⁰ Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard.

They have trampled on my portion of land;

they turned my delightful portion into a wilderness,

a desolation.

¹¹ They have made her a desolation.

I mourn for her; she is desolate.

All the land has been made desolate,

for there is no one who takes it to heart.

¹² Destroyers have come against all

the bare places in the wilderness,

for Yahweh's sword is devouring

from one end of the land to the other.

There is no safety in the land

for any living creature.

¹³ They have sown wheat but harvest thornbushes.

They are exhausted from work but have gained nothing.

So be ashamed of your gain

because of Yahweh's anger."

¹⁴ Yahweh says this against all my neighbors, the wicked ones who strike at the possession that I made my people Israel inherit, "See, I am the one who is about to uproot them from their own ground, and I will pull up the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵ Then after I uproot those nations, it will happen that I will have compassion on them and bring them back; I will return them—each man to his inheritance and his land.

¹⁶ It will come about that if those nations carefully learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name 'As Yahweh lives' just as they have taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people. ¹⁷ But if any do not listen, then I will uproot that nation. It will certainly be uprooted and destroyed—this is Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 13

¹ Yahweh said this to me, "Go and buy a linen undergarment and put it on around your waist, but do not put it in water first." ² So I bought an undergarment as Yahweh directed, and I put in on around my waist. ³ Then the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying, ⁴ "Take the undergarment that you purchased that is around your waist, get up and go now to Perath. ¹ Hide it there in a rock crevice." ⁵ So I went and hid it in Perath, just as Yahweh had commanded me.

⁶ After many days, Yahweh said to me, "Get up and go back to Perath. Take from there the undergarment that I commanded you to hide." ⁷ So I went back to Perath ² and dug out the undergarment where I had hid it, and behold, it was destroyed and completely useless.

⁸ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁹ "Yahweh says this: In the same way I will destroy the pride of Judah and the great majesty of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ This wicked people who refuses to listen to my word, who walk in the hardness of their heart, who go after other gods to worship them and bow down to them—they will be like this undergarment that is good for nothing. ¹¹ For just as an undergarment clings to someone's hips, so I have made all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah cling to me—this is Yahweh's declaration—to be my people, to bring me fame, praise, and honor. But they would not listen to me.

¹² So you must speak this word to them, 'Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this: Every jar will be filled with wine.' They will say to you, 'Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' ¹³ So say to them, 'Yahweh says this: See, I am about to fill with drunkenness every inhabitant of this land, the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Then I will smash each man against the other, fathers and children together—this is Yahweh's declaration—I will not pity them or have compassion, and I will not spare them from destruction.'"

¹⁵ Listen and pay attention.

Do not be arrogant, for Yahweh had spoken.

¹⁶ Give honor to Yahweh your God

before he brings darkness,

and before he causes your feet to stumble

on the mountains at twilight.

For you are hoping for light,

but he will turn it to deep darkness

and change it to deep gloom.

¹⁷ So if you will not listen,

I will weep alone because of your pride.

My eyes will certainly weep and flow with tears,

for Yahweh's flock has been taken captive.

¹⁸ "Say to the king and to the queen mother,

'Humble yourselves! Sit!

For your splendid crowns

have fallen from your heads.'

¹⁹ The cities in the Negev will be shut up,

with no one to open them.

All Judah will be taken captive,

completely taken captive.

²⁰ Lift up your eyes

and look at the ones coming from the north.

Where is the flock he gave to you,

the flock that was so beautiful to you?

²¹ What will you say when God sets over you

those whom you yourself had trained

to be your special allies?

Are these not the beginnings of the labor pains

that will seize you just like a woman in childbirth?

²² Then you might say in your heart,

'Why are these things happening to me?'

It will be for the multitude of your iniquities

that your skirts are raised up

and you have been violated.

²³ Can the people of Cush change their skin color,

or a leopard change its spots?

If so, then you yourself,

although accustomed to wickedness,

would be able to do good.

²⁴ So I will scatter them like chaff

that perishes in the desert wind.

²⁵ This is what I have given to you,

the portion I have decreed for you—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

because you have forgotten me

and trusted in deceit.

²⁶ So also I myself will strip your skirts off you,

and your nakedness will be seen.

²⁷ I have seen your adultery and neighing,

the wickedness of your prostitution

on the hills and in the fields,

and I have seen these detestable things!

Woe to you, Jerusalem!

How long until you are made clean again?"

¹Some transate Perath as the Euphrates .

²Some transate Perath as the Euphrates .

Chapter 14

¹ This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah regarding the drought,

² "Let Judah mourn;

let her gates waste away.

They are wailing for the land;

their cries for Jerusalem are going up.

³ Their mighty ones send out their servants for water.

When they go to the trenches,

they cannot find water.

They all return with empty vessels;

they cover their heads ashamed and dishonored.

⁴ Because of this the ground is cracked,

for there is no rain in the land.

The plowmen are ashamed

and cover their heads.

⁵ For even the doe leaves her young in the fields

and abandons them, for there is no grass.

⁶ The wild donkeys stand on the bare plains

and they pant in the wind like jackals.

Their eyes fail to work,

for there is no vegetation."

⁷ Even though our iniquities testify against us

Yahweh, act for the sake of your name.

For our acts of apostasy increase;

we have sinned against you.

⁸ You are the Hope of Israel,

the one who saves him in the time of distress,

why will you be like a stranger in the land,

like a foreign wanderer who stretches out and spends just one night?

⁹ Why are you like someone who is astounded,

or like a warrior who has no power to rescue?

You are in our midst, Yahweh,

and your name is called over us.

Do not leave us!

¹⁰ Yahweh says this to this people:

"Since they love to wander,

they have not held back their feet from doing so."

Yahweh is not pleased with them

Now he calls to mind their iniquity

and has punished their sins.

¹¹ Yahweh said to me, "Do not pray for good on behalf of this people. ¹² For if they fast, I will not listen to their outcry, and if they offer up burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not take pleasure in them. For I will put an end to them by sword, famine, and plague."

¹³ Then I said, "Oh, Lord Yahweh! Behold! The prophets are saying to the people, 'You will not see the sword; there will be no famine for you, for I will give you true peace in this place.'"

¹⁴ Yahweh said to me, "The prophets prophesy deceit in my name. I did not send them out, nor did I give them any command or speak to them. But deceitful visions and worthless divination and the deceitfulness of their hearts—that is what they are prophesying to you."

¹⁵ Therefore Yahweh says this, "About the prophets prophesying in my name but whom I did not send out—those who say there will be no sword or famine in this land: These prophets will perish by sword and famine. ¹⁶ Then the people to whom they prophesied will be thrown out in the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword, for there will be no one to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters—for I will pour out their wickedness on them.

¹⁷ Say this word to them:

'Let my eyes flow with tears

night and day.

Do not let them stop,

for there will be a great collapse

of the virgin daughter of my people—

a great and incurable wound.

¹⁸ If I go out to the field,

there are the ones who were killed by the sword!

If I come to the city,

there are the diseases that are caused by famine.

Both the prophet and the priest wander about the land,

and they do not know.'"

¹⁹ Have you completely rejected Judah?

Do you hate Zion?

Why will you afflict us when there is no healing for us?

We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good—

and for a time of healing,

but see, there is only terror.

²⁰ We admit, Yahweh, our offenses,

the iniquity of our ancestors,

for we have sinned against you.

²¹ Do not reject us!

For the sake of your name,

do not make your glorious throne a disgrace.

Remember and do not break

your covenant with us.

²² Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?

Or can the skies themselves send down showers?

Are you not the one, Yahweh our God?

We wait for you, for you are the one

who does all these things.

Chapter 15

¹ Then Yahweh said to me, "Even if Moses or Samuel were standing in front of me, I would still not be in favor of this people. Send them out from before me, for them to go away. ² It will happen that they will say to you, 'Where should we go?' Then you must say to them, 'Yahweh says this:

Those who are for death should go to death;

those who are for the sword should go to the sword.

Those who are for famine should go to famine;

and those who are for captivity should go to captivity.'

³ For I will assign them to four groups—this is Yahweh's declaration—the sword to slaughter some, the dogs to drag some away, the birds of the skies and the wild animals of the earth to consume and destroy some. ⁴ I will make of them a horrifying thing to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

⁵ For who will have compassion for you, Jerusalem?

Who will grieve for you?

⁶ You have abandoned me—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

you have gone back from me.

So I will strike you with my hand and destroy you.

I am tired of relenting.

⁷ So I will winnow them with a pitchfork

at the gates of the land.

I will bereave them.

I will destroy my people

since they will not turn from their ways.

⁸ I will make their widows more numerous

than the sands of the seashore.

Against the mothers of young men I will send

the destroyer at noonday.

I will make horror and dismay suddenly fall on them.

⁹ The mother who has borne seven children will waste away.

She will gasp.

Her sun will set while it is still day.

She will be ashamed and embarrassed,

for I will give those who remain to the sword

in the presence of their enemies—

this is Yahweh's declaration."

¹⁰ Woe to me, my mother!

For you have borne me,

I who am a man of strife and argument through all the land.

I have not lent, nor has anyone lent to me,

but they all curse me.

¹¹ Yahweh said:

"Will I not rescue you for good?

I will certainly make your enemies beg for help

in the time of calamity and distress.

¹² Can one smash iron?

Especially iron from the north that is mixed with bronze?

¹³ I will give to your enemies

your wealth and treasures as free plunder.

I will do this because of all your sins

committed within all your borders.

¹⁴ Then I will make you serve your enemies

in a land that you do not know,

for a fire will ignite,

kindled in my wrath against you." ¹

¹⁵ Yahweh, you know

Remember me and help me

Bring vengeance for me

against those who persecute me.

You are patient, but do not allow them to take me away;

know that I have suffered insult for your sake.

¹⁶ Your words have been found, and I consumed them

Your words became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart,

for I bear your name,

Yahweh God of hosts.

¹⁷ I did not sit in the circle

of those who celebrated or rejoiced.

I sat alone because of your powerful hand,

for you filled me with indignation.

¹⁸ Why is my pain constant and my wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

Will you be like deceitful waters to me,

waters that dry up?

¹⁹ Therefore Yahweh said this,

"If you repent, Jeremiah,

then I will restore you,

and you will stand before me and serve me.

For if you separate the foolish things from the precious things,

you will be like my mouth.

The people will come back to you,

but you yourself must not go back to them.

²⁰ I will make you like an impenetrable bronze wall to this people,

and they will wage war against you.

But they will not defeat you,

for I am with you to save and rescue you—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

²¹ for I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked

and redeem you from the hand of the ruthless."

¹Instead of Then I will make you serve your enemies , some ancient copies have Then I will make your enemies take you .

Chapter 16

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Do not take a wife for yourself, and do not have sons or daughters for yourself in this place. ³ For Yahweh says this to the sons and daughters who are born in this place, to the mothers who bear them, and to the fathers who caused them to be born in this land, ⁴ 'They will die diseased deaths. They will not be mourned or buried. They will be like dung on the ground. For they will come to an end by sword and famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds of the skies and the wild animals of the earth.'

⁵ For the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 'Do not enter a house where there is mourning. Do not go to mourn or to show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people—this is Yahweh's declaration—and my steadfast love and mercy. ⁶ Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and no one will mourn for them or cut themselves or shave their heads for them.

⁷ No one must share any food in mourning to comfort them because of the deaths, and none must give a comforting cup to his father or his mother in order to comfort them. ⁸ You must not go to a banquet house to sit with them in order to eat or drink.' ⁹ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, before your eyes, in your days and in this place, I am about to put an end to the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride.'

¹⁰ Then it will happen that you will report all these words to this people, and they will say to you, 'Why has Yahweh decreed all this great disaster against us? What is our iniquity and sin that we sinned against Yahweh our God?' ¹¹ So say to them, 'Because your ancestors abandoned me—this is Yahweh's declaration—and they went after other gods and worshiped and bowed down to them. They abandoned me and have not kept my law.

¹² But you yourselves have brought about more wickedness than your ancestors, for see, each person is walking by the stubbornness of his wicked heart; there is no one who listens to me. ¹³ So I will throw you from this land to a land that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors, and you will worship other gods there by day and night, for I will not give any favor to you.'

¹⁴ Therefore, behold, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when it will no longer be said, 'As Yahweh lives, the one who brought up the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.' ¹⁵ but, 'As Yahweh lives, the one who brought up the people of Israel from the land of the north and from the lands where he had scattered them.' For I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.

¹⁶ Behold! I will send for many fishermen—this is Yahweh's declaration—so they will fish the people out. After this I will send for many hunters so they will hunt for them among all the mountains and hills, and in rock crevices. ¹⁷ For my eye is on all their ways; they cannot be hidden from before me. Their iniquity cannot be concealed from before my eyes. ¹⁸ I will first pay back double for their iniquity and sin. They have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the corpses of their detestable idols and their abominations."

¹⁹ Yahweh, you are my stronghold and my refuge,

my place of safety in the day of distress.

The nations will go to you from the ends of the earth and say,

"Surely our ancestors inherited deceit.

They are empty;

there is no profit in them.

²⁰ Do people make gods for themselves?

But they are not gods."

²¹ Therefore see! I will cause them to know in this time,

I will cause them to know my hand and my power,

so they will know that Yahweh is my name.

Chapter 17

¹ "The sin of Judah is written

with an iron stylus having a diamond point.

It is engraved on the tablet of their heart

and on the horns of your altars.

² Even their children remember their altars

and their Asherah poles

that were beside the spreading trees

and on the high hills.

³ My mountain in the open country,

and your wealth and all your treasures

I will give away as plunder,

together with your high places,

because of the sin you committed in all your territories.

⁴ You will, by your own actions,

let go of the inheritance that I gave to you.

I will enslave you to your enemies

in a land that you do not know,

for you have ignited a fire in my wrath,

which will burn forever."

⁵ Yahweh says,

"The person who trusts in mankind is accursed;

he makes flesh his strength

but turns his heart away from Yahweh.

⁶ For he will be like a small bush in the Arabah

and will not see anything good coming.

He will stay in the stony places in the wilderness,

barren land without inhabitants.

⁷ But the person who trusts in Yahweh is blessed,

for Yahweh is his reason for confidence.

⁸ For he will be like a tree planted by water,

its roots will spread out by the stream.

It will not fear the heat when it comes,

for its leaves are always green.

It is not anxious in a year of drought,

and it will not stop producing fruit.

⁹ The heart is more deceitful than anything else.

It is sick; who can understand it?

¹⁰ I am Yahweh,

the one who searches through the mind,

who tests the hearts.

I give to each person according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.

¹¹ A partridge hatches an egg that she did not lay.

Someone may become rich unjustly,

but when half his days are over,

those riches will abandon him,

and in the end he will be a fool."

¹² "The place of our sanctuary is a glorious throne,

elevated from the beginning.

¹³ Yahweh is the hope of Israel.

All who abandon you will be put to shame;

those in the land who turn away from you

will be written in the earth,

for they have abandoned Yahweh,

the fountain of living waters.

¹⁴ Heal me, Yahweh, and I will be healed!

Rescue me, and I will be rescued

For you are my song of praise.

¹⁵ See, they are saying to me,

'Where is the word of Yahweh? Let it come!'

¹⁶ As for me,

I did not run from being a shepherd following you.

I did not long for the day of disaster.

You know the proclamations that came from my lips.

They were made in your presence.

¹⁷ Do not be a terror to me.

You are my refuge on the day of calamity.

¹⁸ May my pursuers be ashamed,

but do not let me be ashamed.

May they be dismayed,

but do not let me be dismayed.

Send the day of disaster against them

and shatter them with a double share of destruction."

¹⁹ Yahweh said this to me: "Go and stand in the gate of the people where the kings of Judah enter and where they exit, then in all the other gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Say to them, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and all you people of Judah, and every resident of Jerusalem who comes in through these gates.

²¹ Yahweh says this: "Be careful for the sake of your lives and do not carry a burden on the Sabbath day to bring it to the gates of Jerusalem. ²² Do not bring a load out from your house on the Sabbath day. Do not do any work, but set apart the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors to do."' ²³ They did not listen or pay attention, but stiffened their neck so they would not hear me nor accept discipline.

²⁴ It will happen that if you truly listen to me—this is Yahweh's declaration—and do not bring a load to the gates of this city on the Sabbath day but instead set apart the Sabbath day and not do any work on it, ²⁵ then kings, princes, and those who sit on David's throne will come to the gates of this city in chariots and with horses, they and their leaders, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

²⁶ They will come from the cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and the lowlands, from the mountains, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, thank offerings to the house of Yahweh. ²⁷ But if you do not listen to me—to set apart the Sabbath day and to not carry heavy loads and to not enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day—then I will light a fire in its gates, and it will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem, and it cannot be put out."

Chapter 18

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, ² "Arise and go out to the potter's house, for I will have you hear my word there." ³ So I went out to the potter's house, and behold! The potter was working on the potter's wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was making from the clay was ruined in the potter's hand, so he returned the clay and formed it into another pot, and he made that pot an object that was pleasing in his eyes.

⁵ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁶ "Should I not be able to act like this potter with you, house of Israel?—this is Yahweh's declaration. Behold! Like clay in a potter's hand—that is how you are in my hand, house of Israel. ⁷ At one moment, I may proclaim something about a nation or a kingdom, that I will drive it out, tear it down, or destroy it. ⁸ But if the nation about which I have made that proclamation turns from its evil, then I will relent from the disaster that I was planning to bring upon it.

⁹ At another moment, I may proclaim something about a nation or a kingdom, that I will build it up or plant it. ¹⁰ But if it does evil in my eyes by not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had said I would do for them.

¹¹ So now, speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and say, 'Yahweh says this: See, I am about to form disaster against you. I am about to devise a plan against you. Repent, each person from his wicked way, so your ways and your practices will bring good to you.' ¹² But they will say, 'This is no use. We will act according to our own plans. Each one of us will do what his evil, stubborn heart desires.'

¹³ Therefore Yahweh says this,

'Ask the nations,

who has ever heard of such a thing as this?

The virgin Israel has committed a horrible act.

¹⁴ Does the snow in Lebanon

ever leave the rocky hills on its sides?

Are the mountain streams coming from far away

ever destroyed, those cold streams?

¹⁵ Yet my people have forgotten me.

They have made offerings to useless idols

and been made to stumble in their paths;

they have left the ancient paths

to walk lesser paths.

¹⁶ Their land will become a horror,

an object of everlasting hissing.

Everyone who passes by her

will be astonished and shake his head.

¹⁷ I will scatter them before their enemies

like an eastern wind.

I will show them my back, and not my face,

on the day of their disaster.'"

¹⁸ So the people said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, since the law will never perish from the priests, or advice from the wise men, or words from the prophets. Come, let us attack him with our words and no longer pay attention to anything he proclaims."

¹⁹ Pay attention to me, Yahweh,

and listen to the voice of my enemies.

²⁰ Will disaster from them really be my reward

for being good to them?

For they have dug a pit for me.

Remember how I stood before you to speak for their welfare,

to cause your fury to turn away from them.

²¹ Therefore give their children over to famine,

and give them to the hands of those who use the sword.

So let their women become bereaved and widows,

and their men be killed,

and their young men killed by the sword in battle.

²² Let a distressed shout be heard from their houses,

as you suddenly bring raiders against them.

For they have dug a pit to capture me

and have hidden traps for my feet.

²³ But you, Yahweh

you know all of their plans against me to kill me.

Do not forgive their iniquities.

Do not wipe their sins away from you.

Let them be overthrown before you.

Act against them in the time of your wrath.

Chapter 19

¹ Yahweh said this, "Go and purchase a potter's clay flask while you are with the elders of the people and the priests. ² Then go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom at the entry of the Broken Pottery Gate, and there proclaim the words that I will tell you. ³ Say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, "See, I am about to bring disaster on this place, and the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

⁴ I will do this because they have abandoned me and profaned this place. In this place they offer sacrifices to other gods that they did not know. They, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have also filled this place with innocent blood. ⁵ They built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to him—something that I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.

⁶ Therefore, see, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when this place will no longer be called Topheth, the Valley of Ben Hinnom, for it will be the Valley of Slaughter. ⁷ In this place I will make the plans of Judah and Jerusalem useless. I will make them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of the ones seeking their lives. Then I will give their corpses as food to the birds of the heavens and the wild animals of the earth. ⁸ Then I will make this city a ruin and the object of hissing, for everyone passing by it will be astonished and hiss regarding all of its plagues. ⁹ I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters; each man will consume the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and the ones seeking their lives distress them."'

¹⁰ Then you will break the clay flask in the sight of the men who went with you. ¹¹ You will say to them, 'Yahweh of hosts says this: I will do this same thing to this people and this city—this is Yahweh's declaration—just as Jeremiah shattered the clay flask so that it could not be repaired again. People will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no place left for any more dead.

¹² This is what I will do to this place and its inhabitants when I make this city like Topheth—this is Yahweh's declaration— ¹³ so the houses of Jerusalem and of the kings of Judah will become like Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops the unclean people worship all the stars of the heavens and pour out drink offerings to other gods.'"

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah went from Topheth, where Yahweh had sent him to prophesy. He stood in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh and he said to all the people, ¹⁵ "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to bring to this city and to all of its towns all the disaster that I have proclaimed against it, since they stiffened their neck and refused to listen to my words.'"

Chapter 20

¹ Pashhur son of Immer the priest—he was a leading officer—heard Jeremiah prophesying these words before the house of Yahweh. ² So Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet and then placed him in the stocks that were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the house of Yahweh.

³ It happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, "Yahweh has not called your name Pashhur, but you are Magor Missabib. ⁴ For Yahweh says this, 'Look, I will make you an object of horror, you and all of your loved ones, for they will fall by the sword of their enemies and your eyes will see it. I will give all of Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will make them captives in Babylon or attack them with the sword.

⁵ I will give him all the wealth of this city and all the products of its labor, all of its precious items, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. I will place these things in the hand of your enemies, and they will plunder them. They will seize them and bring them to Babylon. ⁶ But you, Pashhur, and all the inhabitants of your house will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon and die there. You and all of your loved ones to whom you prophesied deceitful things will be buried there.'"

⁷ "Yahweh, you deceived me, and I was deceived.

You are stronger than I,

and you overpowered me.

I have become a laughingstock all day long;

everyone mocks me.

⁸ For whenever I have spoken,

I have called out and proclaimed,

'Violence and destruction.'

So the word of Yahweh

has brought me insult and mocking all the day.

⁹ If I say, 'I will not think about Yahweh anymore.

I will not speak any longer in his name.'

Then it is like a burning fire in my heart,

held within my bones.

So I struggle to contain it but I cannot.

¹⁰ I have heard rumors of terror

from many people all around.

'Report! We must report it!'

Every one of my men of peace

watches to see if I will fall.

'Perhaps he can be tricked.

If so, we can overpower him

and take our revenge on him.'

¹¹ But Yahweh is with me like a terrifying warrior,

so the ones pursuing me will stagger.

They will not defeat me.

They will be greatly ashamed,

because they will not succeed.

They will have unending shame,

it will never be forgotten.

¹² But Yahweh of hosts,

you examine the righteous

and see the mind and the heart.

Let me see your vengeance on them

for I have committed my cause to you.

¹³ Sing to Yahweh!

Praise Yahweh!

For he has rescued the lives of those

who are oppressed from the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴ Let the day when I was born be cursed.

Do not let the day that my mother bore me be blessed.

¹⁵ Let the man who brought the joyful news

to my father be cursed,

the one who said,

'A male child has been born to you,' causing great joy.

¹⁶ Let that man be like the cities that Yahweh overthrew

and he did not have compassion on them.

Let him hear a cry for help in the dawn,

a battle cry at noontime,

¹⁷ because he did not kill me in the womb,

making my mother to be my tomb,

a womb that was pregnant forever.

¹⁸ Why is it that I came out from the womb

to see troubles and agony,

so that my days are filled with shame?"

Chapter 21

¹ The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest to him, and they said, ² "Seek advice from Yahweh on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war on us. Perhaps Yahweh will do miracles for us, as in times past, and will make him withdraw from us."

³ So Jeremiah said to them, "This is what you must say to Zedekiah, ⁴ 'Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: See, I am about to turn back the instruments of war that are in your hand, with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are closing you in from outside the walls! For I will gather them in the middle of this city. ⁵ Then I myself will fight against you with a raised hand and a strong arm, and with wrath, fury, and great anger.

⁶ For I will attack the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal. They will die in a severe plague. ⁷ After this—this is Yahweh's declaration—Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, the people, and whoever remains in this city after the plague, the sword, and the famine, I will give them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their life. Then he will kill them with the edge of the sword. He will not pity them, spare them, or have compassion.'

⁸ Then to this people you must say, 'Yahweh says this: See, I am about to place before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Anyone staying in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague; but anyone going out and falling on his knees before the Chaldeans who have closed in against you will live. His life will be his loot. ¹⁰ For I have set my face against this city in order to bring disaster and not to bring good—this is Yahweh's declaration. It has been given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it.'

¹¹ Concerning the house of the king of Judah, listen to the word of Yahweh. ¹² House of David, Yahweh says,

'Bring about justice in the morning.

Rescue the one who has been robbed

by the hand of the oppressor,

or my fury will go out like fire and burn,

and there is no one who can quench it,

because of the wickedness of your practices.

¹³ See, inhabitant of the valley!

I am against you, rock of the plain—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

I am against anyone who is saying,

"Who will come down to attack us?"

or "Who will enter our houses?"

¹⁴ I have assigned the fruit of your practices

to come against you—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

and I will light a fire in the thickets,

and it will consume everything around it.'"

Chapter 22

¹ This is what Yahweh says, "Go down to the house of the king of Judah and proclaim this word there. ² Say, 'King of Judah, listen to the word of Yahweh—you who sit on David's throne—you, and your servants, and your people who come through these gates. ³ Yahweh says this, "Perform justice and righteousness, and anyone who has been robbed—rescue him from the hand of the oppressor. Do not mistreat any foreigner in your land, or any orphan or widow. Do not commit violence or pour out innocent blood in this place.

⁴ For if you truly do these things, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter the gates of this house riding in a chariot and on horses—he, his servants, and his people! ⁵ But if you do not listen to these words, then I have sworn by myself—this is Yahweh's declaration—that this royal house will become a ruin."'

⁶ For Yahweh says this concerning the house of the king of Judah,

'You are like Gilead,

or like the summit of Lebanon to me.

Yet I will turn you into a wilderness,

into cities with no inhabitants.

⁷ For I have appointed destroyers to come against you!

Men with their weapons

will cut off the best of your cedars

and let them fall into the fire.

⁸ Then many nations will pass by this city. Each person will say to the next, "Why has Yahweh acted in this way toward this great city?" ⁹ Then the other will answer, "Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God and bowed down to other gods and worshiped them."

¹⁰ Do not weep for the one who is dead

or mourn for him;

but weep bitterly for him who is about to go away,

because he will never return

and see the land of his birth again.'

¹¹ For Yahweh says this about Shallum son of Josiah king of Judah, who served as king instead of Josiah his father, 'He has gone from this place and will not come back. ¹² He will die there in the place to where they have exiled him, and he will never again see this land.'

¹³ Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

his upper rooms by injustice,

who makes his neighbor work for him for nothing,

and he does not give him his wages;

¹⁴ he says, 'I will build for myself a large house

with spacious upper rooms.'

So he cuts out large windows for it,

and he panels it with cedar, and he paints it red.

¹⁵ Is this what makes you a good king,

that you wanted to have boards of cedar?

Did not your father also eat and drink,

yet do justice and righteousness?

Then things went well for him.

¹⁶ He judged in favor of the poor and needy.

It was good then.

Is this not what it means to know me?

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁷ But there is nothing in your eyes and heart

except worry for your unjust profit

and for pouring out innocent blood,

for producing oppression and crushing of others.

¹⁸ Therefore this is what Yahweh says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

They will not lament for him, saying,

'Woe, my brother!' or 'Woe, my sister!'

They will not lament for him, saying,

'Woe, master!' or 'Woe, majesty!'

¹⁹ He will be buried with a donkey's burial,

dragged away and thrown out

beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰ Go up Lebanon's mountains and shout.

Lift your voice in Bashan.

Shout from the Abarim mountains,

for all of your friends will be destroyed.

²¹ I spoke to you when you were safe,

but you said, 'I will not listen.'

This was your custom since your youth,

for you have not listened to my voice.

²² The wind will shepherd away all your shepherds,

and your friends will go into captivity.

Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated

by all of your evil deeds.

²³ You who live in 'Lebanon,'

who is nestled in cedar buildings,

how you will be pitied when the labor pains come upon you,

pain like that of a woman in labor!

²⁴ "As I live—this is Yahweh's declaration—even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on my right hand, I would tear you off. ²⁵ For I have given you to the hand of the ones seeking your life and to the hand of those before whom you are afraid, even to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. ²⁶ I will throw you and your mother who bore you into another land, a country where you were not born, and there you will die.

²⁷ About this land to which they will want to return, they will not come back here.

²⁸ Is this a despised and shattered vessel?

Is this man Jehoiachin a pot that pleases no one?

Why have they thrown him and his descendants out,

and have poured them out into a land that they did not know?

²⁹ Land, Land, Land!

Hear the word of Yahweh!

³⁰ Yahweh says this,

'Write about this man Jehoiachin:

He will be childless.

He will not prosper during his days,

and no one among his descendants

will achieve success

or ever again sit on David's throne

and rule over Judah.'"

Chapter 23

¹ "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture—this is Yahweh's declaration." ² Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this concerning the shepherds who are shepherding his people, "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away. You have not cared for them. So I am about to punish you for the wickedness of your practices—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³ I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all of the lands where I have driven them, and I will return them to a grazing place, where they will be fruitful and increase. ⁴ Then I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them so they will no longer fear or be dismayed. None of them will go missing—this is Yahweh's declaration.

⁵ See, the days are coming

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—when I will raise up for David a righteous branch.

He will reign as king;

he will act wisely

and cause justice and righteousness in the land.

⁶ In his days Judah will be rescued,

and Israel will live in security.

Then this is the name by which he will be called:

Yahweh is our righteousness.

⁷ Therefore see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when they will no longer say, 'As Yahweh lives, who brought the people of Israel up from the land of Egypt.' ⁸ Instead they will say, 'As Yahweh lives, who brought up and who led back the descendants of the house of Israel from the northern land and all the lands where I had driven them.' Then they will live in their own land."

⁹ Regarding the prophets,

my heart is broken in me,

and all of my bones tremble.

I have become like a drunk man,

like a man whom wine has overpowered,

because of Yahweh and his holy words.

¹⁰ For the land is full of adulterers.

Because of the curse the land mourns.

The meadows in the wilderness dry up.

These prophets' paths are wicked;

their power is not used in a right manner.

¹¹ "For both the prophets and the priests are polluted.

I even found their wickedness in my house!

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

¹² therefore their way will be

like a slippery place in the darkness.

They will be pushed down.

They will fall in it.

For I will send disaster against them

in the year of their punishment

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹³ For I have seen the prophets in Samaria

doing what is repulsive:

They prophesied by Baal

and led my people Israel astray.

¹⁴ Among the prophets in Jerusalem

I have seen horrible things:

They commit adultery and walk in deceit.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers;

no one turns back from his wickedness.

All of them have become like Sodom to me

and its inhabitants like Gomorrah!"

¹⁵ Therefore Yahweh of hosts says this concerning the prophets,

"Look, I am about to make them eat wormwood

and drink poisonous water,

for pollution has gone out from the prophets of Jerusalem

to all the land."

¹⁶ Yahweh of hosts says this,

"Do not listen to the words of the prophets

who prophesy to you.

They are leading you into vanity!

They are announcing visions from their own minds,

not from Yahweh's mouth.

¹⁷ They are constantly saying to those who dishonor me,

'Yahweh declares there will be peace for you.'

For everyone walking

in the stubbornness of his own heart says,

'Disaster will not come upon you.'

¹⁸ Yet who has stood in Yahweh's council meeting?

Who sees and hears his word?

Who pays attention to his word and listens?

¹⁹ See, there is a storm coming from Yahweh!

His fury is going out, and a tempest is whirling about.

It is whirling around the heads of the wicked.

²⁰ Yahweh's wrath will not return

until it has carried out

and brought into being his heart's purposes.

In the final days,

you will understand it.

²¹ I did not send out these prophets,

but they ran.

I did not proclaim anything to them,

but they have still prophesied.

²² For if they had stood in my council meeting,

they would have caused my people to hear my word;

they would have caused them to turn from their wicked words

and from the wickedness of their practices.

²³ Am I only a God nearby

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—and not also a God far away?

²⁴ Can anyone hide in a secret place so I cannot see him?

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

and do I not fill the heavens and the earth?

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁵ I have heard what the prophets have said, those who were prophesying deceit in my name. They said, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' ²⁶ How long will this go on, prophets who prophesy lies from their minds, and who prophesy from the deceit in their hearts? ²⁷ They are planning on making my people forget my name with the dreams that they report, each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors forgot my name in favor of Baal's name.

²⁸ The prophet who has a dream, let him report the dream. But the one to whom I have declared something, let him declare my word truthfully. What does straw have to do with grain?—this is Yahweh's declaration— ²⁹ Is not my word like fire?—this is Yahweh's declaration—and like a hammer that shatters a rock into pieces? ³⁰ So see, I am against the prophets—this is Yahweh's declaration—anyone who steals words from another person and says they come from me.

³¹ See, I am against the prophets—this is Yahweh's declaration—who use their tongues to prophesy proclamations. ³² See, I am against the prophets who dream deceitfully—this is Yahweh's declaration—and then proclaim them and in this way mislead my people with their deceit and boasting. I am against them, for I have not sent them out nor given them commands. So they will certainly not help this people—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³³ When these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, 'What is the burden of Yahweh?' you will say to them, 'You are the burden, and I will cast you off'—this is Yahweh's declaration. ³⁴ As for the prophets, priests, and people who are saying, 'This is the burden of Yahweh' I will punish that man and his house.

³⁵ You continue to say, each person to his neighbor and each man to his brother, 'What did Yahweh answer?' and 'What did Yahweh declare?' ³⁶ But you must no longer talk about the 'burden of Yahweh,' for the burden is every man's own word, and you have perverted the words of the living God, Yahweh of hosts, our God.

³⁷ This is what you will say to the prophet, 'What answer did Yahweh give you?' or 'What did Yahweh say?' ³⁸ But if you say, 'The burden of Yahweh', this is what Yahweh says: 'Because you have said these words, 'The burden of Yahweh,' when I sent to you, saying, 'You will not say, "The burden of Yahweh,"' ³⁹ therefore, behold, I am about to pick you up and throw you away from me, along with the city that I gave you and your ancestors. ⁴⁰ Then I will put everlasting disgrace and everlasting shame on you that will not be forgotten.'"

Chapter 24

¹ Yahweh showed me something. Behold, two baskets of figs were placed before the temple of Yahweh. (This vision happened after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took into exile Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, the officials of Judah, the craftsmen and the metalworkers from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon.) ² One basket of figs was very good, like first ripe figs, but the other basket of figs was so very bad that they could not be eaten. ³ Yahweh said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs. Figs that are very good and figs that are so very bad they cannot be eaten."

⁴ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁵ "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: I will look on the exiles of Judah for their benefit, just like these good figs, the exiles whom I have sent out from this place to the land of Chaldea. ⁶ I will set my eyes on them for good and restore them to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down. I will plant them, and not uproot them. ⁷ Then I will give them a heart to know me, for I am Yahweh. They will be my people and I will be their God, so they will turn to me with all their heart.

⁸ But like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten—this is what Yahweh says—I will act in this way with Zedekiah, king of Judah, with his officials, and with the rest of Jerusalem who remain in this land or go to stay in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will turn them into a terrifying thing, a disaster, in the sight of all the kingdoms on earth, a disgrace and a subject for proverbs, taunts, and curses in every place where I will have driven them. ¹⁰ I will send out sword, famine, and plague against them, until they are destroyed from the land that I gave them and their ancestors."

Chapter 25

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah. It came in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. That was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. ² Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed this to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³ He said, "For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah until this day, Yahweh's words have been coming to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ Yahweh sent out all his servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or turned your ear to hear.

⁵ These prophets said, 'Let each man turn from his wicked way and the wickedness of his practices and return to the land that Yahweh gave in ancient times to your ancestors and to you, as a permanent gift. ⁶ So do not walk after other gods to worship them or bow down to them, and do not provoke him with the work of your hands so that he does you harm.'

⁷ But you have not listened to me—this is Yahweh's declaration—so you have provoked me with the work of your hands to do harm to you. ⁸ So Yahweh of hosts says this, 'Because you did not listen to my words, ⁹ see, I am about to send out a command to gather all the peoples of the north—this is Yahweh's declaration—with Nebuchadnezzar my servant, king of Babylon, and bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all the nations around you. For I will set them apart for destruction. I will turn them into a horror, an object for hissing, and an unending desolation.

¹⁰ I will put an end to the sound of joy and sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ Then all of this land will become a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹² Then it will happen when seventy years have been completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans—this is Yahweh's declaration—for their iniquity and make it an unending desolation. ¹³ Then I will carry out against that land all the words that I had spoken, and everything written in this book that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For also many other nations and great kings will make slaves out of these nations. I will repay them for their deeds and the works of their hands.'"

¹⁵ For Yahweh, God of Israel, said this to me, "Take this cup of the wine of fury from my hand and make all the nations to which I am sending you drink it. ¹⁶ For they will drink and then stagger about and rant madly before the sword that I am sending out among them."

¹⁷ So I took the cup from Yahweh's hand, and I made all the nations to which Yahweh had sent me drink it: ¹⁸ Jerusalem, the cities of Judah and her kings and officials—to turn them into ruins and a waste, and into an object for hissing and cursing, as they are at this present day.

¹⁹ Other nations also had to drink it: Pharaoh king of Egypt and his servants; his officials and all his people; ²⁰ all people of mixed heritage and all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; ²¹ Edom and Moab and the people of Ammon.

²² The kings of Tyre and Sidon, the kings of the coasts on the other side of the sea, ²³ Dedan, Tema, and Buz with all the ones who cut the hair on the sides of their heads very short, they also had to drink it.

²⁴ All the kings of Arabia and all the kings of people of mixed heritage who live in the wilderness; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; ²⁶ all the kings of the north, the ones close by and the ones far away—everyone with his brother and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the surface of the earth, all of them had to drink the cup from Yahweh's hand. Finally, the king of Babylon will also drink from that cup.

²⁷ Yahweh said to me, "Now you must say to them, 'Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Drink and become drunk, then vomit, fall down, and do not rise before the sword that I am sending among you.' ²⁸ Then it will happen that if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, you will say to them, 'Yahweh of hosts says this: You must certainly drink it. ²⁹ For see, I am about to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and should you yourselves be free from punishment? You will not be free, for I am calling a sword against all the inhabitants of the land!—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.'

³⁰ You must prophesy all these words against them, and say to them,

'Yahweh will roar from the heights

and he will shout with his voice from his holy dwelling,

and he will roar mightily against his fold;

and he will shout, like those who tread the grapes

against all those who live on the earth.

³¹ The sound of battle will resound to the ends of the earth,

for Yahweh brings charges against the nations,

and he brings judgment on all flesh,

and the wicked ones he will put to the sword

—this is Yahweh's declaration.'

³² Yahweh of hosts says this,

'See, disaster is going out from nation to nation,

and a great storm is beginning

from the farthest parts of the earth.

³³ Then those killed by Yahweh will on that day extend from one end of the earth to the other; they will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung on the ground.

³⁴ Wail, shepherds, and shout for help!

Roll about in the dust, you noblemen of the flock,

for the days of your slaughter have come;

you will be scattered when you fall like fine pottery.

³⁵ There is no refuge for the shepherds,

there will be no escape for the noblemen of the flock.

³⁶ Hear the outcry of the shepherds

and the wails of the noblemen of the flock,

for Yahweh is destroying their pastures.

³⁷ So the peaceful pastures will be devastated

because of Yahweh's fierce anger.

³⁸ Like a young lion, he has left his den,

for their land will become a horror

because of the oppressor's anger,

because of his angry wrath.'" ¹

¹Instead of the oppressor's anger , some ancient Hebrew copies and some modern translations have the oppressor's sword .

Chapter 26

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, saying, ² "Yahweh says this: Stand in the courtyard of my house and speak about all the cities of Judah who come to worship at my house. Proclaim all the words that I have commanded you to say to them. Do not cut short any word! ³ It may be that they will listen, that each man will turn from his wicked ways, so I will relent concerning the disaster that I am planning to bring on them because of the wickedness of their deeds.

⁴ So you must say to them, 'Yahweh says this: If you do not listen to me so as to walk in my law that I have placed before you— ⁵ if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I am persistently sending to you—but you have not listened!— ⁶ then I will make this house like Shiloh; I will turn this city into a curse in the sight of all the nations on earth.'"

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah announcing these words in the house of Yahweh. ⁸ So it happened that when Jeremiah had finished announcing all that Yahweh commanded him to say to all the people, the priests, prophets, and all the people seized him and said, "You will certainly die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in Yahweh's name and said that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will become desolate, with no inhabitant?" For all the people had assembled together against Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh.

¹⁰ Then the officials of Judah heard these words and went up from the house of the king to the house of Yahweh. They sat in the gateway at the New Gate of the house of Yahweh. ¹¹ The priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people. They said, "It is right for this man to die, for he prophesied against this city, just as you heard with your own ears!" ¹² So Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people and said, "Yahweh has sent me out to prophesy against this house and this city, to say all the words that you have heard.

¹³ So now, improve your ways and your practices, and listen to the voice of Yahweh your God so that he will relent concerning the disaster that he has proclaimed against you. ¹⁴ I myself—look at me!—am in your hand. Do to me what is good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵ But you must surely know that if you kill me, then you are bringing innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its inhabitants, for Yahweh has truly sent me to you to proclaim all these words for your ears."

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and prophets, "It is not right for this man to die, for he has proclaimed things to us in the name of Yahweh our God." ¹⁷ Then men from the elders of the land rose up and spoke to the entire assembly of the people.

¹⁸ They said, "Micah of Moresheth was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He spoke to all the people of Judah and said, 'Yahweh of hosts says this:

Zion will become a plowed field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

and the hill of the temple will become a thicket.'

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all of Judah put him to death? Did he not fear Yahweh and appease the face of Yahweh so that Yahweh would relent concerning the disaster that he proclaimed to them? So will we do greater evil against our own lives?"

²⁰ Meanwhile there was another man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh—Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim—he also prophesied against this city and this land, agreeing with all of Jeremiah's words. ²¹ But when King Jehoiakim and all his soldiers and officials heard his word, then the king tried to put him to death, but Uriah heard and was afraid, so he ran away and went to Egypt.

²² Then King Jehoiakim sent out men to go to Egypt—Elnathan son of Akbor and men to go into Egypt after Uriah. ²³ They took Uriah out from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim. Then Jehoiakim killed him with a sword and sent his corpse out to the graves of the ordinary people. ²⁴ But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so he was not given into the hand of the people to be put to death.

Chapter 27

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh. ¹ ² This is what Yahweh said to me, "Make fetters and a yoke for yourself. Place them on your neck. ³ Then send them out to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the people of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon. Send them by the hand of those kings' ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Give commands to them for their masters and say, 'Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: This is what you must say to your masters,

⁵ "I myself made the earth by my great strength and my raised arm. I also made men and animals on the earth, and I give it to anyone who is right in my eyes. ⁶ So now, I myself am giving all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant. Also, I am giving the living things in the fields to him to serve him. ⁷ For all the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his land comes. Then many nations and great kings will subdue him.

⁸ So the nation and the kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon—I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with the plague—this is Yahweh's declaration—until I have destroyed it by his hand.

⁹ So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, and sorcerers, who have been speaking to you and saying, 'Do not serve the king of Babylon.' ¹⁰ For they are prophesying deceit to you in order to send you far away from your lands, for I will drive you away, and you will die. ¹¹ But the nation that places its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will allow it to rest in its land—this is Yahweh's declaration—and they will cultivate it and make their homes in it."'"

¹² So I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah and gave him this message, "Place your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and you will live. ¹³ Why will you die—you and your people—by the sword, famine, and plague, just as I have declared about the nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴ Do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you and say, 'Do not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁵ 'For I have not sent them out—this is Yahweh's declaration—for they are prophesying deceit in my name so that I will drive you out and you will perish, both you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.'"

¹⁶ I proclaimed this to the priests and all the people and said, "Yahweh says this: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you and say, 'Look! The objects belonging to the house of Yahweh are being returned from Babylon now!' They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. You should serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a ruin? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of Yahweh has truly come to them, let them beg Yahweh of hosts not to send to Babylon the objects that remain in his house, the house of the king of Judah, and Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Yahweh of hosts says this about the pillars, the large basin known as "The Sea" and its base, and the rest of the objects that remain in this city— ²⁰ the objects that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

²¹ Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this about the objects that remain in the house of Yahweh, the house of the king of Judah, and Jerusalem, ²² 'They will be brought to Babylon, and they will remain there until the day I have set to come for them—this is Yahweh's declaration—then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.'"

¹Although most Hebrew copies have Jehoiakim , most modern translations have Zedekiah , because the events in this chapter occur during his reign.

Chapter 28

¹ It happened in that year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year and the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azzur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Yahweh in front of the priests and all the people. He said, ² "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: I have broken the yoke imposed by the king of Babylon.

³ Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects belonging to the house of Yahweh house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and transported to Babylon. ⁴ Then I will bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the captives of Judah who were sent to Babylon—this is Yahweh's declaration—for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon."

⁵ So Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Hananiah the prophet in front of the priests and to all the people who stood in the house of Yahweh. ⁶ Jeremiah the prophet said, "Let it be so! May Yahweh confirm the words that you prophesied and bring back to this place the objects belonging to the house of Yahweh and all the captives from Babylon. ⁷ However, listen to the word that I am proclaiming in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.

⁸ The prophets who existed before me and you from long ago also prophesied about many nations and against great kingdoms, about war, famine ¹ , and plague. ⁹ So the prophet who prophesies that there will be peace—if his word comes true, then it will be known that he is indeed a prophet sent out by Yahweh."

¹⁰ But Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Then Hananiah spoke in front of all the people and said, "Yahweh says this: Just like this, within two years I will break from off the neck of every nation the yoke imposed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon." Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.

¹² After Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ "Go and speak to Hananiah and say, 'Yahweh says this: You broke yokes of wood, and in their place you have made yokes of iron.' ¹⁴ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: I have placed a yoke of iron on the neck of all of these nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also given him the wild beasts in the fields to rule over."

¹⁵ Next Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen Hananiah! Yahweh has not sent you, but you yourself have caused this people to trust in a lie. ¹⁶ So Yahweh says this: Look, I am about to send you out from the earth. You will die this year, since you proclaimed rebellion against Yahweh." ¹⁷ In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.

¹Some ancient copies have disaster instead of famine .

Chapter 29

¹ These are the words in the scroll that Jeremiah the prophet sent out from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the captives and to the priests, prophets, and all the people that Nebuchadnezzar exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after Jehoiachin the king, the queen mother, and the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen had been sent away from Jerusalem. ³ He sent this scroll by the hand of Elasah son of Shapan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, had sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

⁴ The scroll said, "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this to all the captives whom I caused to be exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon, ⁵ 'Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit.

⁶ Take wives and give birth to sons and daughters. Then take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands. Let them give birth to sons and daughters and increase there so you do not become too few. ⁷ Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be exiled, and intercede with me on its behalf since there will be peace for you if it is at peace.'

⁸ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that you encourage them to dream. ⁹ For they are prophesying deceitfully to you in my name. I did not send them—this is Yahweh's declaration.'

¹⁰ For Yahweh says this, 'When Babylon has ruled you for seventy years, I will help you and carry out my good word for you to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I myself know the plans that I have for you—this is Yahweh's declaration—plans for peace and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

¹² Then you will call to me, and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ For you will seek me and find me, since you will seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ Then I will be found by you—this is Yahweh's declaration—and I will reverse your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and places where I scattered you—this is Yahweh's declaration—for I will bring you back to the place from where I caused you to be exiled.'

¹⁵ Since you said that Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon, ¹⁶ Yahweh says this to the king who sits on the throne of David and to all the people who are staying in that city, your brothers who have not gone out with you into captivity— ¹⁷ Yahweh of hosts says this, 'See, I am about to send sword, famine, and plague on them. For I will make them like rotten figs that are too bad to be eaten.

¹⁸ Then I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague and make them a terrifying thing to all the kingdoms on earth—a horror, an object of curses and hissing, and a shameful thing among all the nations where I scattered her. ¹⁹ This is because they did not listen to my word—this is Yahweh's declaration—that I sent out to them through my servants the prophets. I repeatedly sent them, but you would not listen—this is Yahweh's declaration.'

²⁰ So you yourselves listen to the word of Yahweh, all you exiles whom he has sent out from Jerusalem to Babylon,

²¹ 'Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who prophesy falsely to you in my name: See, I am about to put them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will kill them before your eyes.

²² Then a curse will be spoken about these persons by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon. The curse will say: "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in fire." ²³ This will happen because of the disgraceful things they did in Israel when they committed adultery with their neighbor's wives and declared false words in my name, things that I never commanded them to say. For I am the one who knows; I am the witness—this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

²⁴ About Shemaiah the Nehelamite, say this: ²⁵ "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Because you sent out letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, and said, ²⁶ 'Yahweh has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, for you to be the overseer of the house of Yahweh. You are in control of all the people who rave and make themselves into prophets. You should put them in stocks and chains.

²⁷ So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself into a prophet against you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon and said, 'It will be a long time. Build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit."'" ²⁹ Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.

³⁰ Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹ "Send word to all the exiles and say, 'Yahweh says this about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you when I myself did not send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie, ³² therefore Yahweh says this: Look, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be a man for him to stay among this people. He will not see the good that I will do for my people—this is Yahweh's declaration—for he has proclaimed rebellion against Yahweh.'"

Chapter 30

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, ² "This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says, 'Write in a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you. ³ For look, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will reverse the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah. I, Yahweh, have said it. For I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will possess it.'"

⁴ These are the words that Yahweh declared concerning Israel and Judah, ⁵ "For Yahweh says this,

'We have heard a trembling voice

of dread and not of peace.

⁶ Ask and see if a man bears a child.

Why do I see every young man with his hand on his loins

like a woman bearing a child?

Why have all their faces become pale?

⁷ Woe! For that day will be great,

with none like it.

It will be a time of distress for Jacob,

but he will be rescued from it.

⁸ For it will be in that day

—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts

—that I will break the yoke off your neck,

and I will shatter your chains,

so foreigners will no longer enslave you.

⁹ But they will worship Yahweh their God

and serve David their king,

whom I will make king over them.

¹⁰ So you, my servant Jacob, do not fear

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—and do not be dismayed, Israel.

For see, I am about to deliver you from the faraway place,

and your descendants from the land of captivity.

Jacob will return and be at ease;

he will rest secure,

and there will be no more terror.

¹¹ For I am with you

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—to save you.

Then I will bring a complete end

to all the nations where I have scattered you.

But I will certainly not put an end to you,

though I discipline you justly

and will certainly not leave you unpunished.'

¹² For Yahweh says this,

'Your injury is incurable;

your wound is infected.

¹³ There is no one to plead your case;

there is no remedy for your wound to heal you.

¹⁴ All of your lovers have forgotten you.

They will not look for you,

for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy

and the discipline of a cruel master

because of your many iniquities

and your numerous sins.

¹⁵ Why do you call for help for your injury?

Your pain is incurable.

Because of your many iniquities,

your numerous sins,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶ So everyone who consumes you

will be consumed,

and all of your adversaries will go into captivity.

For the ones who have plundered you

will become plunder,

and I will make all of the ones despoiling you a spoil.

¹⁷ For I will bring healing on you;

I will heal you of your wounds

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

I will do this because they called you:

Outcast. No one cares for this Zion.'"

¹⁸ Yahweh says this,

"See, I am about to bring back

the fortunes of Jacob's tents

and have compassion on his homes.

Then a city will be built on the heap of ruins,

and a stronghold will exist again where it used to be.

¹⁹ Then a song of praise and a sound of merriment

will go out from them,

for I will increase them and not diminish them;

I will honor them so they will not be humbled.

²⁰ Then their people will be like before,

and their assembly will be established before me

when I punish all the ones

who are now oppressing them.

²¹ Their ruler will come from among them.

He will emerge from their midst

when I draw him near and when he approaches me.

If I do not do this,

who would dare come close to me?

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²² Then you will be my people,

and I will be your God.

²³ See, the tempest of Yahweh,

his fury, has gone out.

It is a continual tempest.

It will whirl on the heads of the wicked people.

²⁴ Yahweh's wrath will not return

until it has carried out and brought into being

his heart's purposes.

In the final days,

you will understand it."

Chapter 31

¹ "At that time—this is Yahweh's declaration—I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."

² Yahweh says this,

"The people who have survived the sword

have found favor in the wilderness;

I will go out to give rest to Israel."

³ Yahweh appeared to me in the past and said,

"I have loved you, Israel, with everlasting love.

So I have drawn you toward myself

with covenant faithfulness.

⁴ I will build you up again

so you will be built, virgin Israel.

You will again pick up your tambourine

and go out with happy dances.

⁵ You will plant vineyards again

on the mountains of Samaria;

the farmers will plant and put the fruit to good use.

⁶ For a day will come

when the watchmen in the mountains of Ephraim will proclaim,

'Arise, let us go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.'

⁷ For Yahweh says this,

"Shout for joy over Jacob!

Shout in gladness for the chief people of the nations!

Let praise be heard.

Say, 'Yahweh has rescued his people, the remnant of Israel.'

⁸ See, I am about to bring them from the northern lands.

I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.

The blind and lame will be among them;

pregnant women and those who are about to give birth

will be with them.

A great assembly will return here.

⁹ They will come weeping;

I will lead them as they make their pleas.

I will have them journey to streams of water

on a straight road.

They will not stumble on it,

for I will be a Father to Israel,

and Ephraim will be my firstborn.

¹⁰ "Hear the word of Yahweh, nations.

Report along the coasts in the distance.

You nations must say,

'The one who scattered Israel is gathering her up

and keeping her as a shepherd keeps his sheep.'

¹¹ For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob

and has redeemed him from the hand

that was too strong for him.

¹² Then they will come and rejoice on the heights of Zion.

Their faces will shine because of Yahweh's goodness,

over the grain and the new wine,

over the oil and the offspring of the flocks and herds.

For their lives will become like a watered garden,

and they will never again feel any more sorrow.

¹³ Then virgins will rejoice with dancing,

and young and old men will be together.

For I will change their mourning into celebration.

I will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow.

¹⁴ Then I will saturate the lives of the priests

with abundance.

My people will fill themselves with my goodness

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

¹⁵ Yahweh says this

"A voice is heard in Ramah,

wailing and bitter weeping.

It is Rachel weeping for her children.

She refuses to be comforted over them,

for they live no longer."

¹⁶ Yahweh says this,

"Hold your voice back from weeping

and your eyes from tears;

there is a reward for your work

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—your children will return from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷ There is hope for your future

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—your descendants will return inside their borders.

¹⁸ "I have certainly heard Ephraim sorrowing,

'You punished me,

and I have been punished like an untrained calf.

Bring me back and I will be brought back,

for you are Yahweh my God.

¹⁹ For after I turned back to you, I repented;

after I was trained, I slapped my thigh.

I was ashamed and humiliated,

for I have borne the disgrace of my youth.'

²⁰ Is not Ephraim my precious child?

Is he not my dear, delightful son?

For whenever I speak against him,

I certainly still call him to my loving mind.

In this way my heart longs for him.

I will certainly have compassion on him

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

²¹ Place road signs for yourself.

Set up guideposts for yourself.

Set your mind on the right path,

the way you should take.

Come back, virgin Israel!

Come back to these cities of yours.

²² How long will you waver, faithless daughter?

For Yahweh has created something new on earth

—a woman surrounds a strong man.

²³ Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says this, "When I reverse their captivity, they will say this in the land of Judah and its cities, 'May Yahweh bless you, you righteous place where he lives, you holy mountain.' ²⁴ For Judah and all its cities will live together there, as will farmers and those who set out with flocks. ²⁵ For I will cause those who are weary to drink their fill, and I fill up those who are faint." ²⁶ After this I awoke, and I realized that my sleep had been refreshing.

²⁷ "Look, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will sow the houses of Israel and Judah with the seed of man and the seed of animals. ²⁸ In the past, I kept them under surveillance in order to uproot them and to tear them down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring them harm. But in the coming days, I will watch over them, in order to build them up and to plant them—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁹ In those days no one will say any longer,

'Fathers have eaten sour grapes,

but the children's teeth are dulled.'

³⁰ For each man will die in his own iniquity; everyone who eats sour grapes, his teeth will be dulled.

³¹ Look, the days are coming—

this is Yahweh's declaration—

when I will establish a new covenant

with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

³² It will not be like the covenant

that I established with their fathers in the days

when I took them by their hand

to bring them out from the land of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

although I was a husband for them—

this is Yahweh's declaration.

³³ This is the covenant

that I will establish with the house of Israel

after these days

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

I will place my law within them

and will write it on their heart,

for I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

³⁴ Then each man will no longer teach his neighbor,

or a man teach his brother and say, 'Know Yahweh!'

For all of them will know me,

from the smallest of them to the greatest

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

for I will forgive their iniquity

and will no longer call their sins to mind."

³⁵ Yahweh says this,

it is he who gives the sun for light by day

and the ordinance of the moon and stars

for light by night.

He is the one who sets the sea in motion

so that its waves roar—

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

³⁶ "Only if these permanent things vanish from my sight

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

will Israel's descendants ever stop

from forever being a nation before me."

³⁷ Yahweh says this,

"Only if the highest heavens can be measured,

and only if the earth's foundation below can be discovered,

will I reject all of Israel's descendants

because of all that they have done

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³⁸ "Look, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when the city will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. ³⁹ Then the measuring line will go out again farther, to the hill of Gareb and around Goah. ⁴⁰ The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the terraced fields going out to the Kidron Valley as far as the corner of the Horse Gate on the east, will be set apart for Yahweh. The city will not be pulled up or overthrown again, forever."

Chapter 32

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard at the house of the king of Judah.

³ Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him and said, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Yahweh says this: Look, I am about to give over this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. ⁴ Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, for he will certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. His mouth will speak to the king's mouth, and his eyes will see the king's eyes. ⁵ He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will remain there until I have dealt with him—this is Yahweh's declaration. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.'?"

⁶ Jeremiah said, "The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁷ 'Look, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you and will say, "Buy my field that is in Anathoth for yourself, for the right of redemption belongs to you."'"

⁸ Then, as Yahweh had declared, Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me in the courtyard of the guard, and he said to me, "Buy my field that is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of inheritance is yours, and the right of redemption belongs to you. Buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was Yahweh's word. ⁹ So I bought the field in Anathoth from Hanamel, the son of my uncle, and I weighed out for him the silver, seventeen shekels in weight.

¹⁰ Then I wrote in a scroll and sealed it, and had witnesses witness it. Then I weighed the silver in the scales. ¹¹ Next I took the deed of purchase that was sealed, following the command and the statutes, as well as the unsealed deed. ¹² I gave the sealed scroll to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah in front of Hanamel, the son of my uncle, and the witnesses who had written in the sealed scroll, and in front of all the Jews who sat in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³ So I gave a command to Baruch before them. I said, ¹⁴ "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Take these documents, both this receipt of purchase that is sealed and the unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last for a long time. ¹⁵ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land."

¹⁶ After I gave the receipt of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh and said,

¹⁷ "Woe, Lord Yahweh! Look! You alone have made the heavens and the earth by your great strength and with your raised arm. Nothing you say is too difficult for you to do. ¹⁸ You show steadfast love to thousands and pour the guilt of fathers into the laps of their children after them. You are the great and mighty God; Yahweh of hosts is your name.

¹⁹ You are great in wise counsel and mighty in deeds, for your eyes are open to all the ways of people, to give to each man what his conduct and deeds deserve. ²⁰ You did signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. To this present day here in Israel and among all mankind, you have made your name famous. ²¹ For you brought your people Israel out from the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand, with a raised arm, and with great terror.

²² Then you gave them this land—which you had sworn to their ancestors to give to them—a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³ So they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or live in obedience to your law. They did nothing of what you had commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster on them.

²⁴ Look! The siege mounds have reached up to the city to capture it. For because of sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. For what you have said would happen is happening, and see, you are watching. ²⁵ Then you, Lord Yahweh, said to me, "Purchase a field for yourself with silver and have witnesses witness it, even though this city is being given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

²⁶ The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷ "Look! I am Yahweh, God of all mankind. Is anything too difficult for me to do? ²⁸ Therefore Yahweh says this, 'See, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will capture it.

²⁹ The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come and set fire to this city and burn it, along with the houses on the roofs of which the people worshiped Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods in order to provoke me. ³⁰ For the people of Israel and Judah have certainly been people who have been doing evil before my eyes since their youth. The people of Israel have certainly provoked me to anger with the works of their hands—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³¹ Yahweh declares that this city has been a provocation of my wrath and fury since the day that they built it. It has been that right up to this present day. So I will remove it from before my face ³² because of all the wickedness of the people of Israel and Judah, the things that they have done to provoke me—they, their kings, princes, priests, prophets, and every person in Judah and inhabitant of Jerusalem.

³³ They turned their backs to me instead of their faces. Though I persistently taught them, not one of them listened in order to receive correction. ³⁴ They set up their abominable idols in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵ They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom in order to put their sons and daughters in the fire for Molech. I did not command them. It never entered my mind that they should do this detestable thing and so cause Judah to sin.'

³⁶ So now therefore, I, Yahweh, the God of Israel, say this concerning this city, the city about which you are saying, 'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague.' ³⁷ See, I am about to gather them from every land where I had driven them in my wrath, fury, and great anger. I am about to bring them back to this place and enable them to live in security.

³⁸ Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ I will give them one heart and one way to honor me every day so it will be good for them and their descendants after them. ⁴⁰ Then I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. I will set honor for me in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from me.

⁴¹ Then I will rejoice in doing good to them. I will faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and all my life.

⁴² For Yahweh says this, 'Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good things that I have said I would do for them.

⁴³ Then fields will be bought in this land, about which you are saying, "This is a ruined land, which has neither man nor animal. It has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans." ⁴⁴ They will buy fields with silver and write in sealed scrolls. They will assemble witnesses in the land of Benjamin, all around Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, in the cities in the hill country and in the lowlands, and in the cities of the Negev. For I will reverse their captivity—this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

Chapter 33

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut within the courtyard of the guard, saying, ² "Yahweh the maker, says this—Yahweh, who forms in order to establish—Yahweh is his name, ³ 'Call to me, and I will answer you. I will demonstrate great things to you, mysteries that you do not understand.'

⁴ For Yahweh, God of Israel, says this concerning the houses in this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that are torn down because of the siege ramps and the sword, ⁵ 'The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill the houses with corpses of people whom I will kill in my wrath and fury, when I hide my face from this city because of all their wickedness.

⁶ But see, I am about to bring healing and a cure, for I will heal them and will bring to them abundance, peace, and faithfulness. ⁷ For I will reverse the captivity of Judah and Israel; I will build them up as in the beginning. ⁸ Then I will purify them from all the iniquity that they have committed against me. I will pardon all the iniquities that they have done against me, and all the ways that they rebelled against me. ⁹ For this city will become for me a joyful name, a song of praise and honor for all the nations of the earth who will hear of all the good things that I am going to do for it. Then they will fear and tremble because of all the good things and the peace that I will give to it.'

¹⁰ Yahweh says this, 'In this place about which you are now saying, "It is desolate, a place with neither man nor animal," in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, having neither man nor animal, there will be heard again ¹¹ the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, the sound of those who say, while they bring thank offerings to the house of Yahweh,

"Give thanks to Yahweh of hosts, for Yahweh is good,

and his unfailing love lasts forever!"

For I will reverse the captivity of the land to what they were before,' says Yahweh.

¹² Yahweh of hosts says this: 'In this desolate place, where now there is neither man nor animal—in all its cities there will again be pastures where shepherds can rest their flocks. ¹³ In the cities in the hill country, the lowlands, and the Negev,in the land of Benjamin and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the ones counting them,' says Yahweh.

¹⁴ 'Look! Days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will do what I have promised for the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

¹⁵ In those days and in that time

I will make a righteous branch to grow for David,

and he will carry out justice and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved,

and Jerusalem will live in security,

for this is what she will be called,

"Yahweh is our righteousness."'

¹⁷ For Yahweh says this: 'A man from David's line will never be lacking to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ¹⁸ nor will a man from the Levitical priests be lacking before me to raise burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to perform sacrifices all the time.'"

¹⁹ The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ "Yahweh says this: 'If you can break my covenant with day and night so that there will no longer be day or night at their proper times, ²¹ then you will be able to break my covenant with David my servant, so that he will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests, my servants. ²² As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted, and as the sand of the seashores cannot be measured, so I will increase the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who serve before me.'"

²³ The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ "Have you not considered what this people has declared when they said, 'The two families that Yahweh chose, now he has rejected them'? In this way they despise my people, saying that they are no longer a nation in their sight.

²⁵ I, Yahweh, say this, 'If I have not established the covenant of day and night, and if I have not fixed the laws of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and not bring from them a person to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will reverse their captivity and show mercy to them.'"

Chapter 34

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all of his army, together with all the kingdoms of the earth, the domains under his dominion, and all their people were waging war against Jerusalem and all of her cities, saying: ² "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, 'Yahweh says this: Look, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will burn it. ³ You will not escape from his hand, for you will certainly be seized and given into his hand. Your eyes will look at the eyes of the king of Babylon; he will speak directly to you as you go to Babylon.'

⁴ Listen to the word of Yahweh, Zedekiah king of Judah! Yahweh says this concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword. ⁵ You will die in peace. As in the funeral burning of your ancestors, the kings who were before you, they will burn your body. They will say, "Woe, master!" They will lament for you. Now I have spoken—this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet proclaimed to Zedekiah king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem. ⁷ The army of the king of Babylon made war against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah: Lachish and Azekah. These cities of Judah remained as fortified cities.

⁸ The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem, to proclaim freedom to them, ⁹ that each man must send away his Hebrew slaves free, both male and female, so no one was to make a slave of a Jew, who was his brother.

¹⁰ So all the leaders and people entered into the covenant that each person would free his male and female slaves so that they would not be enslaved any longer. They obeyed and set them free. ¹¹ But after this they changed their minds. They brought back the slaves whom they had sent away free. They forced them to become slaves again.

¹² So the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, 'I myself made a covenant with your ancestors on the day that I brought them out from the land of Egypt, out from the house of slavery. That was when I said, ¹⁴ "At the end of every seven years, each man must send away his brother, his fellow Hebrew who had sold himself to you and served you for six years. Send him away in freedom." But your ancestors did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.

¹⁵ Now you yourselves repented and began to do what is right in my eyes. You proclaimed freedom, each man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name. ¹⁶ But then you turned and polluted my name; you caused each man to bring back his male and female slaves, the ones whom you had sent away free. You forced them to become your slaves again.'

¹⁷ Therefore Yahweh says this, 'You yourselves have not listened to me. You should have proclaimed freedom, every one of you, to your brothers and fellow Israelites. So look! I am about to proclaim freedom to you—this is Yahweh's declaration—freedom for the sword, the plague, and famine, for I am going to make you a terrifying thing in the sight of every kingdom on earth. ¹⁸ Then I will deal with the people who have broken my covenant, who did not keep the words of the covenant that they established before me when they cut a bull in two and walked between its parts, ¹⁹ and then the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land walked between the parts of the bull.

²⁰ I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who are seeking their lives. Their corpses will be food for the birds of the skies and the wild animals on the earth. ²¹ So I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his leaders into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who are seeking their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon that has risen up against you. ²² Look, I am about to give a command—this is Yahweh's declaration—and will bring them back to this city to wage war against it and take it, and to burn it. For I will turn the cities of Judah into ruined places in which there will be no inhabitants.'"

Chapter 35

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, ² "Go to the family of the Rekabites and speak with them. Then bring them to my house, into one of the rooms there, and give them wine to drink."

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah and his brothers, all his sons, and all the family of the Rekabites. ⁴ I took them to the house of Yahweh, into the rooms of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God. These rooms were beside the room of the leaders, which was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the gatekeeper.

⁵ Then I placed bowls and cups full of wine in front of the Rekabites and said to them, "Drink some wine." ⁶ But they said, "We will not drink any wine, for our ancestor, Jonadab son of Rekab, commanded us, 'Do not drink any wine, neither you nor your descendants, forever. ⁷ Also, do not build any houses, sow any seeds, or plant any vineyards; this is not for you. For you must live in tents all your days, so that you might live many days in the land where you are staying as foreigners.'

⁸ We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab son of Rekab, our ancestor, in all that he commanded us, to never drink wine all of our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We will never build houses to live in, and there will be no vineyard, field, or seed in our possession. ¹⁰ We have lived in tents and we have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our ancestor commanded us. ¹¹ But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the land, we said, 'Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.' So we are living in Jerusalem."

¹² Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive correction and listen to my words?—this is Yahweh's declaration. ¹⁴ The words of Jonadab son of Rekab that he gave to his sons as a command, not to drink any wine, have been observed to this very day. They have obeyed their ancestor's command. But as for me, I myself have been making persistent proclamations to you, but you do not listen to me.

¹⁵ I persistently sent to you all my servants, the prophets, saying 'Let each person turn from his wicked way and do good deeds; let no one walk any longer after other gods and worship them. Then you will live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors.' But you did not incline your ears and you did not listen to me. ¹⁶ For the descendants of Jonadab son of Rekab have observed the commands of their ancestor that he commanded them, but this people refuses to listen to me."'

¹⁷ So Yahweh, God of hosts and God of Israel, says this, 'Look, I am bringing upon Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem, all the disasters I pronounced against them because I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.'"

¹⁸ Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: You have listened to the commands of Jonadab your ancestor and have kept them all—you have obeyed all that he commanded you to do— ¹⁹ so Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'There will always be someone descended from Jonadab son of Rekab to serve me.'"

Chapter 36

¹ It came about in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, and he said, ² "Take a scroll for yourself and write on it all the words that I have told you concerning Israel and Judah, and every nation. Do this for everything I have told from the days of Josiah until this very day. ³ Perhaps the people of Judah will listen to all the disasters that I intend to bring on them. Perhaps everyone will turn away from his wicked way, so I can forgive their iniquity and their sin."

⁴ Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote in a scroll, at Jeremiah's dictation, all the words of Yahweh spoken to him. ⁵ Next Jeremiah gave a command to Baruch. He said, "I am in prison and cannot go to the house of Yahweh. ⁶ So you must go and read from the scroll that you wrote at my dictation. On the day of the fast, you must read Yahweh's words in the hearing of the people in his house, and also in the hearing of all of Judah who have come from their cities. Proclaim these words to them.

⁷ Perhaps their pleas for mercy will come before Yahweh. Perhaps each person will turn from his wicked way, since the wrath and fury that Yahweh has proclaimed against this people are severe." ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him to do. He read aloud from the scroll the words of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.

⁹ It came about in the fifth year and ninth month of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, that all the people in Jerusalem and the people who came to Jerusalem from the cities of Judah proclaimed a fast before Yahweh. ¹⁰ Baruch read aloud from the scroll Jeremiah's words in the house of Yahweh, from the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard, by the gate of the entrance to the house of Yahweh. He did this in the hearing of all the people.

¹¹ Now Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all of Yahweh's words in the scroll. ¹² He went down to the house of the king, to the secretary's room. Look, all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the officials.

¹³ Then Micaiah reported to them all the words that he had heard that Baruch read aloud from the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ So all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi, to Baruch. Jehudi said to Baruch, "Take the scroll in your hand, the scroll from which you were reading in the hearing of the people, and come." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to the officials. ¹⁵ Then they said to him, "Sit down and read this in our hearing." So Baruch read the scroll.

¹⁶ It happened that when they heard all these words, each man turned in fear to the one next to him and said to Baruch, "We must certainly report all of these words to the king." ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, "Tell us, how did you come to write all these words at Jeremiah's dictation?" ¹⁸ Baruch said to them, "He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on this scroll." ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go, hide yourself, and Jeremiah, too. Do not let anyone know where you are."

²⁰ So they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, and they went to the king in the courtyard and they reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi took it from the room of Elishama the secretary. Then he read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him. ²² Now the king was staying in the winter house in the ninth month, and a brazier was burning in front of him.

²³ It happened that as Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut it off with a knife and throw it into the fire in the brazier until all of the scroll was destroyed. ²⁴ But neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were frightened, nor did they tear their clothes.

²⁵ Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had even urged the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel, a relative, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but Yahweh had hidden them.

²⁷ Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, saying, ²⁸ "Go back, take another scroll for yourself, and write in it all the words that were on the original scroll, the one that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. ²⁹ Then you must say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: 'You burned that scroll, saying, "Why have you written on it, 'The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, for he will cut off both man and animal from it'?"'"

³⁰ Therefore Yahweh says this concerning you, Jehoiakim king of Judah: "No descendant of yours will ever sit on the throne of David. As for you, your corpse will be thrown out into the heat of day and the frost of night. ³¹ For I will punish you, your descendants, and your servants for the iniquity of you all. I will bring on you, on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on every person in Judah all the disasters with which I have threatened you—but you paid no attention."

³² So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah the scribe. Baruch wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation all the words that had been in the scroll burned by Jehoiakim king of Judah. Furthermore, many other similar words were added to this scroll.

Chapter 37

¹ Now Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made Zedekiah king over the land of Judah. ² But Zedekiah, his servants, and the people of the land did not listen to the words of Yahweh that he proclaimed by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

³ So King Zedekiah, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest sent a message to Jeremiah the prophet. They said, "Pray on our behalf to Yahweh our God." ⁴ Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. ⁵ Pharaoh's army came out from Egypt, and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them and left Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ⁷ "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: This is what you will say to the king of Judah, because he has sent you to seek advice from me, 'See, Pharaoh's army, which came to help you, is about to go back to Egypt, its own land. ⁸ The Chaldeans will return. They will fight against this city, capture it, and burn it.'

⁹ Yahweh says this: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, 'Surely the Chaldeans are leaving us,' for they will not leave. ¹⁰ Even if you had defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting you so that only badly wounded men were left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city."

¹¹ So it was when the Chaldean army had left Jerusalem as Pharaoh's army was coming, ¹² then Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin. He wanted to take possession of a tract of land there among his people. ¹³ As he was in the Benjamin Gate, a chief guard was there. His name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. He grabbed hold of Jeremiah the prophet and said, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans."

¹⁴ But Jeremiah said, "That is not true. I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah did not listen to him. He took Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry with Jeremiah. They beat him and put him in prison, which had been the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had turned it into a prison.

¹⁶ So Jeremiah was put into a dungeon, where he stayed for many days. ¹⁷ Then King Zedekiah sent someone who brought him to the palace. In his house, the king asked him privately, "Is there any word from Yahweh?" Jeremiah answered, "There is a word: You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon."

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "How have I sinned against you, your servants, or this people so that you have placed me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets, the ones who prophesied for you and said the king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land? ²⁰ But now listen, my master the king! Let my plea for favor come before you. Do not return me to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there."

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave an order. His servants confined Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. A loaf of bread was given him every day from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.

Chapter 38

¹ Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard the words that Jeremiah was declaring to all the people. He was saying, ² "Yahweh says this: Anyone staying in this city will be killed by sword, famine, and plague. But anyone who goes out to the Chaldeans will survive. His life will be his loot, but he will survive. ³ Yahweh says this: This city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it."

⁴ So the officials said to the king, "Let this man die, for in this way he is weakening the hands of the fighting men who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people. He is proclaiming these words, for this man is not working for safety for this people, but disaster." ⁵ So King Zedekiah said, "Look, he is in your hand since there is no king able to resist you."

⁶ Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah, son of the king. The cistern was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah down on ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but it was muddy, and he sank down into the mud.

⁷ Now Ebed-Melek the Cushite was one of the eunuchs in the king's house. He heard that they had placed Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate. ⁸ So Ebed-Melek went from the king's house and spoke with the king. He said, ⁹ "My master the king, these men have done evil with the way they have treated Jeremiah the prophet. They threw him into a cistern for him to die in it from hunger, since there is no more food in the city."

¹⁰ Then the king gave a command to Ebed-Melek the Cushite. He said, "Take command of thirty men from here and take Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." ¹¹ So Ebed-Melek took command of those men and went to the king's house, to a storeroom for clothing under the house. From there he took rags and worn-out clothing and then let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

¹² Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, "Put the rags and worn-out clothing under your arms and on top of the ropes." So Jeremiah did so. ¹³ Then they pulled Jeremiah by the ropes. In this way they brought him up from the cistern. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent word and brought Jeremiah the prophet to himself, to the third entrance in the house of Yahweh. The king said to Jeremiah, "I want to ask you something. Do not keep the answer from me." ¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I answer you, will you not certainly kill me? But if I give you advice, you will not listen to me." ¹⁶ But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private and said, "As Yahweh lives, the one who made us, I will not kill you or give you into the hand of those men who are seeking your life."

¹⁷ So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Yahweh, God of hosts, God of Israel, says this: If you indeed go out to the officials of the king of Babylon then you will live, and this city will not be burned. You and your family will live. ¹⁸ But if you do not go out to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you will not escape from their hand."

¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "But I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, because I might be given over into their hand, for them to treat me badly."

²⁰ Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over to them. Obey the message from Yahweh that I am telling you, so that things will go well for you, and so that you will live. ²¹ But if you refuse to go out, this is what Yahweh has shown me. ²² Look! All the women who are left in your house, king of Judah, will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. These women will say to you,

'You have been deceived by your men of peace;

they have ruined you.

Your feet are now sunk into the mud,

and your friends will turn away from you.'

²³ For all of your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand. You will be captured by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned."

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not inform anyone about these words, so that you do not die. ²⁵ If the officials hear that I have talked with you, and if they come and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,' ²⁶ then you must say to them, 'I made a humble plea before the king that he would not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

²⁷ Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, so he answered them as the king had commanded him. So they stopped talking with him, because they had not heard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king. ²⁸ So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

Chapter 39

¹ In the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and besieged it. ² In the eleventh year and fourth month of Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into. ³ Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim an important official, and Nebo-Sarsekim a high official, and all the remaining officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴ It happened that when Zedekiah, king of Judah, and all his fighting men saw them, they fled. They went out at night from the city by the king's garden path, through the gate between the two walls. The king went out in the direction of the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of the Jordan River valley near Jericho. Then they captured him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him.

⁶ The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his own eyes at Riblah. He also slaughtered all the noblemen of Judah. ⁷ Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in bronze chains in order to take him to Babylon.

⁸ Then the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the people's houses. They also tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king's bodyguards, took into exile in Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city. This included the people who had deserted to the Chaldeans and the rest of the people who were left in the city. ¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan the commander of the king's bodyguards allowed the poorest people who had nothing for themselves to remain in the land of Judah. He gave them vineyards and fields on that same day.

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had given an order about Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the commander of the king's bodyguards. He had said, ¹² "Take him and care for him. Do not harm him. Do for him anything he tells you." ¹³ So Nebuzaradan the commander of the king's bodyguards, Nebushazban the high eunuch, Nergal-Sharezer the high official, and all the most important officials of the king of Babylon sent men out. ¹⁴ Their men took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, to take him home, so Jeremiah stayed among the people.

¹⁵ Now the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah while he was under arrest in the courtyard of the guard, saying, ¹⁶ "Speak to Ebed-Melek the Cushite and say, 'Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: See, I am about to carry out my words against this city for disaster and not for good. For they will all come true before you on that day.

¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day—this is Yahweh's declaration—and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you fear. ¹⁸ For I will certainly rescue you. You will not fall by the sword. Your life will be your loot since you trust in me—this was Yahweh's declaration.'"

Chapter 40

¹ The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after Nebuzaradan the commander of the king's bodyguards had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound with chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. ² The chief guard took Jeremiah and said to him, "Yahweh your God decreed this disaster for this place.

³ So Yahweh brought it about. He did just as he had decreed, since you people sinned against him and did not obey his voice. That is why this thing has happened to you people. ⁴ But now look! I have released you today from the chains that were on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it is not good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, then do not do so. Look at all the land before you. Go where it is good and right in your eyes to go."

⁵ When Jeremiah did not reply, Nebuzaradan said, "Go to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has put in charge of the cities of Judah. Stay with him among the people or go wherever it is good in your eyes to go." The commander of the king's bodyguards gave him food and a gift, and then sent him away. ⁶ So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. He stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.

⁷ Now some commanders of Judean soldiers who were still in the countryside—they and their men—heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah son of Ahikam governor over the land. They also heard that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest people in the land, those who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah. These men were Ishmael son of Nethaniah; Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah; Seraiah son of Tanhumeth; the sons of Ephai the Netophathite; and Jaazaniah son of the Maakathite—they and their men.

⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan took an oath to them and to their men and said to them, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. ¹⁰ Look, I am living in Mizpah to meet with the Chaldeans who came to us. So harvest wine, summer fruit, and oil and store them in your containers. Live in the cities that you have occupied."

¹¹ Then all the Jews in Moab, among the people of Ammon, and in Edom, and in every land heard that the king of Babylon had allowed a remnant of Judah to stay, that he had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan over them. ¹² So all the Jews returned from every place where they had been scattered. They came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They harvested wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. ¹⁴ They said to him, "Do you realize that Baalis king of the people of Ammon sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to murder you?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵ So Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah and said, "Allow me to go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will suspect me. Why should he kill you? Why allow all of Judah that has been gathered to you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah destroyed?" ¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling lies about Ishmael."

Chapter 41

¹ But it happened that in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, from the royal family, and some officers of the king, came—ten men were with him—to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. They ate food together there in Mizpah. ² But Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him rose up and attacked Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, with the sword. Ishmael killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had put in charge of the land. ³ Then Ishmael killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah and the Chaldean fighting men found there.

⁴ Then it was the second day after the killing of Gedaliah, but no one knew. ⁵ Some men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria—eighty men who had shaved their beard, torn their clothes, and cut themselves—with food offerings and frankincense in their hands to go to the house of Yahweh.

⁶ So Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them as they went, walking and weeping. Then it happened that as he encountered them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!" ⁷ It came about that when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah slaughtered them and threw them into a pit, he and the men who were with him.

⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for there are provisions of ours in a field: Wheat and barley, oil and honey." So he did not kill them with their other companions. ⁹ The cistern where Ishmael threw all the dead bodies that he had killed, was a large cistern that King Asa dug to make a defense against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it in with the dead.

¹⁰ Next Ishmael captured all the people who remained in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah whom Nebuzaradan the chief guard had assigned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam. So Ishmael son of Nethaniah captured them and went to cross over to the people of Ammon.

¹¹ But Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him heard of all the harm that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done. ¹² So they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him at the great pool of Gibeon.

¹³ Then it happened that when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders who were with him, they were very happy. ¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had captured at Mizpah turned around and went to Johanan son of Kareah.

¹⁵ But Ishmael son of Nethaniah fled with eight men from Johanan. He went to the people of Ammon. ¹⁶ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him took from Mizpah all the people who had been rescued from Ishmael son of Nethaniah. This was after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Johanan and his companions took the strong men, the fighting men, the women and children, and the eunuchs who had been rescued at Gibeon.

¹⁷ Then they went and stayed for a while in Geruth Kimham, which is near Bethlehem. They were going to go to Egypt ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans. They were afraid of them since Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had put in charge of the land.

Chapter 42

¹ Then all the army commanders and Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet. ² They said to him, "Let our plea for favor come before you. Pray for us to Yahweh your God for these people who remain since we are so few in number, as you see. ³ Ask Yahweh your God to tell us the way we should go and what we should do."

⁴ So Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Look, I will pray to Yahweh your God as you have requested. Whatever Yahweh answers, I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you." ⁵ They said to Jeremiah, "May Yahweh be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not do everything that Yahweh your God tells us to do. ⁶ Whether it is good or if it is bad, we will obey the voice of Yahweh our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Yahweh our God."

⁷ At the end of ten days, the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. ⁸ So Jeremiah called to Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders with him, and to all the people from the least to the greatest. ⁹ Then he said to them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel—to whom you sent me so I might lay your pleas before him—says, ¹⁰ 'If you go back and live in this land, then I will build you and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up, for I will relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you.

¹¹ Do not fear the king of Babylon, whom you are fearing. Do not fear him—this is Yahweh's declaration—since I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand. ¹² For I will give you mercy. I will have compassion on you, and I will bring you back to your land.

¹³ But suppose that you say, "We will not stay in this land"—if you do not listen to my voice, the voice of Yahweh your God. ¹⁴ Suppose that you say, "No! We will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see any war, where we will not hear the sound of the ram's horn, and we will not go hungry for food. We will live there."

¹⁵ Now listen to this word of Yahweh, you remnant of Judah. Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'If you actually set out to go to Egypt, to go and live there, ¹⁶ then the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt. The famine that you are anxious about will pursue you to Egypt, and you will die there. ¹⁷ So it will happen that all the men who set out to go to Egypt to live there will die by sword, famine, or plague. There will be no survivor of them, no one to escape the disaster that I will bring on them.

¹⁸ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: Just as my wrath and my fury were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the same way my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and a horror, an object for speaking curses, and something dishonorable, and you will not see this place again.'" ¹⁹ Then Jeremiah said, "Yahweh has spoken concerning you—the remnant of Judah. Do not go to Egypt! You certainly know that I have been a witness against you today.

²⁰ For you fatally deceived yourselves when you sent me to Yahweh your God and said, 'Pray to Yahweh our God for us. Everything that Yahweh our God says, tell us, and we will carry it out.' ²¹ For I have reported to you today, but you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God or to anything about which he sent me to you. ²² So now, you should certainly know that you will die by sword, famine, and plague in the place where you desired to go to live."

Chapter 43

¹ It happened that Jeremiah finished proclaiming to all the people all the words of Yahweh their God that Yahweh their God had told him to say. ² Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling lies. Yahweh our God has not sent you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there.' ³ For Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, for you to cause our death and to make us captives in Babylon."

⁴ So Johanan son of Kareah, all the princes of the army, and all the people refused to listen to Yahweh's voice to live in the land of Judah. ⁵ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army commanders took away all the remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations where they had been scattered to live in the land of Judah. ⁶ They took the men and women, the children and the king's daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king's bodyguards, had let remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. They also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. ⁷ They went to the land of Egypt, to Tahpanhes, because they did not listen to Yahweh's voice.

⁸ So the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, ⁹ "Take some large stones in your hand, and, in the sight of some Jewish men, hide them in the mortar in the pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes." ¹⁰ Then say to them, "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to send messengers to bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant. I will place his throne over these stones that you, Jeremiah, have buried. Nebuchadnezzar will place his pavilion over them.

¹¹ For he will come and attack the land of Egypt. Anyone who is assigned to death will be given to death. Anyone who is assigned to captivity will be taken captive. Anyone who is assigned to the sword will be given to the sword. ¹² Then I will light a fire in the temples of Egypt's gods. Nebuchadnezzar will burn them or capture them. He will clean out the land of Egypt just as shepherds clean vermin off their clothes. He will go out from that place in victory. ¹ ¹³ He will break the stone pillars at Heliopolis in the land of Egypt. He will burn the temples of Egypt's gods.'"

¹Instead of I will light a fire , some ancient and modern translations have he will light a fire .

Chapter 44

¹ The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, the ones staying in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in Upper Egypt: ² "Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says, 'You yourselves have seen all the disasters that I brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. See, they are ruins today. There is no one to live in them. ³ This is because of the wicked things they did to provoke me to anger by going to burn incense and to worship other gods. These were gods that neither they themselves, nor you, nor your ancestors knew.'

⁴ So I repeatedly sent all of my servants the prophets to them. I sent them to say, 'Stop doing these abominable things that I hate.' ⁵ But they did not listen. They refused to pay attention or turn from their wickedness in burning incense to other gods. ⁶ So my fury and my wrath were poured out and kindled a fire in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. So they became ruins and devastations, as at this present day.'

⁷ So now Yahweh, the God of hosts and the God of Israel, says this, 'Why are you doing great wickedness against yourselves? Why are you causing yourselves to be cut off from among Judah—men and women, children and babies? No remnant of you will be left. ⁸ By your wickedness you have provoked me to anger with the deeds of your hands, by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live. You have gone there so that you will be destroyed, so that you will be a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth.

⁹ Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your ancestors and the wickedness committed by the kings of Judah and their wives? Have you forgotten the evil committed by yourselves and your wives in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ To this day, they still are not humbled. They do not honor my law or decrees that I placed before them and their ancestors, nor do they walk in them.'

¹¹ Therefore Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to set my face against you to bring disaster to you and to destroy all of Judah. ¹² For I will take the remnant of Judah that has set out to go to the land of Egypt to live there. I will do this so that they will all perish in the land of Egypt. They will fall by sword and famine. From the least to the greatest they will die by sword and famine. They will die and will become a curse, an object of horror—a curse and an insult.

¹³ For I will punish the people inhabiting the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem with the sword, with famine, and with the plague, ¹⁴ so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in the land of Egypt will escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return and live; and none of them will return except a few who escaped from there.'"

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were in the great assembly, and all the people who were living in Lower and Upper Egypt, answered Jeremiah. ¹⁶ They said, "About the word that you have told us in Yahweh's name—we will not listen to you. ¹⁷ For we will certainly do all the things that we said we would do—burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we will be filled with food and will prosper, without experiencing any disaster.

¹⁸ When we refrained from doing these things, not offering incense to the queen of heaven and not pouring out drink offerings to her, we were all suffering poverty and were dying by sword and famine." ¹⁹ The women said, "When we were making incense offerings before the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it against our husbands that we did these things, making cakes in her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?"

²⁰ Then Jeremiah said to all the people—to the men and women, and all the people who answered him—he proclaimed and said, ²¹ "Did not Yahweh remember the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—you and your ancestors, your kings and leaders, and the people of the land? For Yahweh calls this to mind; it comes to his thoughts.

²² Then he was no longer able to bear it because of the wickedness of your practices, because of the abominations that you did. Then your land became a desolation, a horror, and a curse so there was no longer an inhabitant as at this present day. ²³ Because you burned incense and sinned against Yahweh, and because you would not listen to his voice, his law, his statutes, or his covenant decrees, this disaster against you has happened as at this present day."

²⁴ Then Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, "Hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. ²⁵ Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'You and your wives both have said with your mouths and carried out with your hands what you said, "We will certainly carry out the vows that we made to worship the queen of heaven, to pour out drink offerings to her." Now fulfill your vows; carry them out.'

²⁶ So then, hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah who are staying in the land of Egypt, 'See, I have sworn by my great name—says Yahweh. My name will no longer be called upon by the mouths of any of the men of Judah in all the land of Egypt, you who now say, "As the Lord Yahweh lives." ²⁷ See, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. Every person of Judah in the land of Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all finished. ²⁸ Then the survivors of the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, only a small number of them. So all the remnant of Judah who went to the land of Egypt to live there will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.

²⁹ This will be the sign for you—this is Yahweh's declaration—that I am setting against you in this place, so that you will know that my words will certainly attack you with disaster.' ³⁰ Yahweh says this, 'Look, I am about to give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek to kill him. It will be the same as when I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.'"

Chapter 45

¹ This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah. This happened when he wrote in a scroll these words from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. He said, ² "Yahweh, God of Israel, says this to you, Baruch: ³ You have said, 'Woe is me, for Yahweh has added agony to my pain. My groaning has wearied me; I find no rest.'

⁴ This is what you must say to him: 'Yahweh says this: See, what I built, I am now tearing down. What I planted, I am now pulling up—I will do this throughout all the earth. ⁵ But are you hoping for great things for yourself? Do not hope for that. For see, disaster is coming on all humanity—this is Yahweh's declaration—but I am giving you your life as loot everywhere you will go.'"

Chapter 46

¹ This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

² For Egypt: "This is about the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt that was at Carchemish by the Euphrates River. This was the army that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

³ Get the small shields and the large shields ready,

and go forward to fight.

⁴ Put the harness on the horses;

mount up on the horses

and take your stand with your helmets on;

polish the spears and put on your armor.

⁵ What am I seeing here?

They are dismayed and are running away,

for their soldiers have been completely destroyed.

They are fleeing for refuge and are not looking back.

Terror is all around

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

⁶ the swift cannot run away,

and the soldiers cannot escape.

They stumble in the north

and fall beside the Euphrates River.

⁷ Who is this who rises like the Nile,

whose waters toss up and down like the rivers?

⁸ Egypt rises like the Nile,

like rivers of water that rise and fall.

Egypt says, 'I will go up and I will cover the earth.

I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.

⁹ Go up, horses.

Be angry, you chariots.

Let the soldiers go out,

Cush and Put, men skillful with a shield, and Lydia,

¹ men skillful at bending their bows.'

¹⁰ That day will be the day of vengeance

for the Lord Yahweh of hosts,

and he will avenge himself on his foes.

The sword will devour and be satisfied.

It will drink its fill of their blood.

For there will be a sacrifice

to the Lord Yahweh of hosts

in the northern land by the Euphrates River.

¹¹ Go up to Gilead and obtain medicine,

virgin daughter of Egypt.

It is useless that you put much medicine on yourself.

There is no cure for you.

¹² The nations have heard of your disgrace.

The earth is filled with your cry of distress,

for soldier stumbles against soldier;

both of them fall together."

¹³ This is the word that Yahweh told Jeremiah the prophet when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came and attacked the land of Egypt:

¹⁴ "Announce in Egypt,

and proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes.

'Take your station and prepare yourself,

for the sword will devour those around you.'

¹⁵ Why are your mighty ones facedown on the ground?

They will not stand,

because Yahweh has pushed them to the ground.

¹⁶ He increases the numbers of those who stumble.

Each soldier falls against the next one.

They are saying, 'Get up. Let us go home.

Let us go back to our own people,

to the land of our birth,

and away from the sword of the oppressor.'

¹⁷ They proclaimed there,

'Pharaoh the king of Egypt is only a noise,

one who has let his opportunity slip away.'

¹⁸ As I live—declares the King,

whose name is Yahweh of hosts—

someone will come like Mount Tabor

and Mount Carmel by the sea.

¹⁹ Pack for yourselves baggage to carry into exile,

you who live in Egypt.

For Memphis will become a waste;

it will be burned, and no one will live there.

²⁰ Egypt is a very beautiful young cow,

but a stinging insect is coming from the north

It is coming.

²¹ The hired soldiers in her midst are like a fattened bull,

but they will also turn away and run away.

They will not stand together,

for the day of their disaster is coming against them,

the time of their punishment.

²² Egypt hisses like a snake and crawls away,

for her enemies are marching against her.

They are going toward her like woodcutters with axes.

²³ They will cut down the forests

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—although it is very dense.

For the enemies will be more numerous than locusts,

unable to be counted.

²⁴ The daughter of Egypt will be made ashamed.

She will be given into the hand of people from the north."

²⁵ Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says, "See, I am about to punish Amon of Thebes, Pharaoh, Egypt and her gods, her kings the Pharaohs, and those who trust in them. ²⁶ I am giving them into the hand of the ones seeking their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his servants. Then after this Egypt will be inhabited as in previous days—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁷ But you, my servant Jacob, do not fear.

Do not be dismayed, Israel, for see,

I am about to deliver you from the faraway place,

and your descendants from the land of their captivity.

Jacob will return and be at ease;

he will rest secure, and there will be no more terror.

²⁸ You, my servant Jacob, do not fear

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—for I am with you,

so I will bring complete destruction against all the nations

where I scattered you.

But I will not destroy you completely.

Yet I will discipline you justly

and will certainly not leave you unpunished."

¹Some modern English translations read, Lud .

Chapter 47

¹ This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines. This word came to him before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

² "Yahweh says this:

See, floods of water are rising in the north.

They will be like an overflowing river!

Then they will overflow the land and everything in it,

its cities and its inhabitants!

So everyone will shout for help,

and all the inhabitants of the land will howl.

³ At the sound of the stamping of their strong horses' hooves,

at the roar of their chariots and the noise of their wheels,

fathers will not help their children

because of the weakness of their own hands.

⁴ For the day is coming that will devastate all of the Philistines,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

every survivor who wants to help them.

For Yahweh is devastating the Philistines,

those who remain from the island of Caphtor.

⁵ Baldness will come upon Gaza.

Ashkelon has been silenced.

You remnant in their valley,

how long will you cut yourself?

⁶ Woe, sword of Yahweh!

How long will it be until you become silent?

Go back to your scabbard!

Stop and be silent.

⁷ How can it rest when Yahweh has commanded it,

when he has appointed it to attack Ashkelon

and the coastlands along the sea?"

Chapter 48

¹ To Moab, Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this,

"Woe to Nebo, for it has been devastated.

Kiriathaim has been humiliated and captured.

Her fortress has been disgraced and crushed.

² The honor of Moab is no more.

Their enemies in Heshbon plotted disaster against her.

They said, 'Come and let us destroy her as a nation.

Madmen will also perish

—a sword will go after you.'

³ Listen! A sound of an outcry is coming from Horonaim,

where there is ruin and great destruction.

⁴ Moab has been destroyed.

Her children have made their cries heard.

⁵ They go up the hill of Luhith weeping,

for on the way down to Horonaim,

screams are heard because of the destruction.

⁶ Flee! Save your lives

and become like a juniper bush in the wilderness.

⁷ For because of your trust in your practices

and your wealth

you also will be captured.

Then Chemosh will go away into captivity

together with his priests and leaders.

⁸ For the destroyer will come to every city;

no city will escape.

So the valley will perish

and the plain will be devastated,

as Yahweh has said.

⁹ Give wings to Moab,

for she must certainly fly away.

Her cities will become a wasteland,

where there is no one to live in them.

¹⁰ May anyone who is lazy in doing Yahweh's work

be cursed!

May anyone who keeps his sword back from shedding blood

be cursed!

¹¹ Moab has rested secure since he was young.

He is like his wine that has never been poured from pot to pot.

He has never gone into captivity.

Therefore he tastes as good as ever;

his flavor remains unchanged.

¹² So see, the days are coming

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—when I will send him those who will tip him over

and pour out all his pots and shatter his jars.

¹³ Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh

just as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel,

their object of trust.

¹⁴ How can you say,

'We are soldiers, powerful fighting men'?

¹⁵ Moab will be devastated and its cities attacked.

For its finest young men

have gone down to the place of slaughter.

This is the king's declaration!

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

¹⁶ Moab's disaster is soon to happen;

calamity is hurrying quickly.

¹⁷ All you who are around Moab, wail;

and all you who know its fame, shout this,

'Woe, the strong staff,

the honored rod, has been broken.'

¹⁸ Come down from your honored place

and sit on the dry ground,

you daughter living in Dibon.

For the destroyer of Moab will come up against you,

he will ruin your strongholds.

¹⁹ Stand on the road and watch,

you people who live in Aroer.

Ask the ones who are fleeing and escaping.

Say, 'What has happened?'

²⁰ Moab has been shamed,

for it has been shattered.

Howl and lament;

shout for help.

Tell it to people by the Arnon River

that Moab has been devastated.

²¹ Now punishment has come to the hill country,

to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,

²² to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim,

²³ to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon,

²⁴ To Kerioth and Bozrah,

and to all the cities in the land of Moab—

the farthest and the closest cities.

²⁵ The horn of Moab has been hacked off;

its arm has been broken

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁶ Make him drunk,

because he acted proudly against Yahweh.

Let Moab wallow in his vomit,

and let him be an object of ridicule.

²⁷ For did not Israel become an object for laughter to you?

Was he found among thieves,

so that you shook your head at him

as often as you spoke about him?

²⁸ Abandon the cities and camp on the cliffs,

inhabitants of Moab.

Become like a dove that is nesting

over the mouth of a hole in the rocks.

²⁹ We have heard of Moab's pride

—his arrogance,

his haughtiness, his pride,

his self-glory and the conceit in his heart.

³⁰ This is Yahweh's declaration

—I myself know his arrogant speech,

which amounts to nothing, like his deeds.

³¹ So I will howl a lament for Moab,

and I will shout in sorrow for all of Moab.

I will lament for the people of Kir Hareseth.

³² I will weep for you more than I did for Jazer,

vine of Sibmah!

Your branches passed across the Salt Sea

and reached as far as Jazer.

The destroyer has attacked

your summer fruit and your grapes.

³³ So celebration and rejoicing have been taken away

from the fruit trees and the land of Moab.

I have put an end to the wine from their winepresses.

They will not tread with joyful shouts.

Any shouts will not be shouts of joy.

³⁴ From the shouts at Heshbon as far as Elealeh

their sound is heard at Jahaz,

from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,

since even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.

³⁵ For I will put an end to anyone in Moab

who makes sacrifices on the high places

and burns incense to his gods

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³⁶ So my heart is lamenting for Moab like a flute.

My heart is lamenting like flutes

for the people of Kir Hareseth.

The riches they gained are gone.

³⁷ For every head is bald and every beard shaved.

Incisions are on every hand,

and sackcloth is around their waists.

³⁸ There is mourning everywhere,

on every flat roof of Moab and in Moab's plazas.

For I have destroyed Moab like pots that no one wants

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³⁹ How it has been shattered!

How they howl in their lamenting!

Moab turns its back in shame!

So Moab will become an object of derision

and a terror to all those who are around him."

⁴⁰ For Yahweh says this,

"See, the enemy will come flying like an eagle,

spreading out his wings over Moab.

⁴¹ Kerioth has been captured,

and its strongholds have been seized.

For in that day the hearts of Moab's soldiers

will be like the hearts of women in birth labor.

⁴² So Moab will be destroyed and be no longer a people,

because he made himself to be great against Yahweh.

⁴³ Terror, the pit, and a trap are coming on you,

inhabitant of Moab

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

⁴⁴ Anyone who flees because of terror will fall into the pit,

and anyone who climbs out of the pit

will be caught in the trap

for I will bring this on them, the people of Moab,

in the year of my vengeance against them

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

⁴⁵ The ones who flee will stand in the shadow of Heshbon

without any strength,

for fire will go out from Heshbon,

flame from the middle of Sihon.

It will devour the forehead of Moab

and the scalps of the boastful people.

⁴⁶ Woe to you, Moab!

Chemosh's people are destroyed,

For your sons are taken as captives

and your daughters into captivity.

⁴⁷ But I will reverse the captivity of Moab in later days

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

The judgment on Moab ends here.

Chapter 49

¹ About the people of Ammon, Yahweh says this,

"Does Israel have no children?

Is there no one to inherit anything in Israel?

Why does Molech occupy Gad,

and his people live in its cities? ¹

² So look, the days are coming

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—when I will cause a trumpet call

for battle against Rabbah

to be heard among the people of Ammon,

so it will become a deserted heap

and its villages will be set on fire.

For Israel will possess those who possessed him,"

says Yahweh.

³ "Howl in lament, Heshbon,

for Ai will be devastated!

Shout out, daughters of Rabbah!

Gird yourselves with sackcloth.

Lament and run about in futility,

for Molech is going into captivity,

together with his priests and leaders.

⁴ Why do you brag about your valleys,

your valleys that are so fruitful, faithless daughter?

you who trust in your wealth and say,

'Who will come against me?'

⁵ See, I am about to bring terror on you

—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts—

this terror will come from all those who surround you.

Each one of you will be scattered before it.

There will be no one to gather those running away.

⁶ But after this I will reverse the captivity of the people of Ammon

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

⁷ About Edom, Yahweh of hosts says this,

"Is there no longer any wisdom to be found in Teman?

Has good advice disappeared

from those who have understanding?

Has their wisdom become corrupted?

⁸ Flee! Turn back!

Stay in holes in the ground, inhabitants of Dedan.

For I am bringing the disaster of Esau on him

at the time that I punish him.

⁹ If grape harvesters came to you,

would they not leave a little bit behind?

If thieves came in the night,

would they not spoil only as much as they wanted?

¹⁰ But I have stripped Esau bare.

I have revealed his hiding places.

So he will not be able to hide himself.

His children, his brothers, and his neighbors are destroyed,

and he is gone.

¹¹ Leave your orphans behind.

I will take care of their lives,

and your widows can trust in me."

¹² For Yahweh says this, "See, those who did not deserve it must certainly drink some of the cup. Do you yourself think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for you will certainly drink. ¹³ For I have sworn by myself—this is Yahweh's declaration—that Bozrah will become a horror, a disgrace, a devastation, and an object for cursing. All of its cities will become ruins forever.

¹⁴ I have heard news from Yahweh,

and a messenger has been sent out to the nations,

'Gather together and attack her.

Get ready for battle.'

¹⁵ "For see, I have made you small compared to the other nations,

despised by people.

¹⁶ As for your fearsomeness,

your heart's pride has deceived you,

inhabitants of places on the cliff,

you who have occupied the highest hills

so that you may make your nest high like an eagle.

I will bring you down from there

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁷ Edom will become a horror to everyone passing by it.

Every such person will be appalled

and hiss because of all of its disasters.

¹⁸ Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah

and their neighbors, says Yahweh,

and no one will live there;

no person will stay there.

¹⁹ See, he will go up like a lion

from the majesty of the Jordan

to the green pasturelands.

For I will quickly make Edom run from it,

and I will put someone who will be chosen in charge of it.

For who is like me,

and who will summon me?

What shepherd is able to resist me?

²⁰ So listen to the plans that Yahweh has decided against Edom,

the plans that he has formed

against the inhabitants of Teman.

They will certainly be dragged away,

even the smallest flock.

Their pasturelands will be turned into ruined places.

²¹ At the sound of their falling the earth shakes.

The sound of cries of distress is heard at the Sea of Reeds.

²² See, someone will attack like an eagle,

and swoop down and spread his wings over Bozrah.

Then on that day, the hearts of Edom's soldiers

will become like the heart of a woman in birth labor."

²³ About Damascus:

"Hamath and Arpad will be ashamed,

for they have heard news of disaster.

They melt away!

Anxiety is in the sea.

It cannot stay calm.

²⁴ Damascus has become very weak.

It turns away to flee;

terror seizes it.

Distress and pain seize it,

like the pain of a woman giving birth.

²⁵ How has the city of praise not been abandoned,

the town of my joy?

²⁶ Therefore its young men will fall in its plazas,

and all the fighting men will perish on that day

—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts."

²⁷ "For I will light a fire on the wall of Damascus,

and it will devour the strongholds of Ben-Hadad."

²⁸ About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, Yahweh says this to Nebuchadnezzar (now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was going to attack these places):

"Arise and attack Kedar

and destroy those people of the east.

²⁹ Their tents and their flocks will be taken,

along with their tent curtains and all of their equipment;

their camels will be led away from them,

and men will shout to them,

"Terror is on every side!"

³⁰ Flee! Wander far away!

Stay in holes in the ground, inhabitants of Hazor

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon

has devised a plan against you.

Flee! Turn back!

³¹ Arise! Attack the nation at ease,

that lives in safety," says Yahweh.

"They have no gates or bars in them,

and its people live by themselves.

³² For their camels will become plunder,

and the abundance of their property

will become war plunder.

Then I will scatter to every wind

those who cut the hair on the sides of their heads very short,

and I will bring disaster on them from every side

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

³³ Hazor will become a lair of jackals,

a permanent wasteland.

No one will live there;

no human being will stay there."

³⁴ This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam. This happened at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, and he said,

³⁵ "Yahweh of hosts says this:

See, I am about to break the bowmen of Elam,

the main part of their power.

³⁶ For I will bring the four winds

from the four corners of the heavens,

and I will scatter the people of Elam to all of those winds.

There is no nation

to which those scattered from Elam will not go.

³⁷ So I will shatter Elam before their enemies

and before those who seek their lives.

for I will bring disaster against them, the fury of my wrath

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—and I will send the sword after them

until I have consumed them.

³⁸ Then I will put my throne in Elam

and will destroy its king and leaders from there

—this is Yahweh's declaration

³⁹ —and it will happen in later days

that I will reverse the captivity of Elam

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

¹Instead of Molech , some modern translations have their king .

Chapter 50

¹ This is the word that Yahweh declared about Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet,

² "Report to the nations and cause them to listen.

Lift up a signal and cause them to listen.

Do not conceal it.

Say, 'Babylon is taken. Bel is made ashamed.

Marduk is dismayed.

Its idols are put to shame;

its images are dismayed.'

³ A nation from the north will arise against it,

and make her land a desolation.

No one will live in it;

both men and animals will flee away.

⁴ In those days and at that time

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—the people of Israel and the people of Judah

will come together to go with weeping

and seek Yahweh their God.

⁵ They will ask the way to Zion

and will set off toward it, saying,

We will go and join ourselves to Yahweh

in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten."

⁶ My people have been a lost flock.

Their shepherds have led them astray in the mountains;

they have turned them around from hill to hill.

They went, they have forgotten their resting place.

⁷ Everyone who went out to them devoured them.

Their adversaries said, 'We are not guilty,

because they sinned against Yahweh,

their true home—Yahweh,

the hope of their ancestors.'

⁸ Leave from the midst of Babylon;

go out from the land of the Chaldeans;

be like male goats

that leave before the rest of the flock does.

⁹ For see, I am about to set in motion

and raise up a group of great nations

from the north against Babylon.

They will arrange themselves against her.

Babylon will be captured from there.

Their arrows are like a skilled warrior

who does not return empty-handed.

¹⁰ Chaldea will become plunder.

All those who plunder it will be satisfied

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

¹¹ You rejoice, you celebrate the plundering of my inheritance;

you jump around like a calf stamping in its pasture;

you neigh like a powerful horse.

¹² So your mother will be greatly ashamed;

the one who bore you will be embarrassed.

See, she will be the least of nations,

a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

¹³ Because of Yahweh's anger,

Babylon will not be inhabited,

but will be a complete devastation.

Everyone who passes by will be appalled because of Babylon

and will hiss because of all of its wounds.

¹⁴ Arrange yourselves against Babylon all around her.

Everyone who bends a bow must shoot at her.

Do not spare any of your arrows,

for she has sinned against Yahweh.

¹⁵ Raise a shout against her all around!

She has surrendered;

her towers have fallen;

her walls are torn down,

for this is Yahweh's vengeance.

Take vengeance on her!

Do to her just as she has done!

¹⁶ Destroy both the farmer who sows seed

and the one who uses a sickle

at the time of harvest in Babylon.

Let each person turn back to his own people

from the oppressor's sword;

let them flee to their own land.

¹⁷ Israel is a scattered flock

driven away by lions.

First the king of Assyria devoured him; then after this,

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon broke his bones.

¹⁸ Therefore Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says this:

See, I am about to punish the king of Babylon and his land,

just as I punished the king of Assyria.

¹⁹ I will restore Israel to his homeland;

he will graze on Carmel and Bashan.

Then he will be satisfied

in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

²⁰ In those days and at that time, says Yahweh,

iniquity will be looked for in Israel,

but none will be found.

I will inquire about the sins of Judah,

but none will be found,

for I will forgive the remnant that I spare.

²¹ "Arise against the land of Merathaim,

against it and the ones inhabiting Pekod.

Put them to the sword and completely destroy them

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—do everything that I am commanding you.

²² The sounds of battle and enormous destruction

are in the land.

²³ How the hammer of all the lands

has been cut apart and destroyed.

How Babylon has become an object of horror

among the nations.

²⁴ I have set a trap for you and you were taken, Babylon,

and you did not know it!

You were found and captured,

because you opposed Yahweh.

²⁵ Yahweh has opened his armory

and is bringing out the weapons

for carrying out his anger.

There is work for the Lord Yahweh of host

in the land of the Chaldeans.

²⁶ Attack her from far away.

Open her granaries

and pile her up like heaps of grain.

Set her apart for destruction.

Leave no remnant of her.

²⁷ Kill all her bulls.

Send them down to the place of slaughter.

Woe to them, for their day has come

—the time for their punishment.

²⁸ There is the sound of those fleeing,

of those who are survivors,

from the land of Babylon.

These will report the vengeance of Yahweh our God for Zion,

and vengeance for his temple.

²⁹ "Summon the archers against Babylon

—all those who bend their bows.

Camp against her,

and let no one escape.

Repay her for what she has done.

Do to her by the measure she has used.

For she had acted arrogantly against Yahweh

—against the Holy One of Israel.

³⁰ So her young men will fall in the city squares,

and all her fighting men will be destroyed on that day

—this is Yahweh's declaration."

³¹ "See, I am against you, proud one

—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts

—for your day has come, proud one,

the time when I will punish you.

³² So the proud ones will stumble and fall.

No one will raise them up.

I will set fire to their cities;

it will devour everything around him.

³³ Yahweh of hosts says this:

The people of Israel are oppressed,

together with the people of Judah.

All the ones who captured them still hold them;

they refuse to let them go.

³⁴ The one who rescues them is strong.

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

He will truly plead their case,

in order to bring rest to the land,

and to bring strife to the ones inhabiting Babylon.

³⁵ A sword is against the Chaldeans

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—and against the inhabitants of Babylon,

her leaders, and her wise men.

³⁶ A sword against those who say empty words!

They will become fools!

A sword against her soldiers!

They will be filled with terror.

³⁷ A sword is coming against their horse their chariots

and all of the people who are in the midst of Babylon,

so they will become like women.

A sword is coming against her storerooms,

and they will be plundered.

³⁸ A drought is coming on her waters,

so they will become dry.

For she is a land of worthless idols,

and they act like people

made insane by their dreadful idols.

³⁹ So desert beasts with the jackals will inhabit there,

and the young of ostriches will live in her.

For all time, she will no longer be inhabited.

From generation to generation, she will not be lived in.

⁴⁰ Just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—no one will live there;

no person will stay in her.

⁴¹ "See, a people is coming from the north;

a great nation and many kings

are being stirred up from the farthest parts of the earth.

⁴² They will pick up bows and spears.

They are cruel and have no compassion.

Their sound is like the sea roar,

and they are riding on horses,

set out in order as men for battle, against you,

daughter of Babylon.

⁴³ The king of Babylon heard the reports about them

and his hands fell limp in distress.

Anguish seized him

like a woman giving birth.

⁴⁴ Behold! He goes up like a lion

from the majesty of the Jordan

to the enduring grazing place

For I will quickly cause them to run from it,

and I will put someone who will be chosen in charge of it.

For who is like me,

and who will summon me?

What shepherd is able to resist me?

⁴⁵ So listen to the plans that Yahweh has decided against Babylon,

the plans that he has planned

against the land of the Chaldeans.

They will certainly be dragged away,

even the smallest flock.

Their pasturelands will be turned into ruined places.

⁴⁶ At the sound of conquered Babylon the earth shakes,

and their shout of distress is heard among the nations."

Chapter 51

¹ "Yahweh says this:

See, I am about to stir up a wind of destruction

against Babylon and against those

who live in Leb Kamai.

² I will send foreigners to Babylon.

They will scatter her and devastate her land,

for they will come against her

from all around on the day of disaster.

³ Do not let the archers bend their bows;

do not let them put on armor.

Do not spare her young men;

set her whole army apart for destruction.

⁴ For the wounded people

will fall in the land of the Chaldeans;

those who are thrust through will fall in her streets.

⁵ For Israel and Judah are not abandoned by their God,

by Yahweh of hosts,

although their land is filled with offenses

committed against the Holy One of Israel.

⁶ Flee from the midst of Babylon;

let each man save himself.

Do not perish in her iniquity.

For it is the time of Yahweh's vengeance.

He will repay all of it to her.

⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh

that made all the world drunk;

nations drank her wine and became insane.

⁸ Babylon will fall suddenly and be destroyed.

Wail for her

Give her medicine for her pain;

perhaps she can be healed.

⁹ 'We wished to heal Babylon,

but she is not healed.

Let us all leave her and go away,

to our own land.

For her guilt reaches up to the heavens;

it is piled up to the clouds.

¹⁰ Yahweh has brought about our vindication.

Come, let us give a full account in Zion

the deeds of Yahweh our God.'

¹¹ Sharpen the arrows and take up the shields.

Yahweh is stirring up

the spirit of the king of the Medes

in a plan to destroy Babylon.

This is for Yahweh's vengeance,

vengeance for the destruction of his temple.

¹² Lift up a signal flag over Babylon's walls;

make the watch strong;

set up watchmen;

prepare the ambushes;

for the LORD will do what he has said

concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹³ You people who live by many streams of water,

you people who are rich with treasures,

your end has come.

The thread of your life is now cut short.

¹⁴ Yahweh of hosts has sworn by his own life,

'I will fill you with men, like a swarm of locusts,

and they will raise a battle cry against you.'

¹⁵ He has made the earth by his power;

he set in place the world by his wisdom.

By his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

¹⁶ When he thunders,

there is the roar of waters in the heavens,

for he brings up the mist from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for rain

and sends out wind from his storehouses.

¹⁷ Every man has become stupid,

without knowledge.

Every metalworker is put to shame

by his idols.

For his cast metal images are frauds,

and there is no life in them.

¹⁸ They are useless, the work of mockers;

they will perish at the time of their punishment.

¹⁹ But God, the portion of Jacob, is not like these,

for he is the molder of all things.

Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

²⁰ You are my war hammer,

my weapon for battle.

With you I will smash nations

and destroy kingdoms.

²¹ With you I will smash horses and their riders;

with you I will smash chariots and their drivers.

²² With you I will smash each man and woman;

with you I will smash the old and the young.

With you I will smash the young men and the virgin girls.

²³ With you I will smash the shepherds and their flocks;

with you I will smash the plowmen and their teams.

With you I will smash the governors and officials.

²⁴ For in your sight I will pay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all of the evil that they did in Zion—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁵ See, I am against you, mountain of destruction

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—which destroys the whole earth.

I will stretch out my hand against you,

and roll you down from the cliffs,

and make you a burned-out mountain.

²⁶ So they will not take from you any stone

to construct a building's corner or foundation;

for you will become an everlasting devastation

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

²⁷ Lift up a signal flag over the earth.

Blow the ram's horn over the nations.

Call the nations to attack her:

the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.

Appoint a commander to attack her;

bring up horses like swarming locusts.

²⁸ Prepare the nations to attack her:

The kings of the Medes and his governors,

all of his officials and all the lands under his rule.

²⁹ For the land will shake and be in anguish,

since Yahweh's plans continue against Babylon,

to make the land of Babylon a wasteland

where there is no inhabitant.

³⁰ The soldiers in Babylon have stopped fighting;

they stay in their strongholds.

Their strength has failed;

they have become women

—her homes are on fire,

the bars of her gates are broken.

³¹ A messenger runs to proclaim to another messenger,

and a runner tells another runner

to report to the king of Babylon

that his city has been taken from end to end.

³² So the fords over the river are seized;

the enemy is burning the reed marshes,

and Babylon's fighting men are confused.

³³ For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this:

The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor.

It is time to trample her down.

In a little while the time of harvest will come to her.

³⁴ 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me,

he has driven me into confusion

and has made me an empty pot.

Like a sea monster he has swallowed me,

he has filled his stomach with my delicious foods,

and then he has spit me out.'

³⁵ The one who lives in Zion will say,

'May the violence done to me and my flesh

be on Babylon.'

Jerusalem will say,

'May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea.'

³⁶ Therefore Yahweh says this:

See, I am about to plead your case

and bring about vengeance for you.

For I will dry up Babylon's water

and make her springs run dry.

³⁷ Babylon will become heaps of rubble,

a den of jackals, a horror,

an object of hissing,

where there are no inhabitants.

³⁸ The Babylonians will roar together like young lions.

They will growl like lion cubs.

³⁹ When they become hot with greed,

I will make a feast for them;

I will make them drunk so they become joyful

and then sleep an unending sleep and not wake up

—this is Yahweh's declaration—

⁴⁰ I will send them down like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams with male goats.

⁴¹ How Babylon has been captured!

So the praise of all the earth is seized.

How Babylon has become a ruined place among the nations.

⁴² The sea has come up over Babylon

She is covered with its roaring waves.

⁴³ Her cities have become a desolation,

a dry land and a wilderness,

a land that no one inhabits,

and no human being passes through.

⁴⁴ So I will punish Bel in Babylon;

I will bring out from his mouth what he swallowed,

and the nations will no longer flow

to him with their offerings.

The walls of Babylon will fall.

⁴⁵ Go out from her midst, my people.

Let each of you save his own life

from the fury of my wrath.

⁴⁶ Do not let your hearts be timid

or fear the news that is heard in the land,

for the news will come one year.

After it in the next year there will be news,

and violence will be in the land.

Ruler will be against ruler.

⁴⁷ Therefore, see, days are coming

when I will punish the carved idols of Babylon.

All of her land will be ashamed,

and all of her slaughtered ones will fall in her midst.

⁴⁸ Then the heavens and the earth,

and all that is in them will rejoice over Babylon.

For destroyers will come for her from the north

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

⁴⁹ As Babylon has made the killed of Israel fall,

so the killed of all her land will fall in Babylon.

⁵⁰ Survivors of the sword, go away!

Do not stay still.

Call Yahweh to mind from far away;

let Jerusalem come to mind.

⁵¹ We are ashamed, for we have been insulted;

shame has covered our faces,

for foreigners have entered the holy places

of the house of Yahweh.

⁵² Therefore, see, days are coming

—this is Yahweh's declaration

—when I will punish her carved idols,

and the wounded people will groan in all of her land.

⁵³ For even if Babylon went up to the heavens

or fortified her highest fortresses,

destroyers would come from me to her

—this is Yahweh's declaration.

⁵⁴ A cry of distress came from Babylon,

great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.

⁵⁵ For Yahweh is destroying Babylon.

He is causing her loud voice to perish.

Their enemies roar like the waves of many waters;

their noise becomes very strong.

⁵⁶ For the destroyers have come against her

—against Babylon!

—and her warriors have been captured.

Their bows are shattered,

for Yahweh is the God of vengeance;

he will surely carry out this repayment.

⁵⁷ For I will make her princes and her wise men drunk,

as well as her governors, her officials, and her soldiers.

and they will sleep in an unending sleep

and never wake up

—this is the King's declaration:

Yahweh of hosts is his name.

⁵⁸ Yahweh of hosts says this:

The thick walls of Babylon will be completely demolished,

and her high gates will be burned.

Then the peoples coming to her aid will labor uselessly;

everything that the nations try to do for her

will be burned up."

⁵⁹ This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a chief officer. ⁶⁰ For Jeremiah had written in a scroll about all the disaster that was going to come on Babylon—all these words that were written about Babylon.

⁶¹ Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you go to Babylon, then you will see and you will read these words aloud. ⁶² Then you will say, 'Yahweh, you yourself have declared that you would destroy this place, and that no man or animal will live in it, and it will be desolate forever.'

⁶³ Then when you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. ⁶⁴ Say, 'Babylon will sink like this. It will not arise because of the disaster that I am sending against it, and they will fall.'" Jeremiah's words end here.

Chapter 52

¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ² He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did everything that Jehoiakim had done. ³ Through Yahweh's anger, all these events happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he drove them from before himself. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴ It happened that in the ninth year of the reign of King Zedekiah, in the tenth month, and on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came with all his army against Jerusalem. They camped opposite it, and they built a siege wall around it. ⁵ So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was broken into, and all the fighting men fled and went out of the city at night by the way of the gate that was between the two walls, by the king's garden, although the Chaldeans were all around the city. So they went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁸ But the army of Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of the Jordan River valley near Jericho. All his army was scattered away from him.

⁹ They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his own eyes, and at Riblah he also slaughtered all the leaders of Judah. ¹¹ Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and brought him to Babylon. The king of Babylon put him in prison until the day of his death.

¹² Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem. He was the commander of the king's bodyguards and a servant of the king of Babylon. ¹³ He burned the house of Yahweh, the king's palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem; also every important building in the city he burned. ¹⁴ As for the walls around Jerusalem, all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the commander of the bodyguards destroyed them.

¹⁵ As for the poorest people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen—Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, took some of them away into exile. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, left some of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷ As for the bronze pillars that belonged to the house of Yahweh, and the stands, and the large bronze basin called "The Sea" that were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans broke them into pieces and carried all the bronze back to Babylon. ¹⁸ The pots, shovels, lamp trimmers, bowls, and all the utensils of bronze with which the priests had served in the temple—the Chaldeans took them all away. ¹⁹ The basins and the incense burners, the bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and basins that were made of gold, and those made of silver—the commander of the king's guard took them away as well.

²⁰ The two pillars, the large bronze basin known as "The Sea," and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the stands, things that King Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, contained more bronze than could be weighed. ²¹ The pillars were eighteen cubits high each, and a line around each one measured twelve cubits. Each was four fingers thick and hollow.

²² A capital of bronze was on top of it. The capital was five cubits high, with latticework and pomegranates all around. It was all made of bronze. The other pillar and its pomegranates were the same as the first. ²³ So there were ninety-six pomegranates on the capital's sides, and one hundred pomegranates above the surrounding latticework.

²⁴ The commander of the bodyguards took prisoner Seraiah, the high priest, together with Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three gatekeepers. ²⁵ From the city he took prisoner an officer who was in charge of soldiers, and seven men of those who advised the king, who were still in the city. He also took prisoner the king's army officer responsible for drafting men into the army, along with sixty important men from the land who were in the city.

²⁶ Then Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. In this way, Judah went out of its land into exile.

²⁸ These were the people who Nebuchadnezzar exiled:

In the seventh year, 3,023 Jews.

²⁹ In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar

he took 832 people from Jerusalem.

³⁰ In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan,

the commander of the king's bodyguards,

exiled 745 Jewish people.

All the exiled people totaled 4,600.

³¹ It happened later in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Awel-Marduk, king of Babylon released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. This happened in the year that Awel-Marduk began to reign.

³² He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat more honorable than that of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ Awel-Marduk removed Jehoiachin's prison clothes, and Jehoiachin ate regularly at the king's table for the rest of his life, ³⁴ and a regular food allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon every day for the rest of his life until his death.

Ezekiel

Chapter 1

¹ In the thirtieth year, the fourth month, and the fifth day of the month, it came about that I was living among the captives by the Kebar Canal. The heavens opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of that month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— ³ the word of Yahweh came to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of Yahweh was upon him there.

⁴ Then I looked, and there was a windstorm coming from the north; a great cloud with fire flashing within it and brightness surrounding it and inside of it, and the fire was the color of amber inside the cloud. ⁵ In the middle was the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man, ⁶ but they had four faces each, and each of the creatures had four wings.

⁷ Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf that shone like polished bronze. ⁸ Yet they had human hands under their wings on all four sides. For all four, their faces and wings were like this: ⁹ their wings touched each other. They did not turn when they moved; each one went straight ahead.

¹⁰ The likeness of their faces was like the face of a man. The four of them had the face of a lion to the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side. They four had also the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Their faces were like that, and their wings were spread out above, so that each creature had a pair of wings that touched another creature's wing, and also a pair of wings that covered their bodies. ¹² Each went straight forward, so that wherever the Spirit directed them to go, they went without turning.

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; bright fire also moved about among the creatures, and there were flashes of lightning. ¹⁴ The living creatures were moving swiftly back and forth, and they had the appearance of lightning!

¹⁵ Then I looked at the living creatures; and I saw one wheel on the ground beside each of the living creatures with its four faces. ¹⁶ This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: Each wheel was like beryl, and the four had the same likeness; their appearance and workmanship was like a wheel intersecting another wheel.

¹⁷ As they moved, they went in any of their four directions, without turning as they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were high and fearsome, for the rims were full of eyes round about.

¹⁹ Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the living creatures rose up from the earth, the wheels also rose up. ²⁰ Wherever the Spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose up beside them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. ²¹ Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels also moved; and when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; when the creatures rose up from the earth, the wheels rose up beside them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an expansive dome; it looked like awe-inspiring crystal stretched out over their heads above. ²³ Beneath the dome, each one of the creature's wings stretched out straight and touched another creature's wings. Each of the living creatures also had a pair to cover themselves; each had a pair to cover his own body.

²⁴ Then I heard the sound of their wings. Like the noise of many waters. Like the voice of the Almighty whenever they moved. Like the sound of a rainstorm. Like the sound of an army. Whenever they stood still, they lowered their wings. ²⁵ A voice came from above the dome over their heads whenever they stood still and lowered their wings.

²⁶ Above the dome over their heads was the likeness of a throne that was like the appearance of a sapphire stone, and on the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance of a man.

²⁷ I saw a figure with the appearance of glowing metal with fire in it from the appearance of his hips up; I saw from the appearance of his hips downward the appearance of fire and brightness all around. ²⁸ Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day was the appearance of the bright light surrounding it. It was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.

Chapter 2

¹ He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet; then I will speak to you." ² Then, as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ He said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to rebellious nations that have rebelled against me—both they and their ancestors have sinned against me up to this very day!

⁴ Their descendants have stubborn faces and hard hearts. I am sending you to them, and you will say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says.' ⁵ Either they will listen or they will not listen. They are a rebellious house, but they will at least know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶ You, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, although you are with briers and thorns and although you live with scorpions. Do not fear their words or be dismayed by their faces, since they are a rebellious house.

⁷ But you will speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, because they are most rebellious.

⁸ But you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give to you!"

⁹ Then I looked, and a hand was extended out to me; in it was a written scroll. ¹⁰ He spread it out before me; it had been written on both its front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning, and woe.

Chapter 3

¹ He said to me, "Son of man, what you have found, eat. Eat this scroll, then go speak to the house of Israel." ² So I opened my mouth, and he fed me that scroll. ³ He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I have given to you!" So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ Then he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people of strange speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of strange speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me. So all the house of Israel is strong browed and hard hearted.

⁸ Behold! I have made your face as hard as their faces and your brow as hard as their brows. ⁹ I have made your brow like a diamond, harder than flint! Do not fear them or be discouraged by their faces, since they are a rebellious house."

¹⁰ Then he said to me, "Son of man, all the words that I announce to you—take them into your heart and hear them with your ears! ¹¹ Then go to the captives, to your people, and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says,' whether they will listen or not."

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of Yahweh from his place!" ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels that were with them, and the sound of a great earthquake.

¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went with bitterness in the anger of my spirit, and the strong hand of Yahweh was on me. ¹⁵ So I went to the captives at Tel Aviv who lived along the Kebar Canal, and I stayed there among them for seven days, overwhelmed in amazement.

¹⁶ Then it happened after seven days that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁷ "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, so listen to the word from my mouth, and give them my warning. ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die' and you do not warn him or speak a warning to the wicked about his evil deeds so he might live—the wicked one will die for his iniquity, but I will require his blood from your hand. ¹⁹ But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked deeds, then he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued your own life.

²⁰ If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I set a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and I will not call to mind the righteous deeds that he performed, but I will require his blood from your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous man to stop sinning so that he no longer sins, he will surely live since he was warned; and you will have rescued your own life."

²² So the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, "Arise! Go out into the plain, and I will speak with you there!" ²³ I arose and went out into the plain, and there the glory of Yahweh was staying, like the glory that I had seen beside the Kebar Canal; so I fell on my face.

²⁴ The Spirit came to me and stood me up on my feet; and he spoke with me, and said to me, "Go and shut yourself up within your house, ²⁵ for now, son of man, they will place ropes upon you and tie you so you cannot go out among them.

²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so you will be mute, and you will not be able to rebuke them, since they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth so you will say to them, 'This is what the Lord Yahweh says.' The one who will hear will hear; the one who will not listen will not listen, for they are a rebellious house!"

Chapter 4

¹ "But you, son of man, take a brick for yourself and place it before you. Then carve the city of Jerusalem on it. ² Then lay siege against it, and build forts against it. Raise up a siege ramp against it and set camps around it. Place battering rams all around it. ³ Then take for yourself an iron pan and use it as an iron wall between yourself and the city and set your face against it, for it will be under siege, and you are to put the siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴ Then, lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel on it; you will bear their iniquity for the number of the days that you lie down against the house of Israel. ⁵ I myself am assigning to you one day to represent each year of their punishment: 390 days! In this way, you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

⁶ When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time on your right side, for you will bear the iniquity of the house of Judah for forty days. I am assigning to you one day for each year. ⁷ Set your face toward Jerusalem that is under siege, and with your arm uncovered prophesy against it. ⁸ For behold! I am placing bonds on you so you will not turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

⁹ Take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make bread for yourself according to the number of the days that you will lie upon your side. For 390 days you will eat it. ¹⁰ The food you will eat will be by weight, twenty shekels per day, and you will eat it at set times each day. ¹¹ Then you will drink water, measured out to a sixth of a hin, and you will drink it at set times.

¹² You will eat it as barley cakes, but you will bake it on excrement of human dung within their sight!" ¹³ For Yahweh says, "This means that the bread that the people of Israel will eat will be unclean, there among the nations where I will banish them."

¹⁴ But I said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh! I have never been unclean! I have never eaten either an animal that died by itself or anything killed by animals, from my youth until now, and foul meat has never entered my mouth!" ¹⁵ So he said to me, "Look! I have given you cow manure instead of human dung so you can prepare your bread over that."

¹⁶ He also said to me, "Son of man! Behold! I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread while rationing it in anxiety and drink water while rationing it in horror. ¹⁷ Because they will lack bread and water, every man will be appalled at his brother, and they will waste away because of their iniquity."

Chapter 5

¹ "Then you, son of man, take a sharp sword as a barber's razor for yourself, and pass the razor over your head and your beard, then take scales to weigh and divide your hair. ² Burn a third of it with fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are completed, and take a third of the hair and strike it with the sword all around the city. Then scatter a third of it to the wind, and I will draw out a sword to chase after the people.

³ But take a small number of hairs from them and tie them into the folds of your robe. ⁴ Then take more of the hair and throw it into the midst of the fire; and burn it in the fire; from there a fire will go out to all the house of Israel."

⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this, "This is Jerusalem in the midst of the nations, where I have placed her, and where I have surrounded her with other lands. ⁶ But she has rebelled against my ordinances more wickedly than the nations have, and my statutes more than the lands that surround her. The people have rejected my ordinances and have not walked in my statutes."

⁷ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, "Because you are more troublesome than the nations that surround you and have not walked in my statutes or acted according to my decrees, or even acted according to the decrees of the nations that surround you," ⁸ therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, "Behold! I myself will act against you. I will execute judgments within your midst for the nations to see.

⁹ I will do to you what I have not done and the like of which I will not do again, because of all your disgusting practices. ¹⁰ Therefore fathers will eat the children in your midst, and sons will eat their fathers, since I will execute judgment on you and scatter to every direction all of you who remain.

¹¹ Therefore, as I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—it is certainly because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your disgusting practices, that I myself will reduce you in number; my eye will not have pity on you, and I will not spare you. ¹² A third of you will die by plague, and they will be consumed by famine in your midst. A third will fall by the sword surrounding you. Then I will scatter a third in every direction, and draw out a sword to chase after them as well.

¹³ Then my wrath will be completed, and I will cause my fury toward them to rest. I will be comforted, and they will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in my jealousy when I have completed my fury against them. ¹⁴ I will make you a ruin and an object of scorn to the nations that surround you and in the sight of everyone who passes by.

¹⁵ So Jerusalem will become something for other people to condemn and to mock, a warning and a horror to the nations that surround you. I will execute judgments against you in wrath and fury, and with furious rebukes—I, Yahweh have declared this! ¹⁶ I will send out harsh arrows of famine against you that will become the means with which I will destroy you. For I will increase the famine on you and break your staff of bread. ¹⁷ I will send a famine and disasters against you so you will be childless. Plague and blood will pass through you, and I will bring a sword against you—I, Yahweh, have declared this."

Chapter 6

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them. ³ Say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and to the hills, to the streambeds, and to the valleys: Behold! I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

⁴ Then your altars will become desolate and your pillars will be destroyed, and I will throw down your dead in front of their idols. ⁵ I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and scatter your bones around your altars.

⁶ Everywhere you live, cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be laid waste and made desolate. Then your idols will be broken and disappear, your pillars will be cut down and your works will be wiped away. ⁷ The dead will fall down in your midst and you will know that I am Yahweh.

⁸ But I will preserve a remnant among you, and there will be some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered throughout the lands. ⁹ Then those who escape will think of me among the nations where they will be held captive, that I was grieved by their promiscuous heart that turned away from me, and by their eyes that whored after their idols. Then they will show loathing on their face for the wickedness which they have committed with all their abominations. ¹⁰ So they will know that I am Yahweh. It was for a reason that I said I would bring this evil to them.

¹¹ The Lord Yahweh says this: Clap your hands and stomp your foot! Say, 'Alas!' because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they will fall by sword, famine, and plague. ¹² The one far away will die by plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword. Those who remain and survive will die by famine. In this way I will accomplish my fury against them.

¹³ Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when their dead lie among their idols, around their altars, on every high hill—on all the mountain peaks, and under every flourishing tree and thick oak—the places where they burned incense to all their idols. ¹⁴ I will strike with my hand and make the land desolate and a waste, from the wilderness to Diblah, throughout all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am Yahweh." ¹

¹Instead of Diblah , some ancient Hebrew copies and modern translations have Riblah .

Chapter 7

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "You, son of man—the Lord Yahweh says this to the land of Israel.

'An end! An end has come

to the four borders of the land.

³ Now the end is upon you,

for I am sending out my wrath on you,

and I will judge you according to your ways;

then I will bring all your abominations upon you.

⁴ For my eye will not pity you,

and I will not spare you.

Instead, I will bring your ways upon you,

and your abominations will be in your midst.

Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'

⁵ "The Lord Yahweh says this:

Disaster! A unique disaster!

Behold, it is coming. ¹

⁶ An end is surely coming.

The end has woken up against you.

Behold, it is coming!

⁷ Your doom is coming to you who inhabit the land.

The time has come; the day is near—

tumult and not joyful shouting on the mountains.

⁸ Now before long I will pour out my fury against you

and fill up my wrath upon you

when I judge you according to your ways

and bring all your abominations upon you.

⁹ For my eye will not look compassionately,

and I will not spare you.

As you have done, I will do to you;

and your abominations will be in your midst

so you will know that I am Yahweh, the one punishing you.

¹⁰ Behold, the day!

Behold, it is coming!

Doom has gone out!

The rod has blossomed,

arrogance has budded!

¹¹ Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness—

none of them, and none of their multitude,

none of their wealth, and none of their importance will last!

¹² The time is coming; the day has come close.

Do not let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn,

since my anger is on the entire multitude!

¹³ For the seller will not return to the land he sold as long as they both live,

because the vision concerning the entire multitude will not be reversed;

and because of their iniquity, none of them will be strengthened!

¹⁴ They have blown the trumpet

and made everything ready,

but there is no one marching to battle;

since my anger is on the entire multitude.

¹⁵ The sword is on the outside,

and plague and famine are inside the building.

Those who are in the field will die by the sword,

while famine and plague will consume those in the city.

¹⁶ But some survivors will escape from among them,

and they will go to the mountains.

Like doves of the valleys, all of them will moan—

each man for his iniquity.

¹⁷ Every hand will falter

and every knee will be weak as water,

¹⁸ and they will gird themselves sackcloth,

and trembling will cover them;

and shame will be on every face,

and baldness on all of their heads.

¹⁹ They will throw their silver into the streets

and their gold will be an impure thing.

Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them

in the day of Yahweh's rage.

Their lives will not be saved,

and their hunger will not be satisfied,

because their iniquity has become a stumbling block.

²⁰ In their pride they took the beauty of his jeweled ornaments,

and with them they made their abominable images and their detestable idols.

Therefore, I am turning these into an unclean thing to them.

²¹ Then I will give those things into the hand of strangers as plunder

and to the wicked of the earth as plunder,

and they will defile them.

²² Then I will turn my face away from them

when they defile my cherished place;

bandits will enter it and defile it.

²³ Make a chain,

because the land is filled with the judgment of blood,

and the city is full of violence.

²⁴ So I will bring the most wicked of the nations,

and they will possess their houses,

and I will bring an end to the pride of the mighty,

for their holy places will be defiled!

²⁵ Fear will come!

They will seek peace,

but there will be none.

²⁶ Disaster upon disaster will come,

and there will be rumor after rumor.

Then they will seek a vision from the prophet,

but the law will perish from the priest

and advice from the elders.

²⁷ The king will mourn

and the prince will be clothed in horror,

while the hands of the people of the land will tremble in fear.

According to their own ways I will do this to them!

I will judge them with their own standards

until they know that I am Yahweh.'"

¹Instead of Disaster! A unique disaster! some ancient copies have Disaster after disaster!

Chapter 8

¹ So it came about in the sixth year and the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Yahweh again fell upon me there. ² So I looked, and behold, there was a likeness with the appearance of a man. From the appearance of his hips downward there was fire. And from his hips upward there was the appearance of something shining, like glowing metal.

³ Then he reached out the form of a hand and took me by the hair of my head; the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and in visions from God, he brought me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner northern gate, where the idol that provokes great jealousy was standing. ⁴ Then behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision I had seen on the plain.

⁵ Then he said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes to the north." So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and to the north of the gate leading to the altar, there in the entrance, was the idol of jealousy. ⁶ So he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing? These are great abominations that the house of Israel is doing here to make me go far from my own sanctuary. But you will turn and see even greater abominations."

⁷ Then he brought me to the doorway of the courtyard, and I looked, and there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ He said to me, "Son of man, dig into this wall." So I dug into the wall, and there was a door. ⁹ Then he said to me, "Go and see the wicked abominations that they are doing here."

¹⁰ So I went in and looked, and behold, I saw there portrayed all over the walls every form of creeping things and detestable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ Seventy elders of the house of Israel were there, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing in their midst. They were standing in front of the images, and each man had his censer in his hand so that the smell of the cloud of incense went up.

¹² He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark? Each one does this in the hidden chamber of his idol, for they say, 'Yahweh does not see us! Yahweh has abandoned the land.'" ¹³ Then he said to me, "Turn again and see the other great abominations that they are doing."

¹⁴ Next he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the house of Yahweh that was on the north side, and behold! The women were sitting there mourning for Tammuz. ¹⁵ So he said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Turn again and see even greater abominations than these."

¹⁶ He brought me into the inner courtyard of the house of Yahweh, and behold! at the entrance of the temple of Yahweh between the portico and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun.

¹⁷ He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Is it a little thing for the house of Judah to do these abominations that they are doing here? For they have filled the land with violence and they have turned again to provoke me to anger, putting the branch to their noses. ¹⁸ So I will also act among them; my eye will not have compassion, and I will not spare them. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

Chapter 9

¹ Then he cried in my hearing with a loud voice, and said, "Let the guards come up to the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand." ² Then behold! Six men came from the pathway of the upper gate that faces north, each with his weapon of slaughter in his hand. There was a man in their midst dressed in linen with a scribe's equipment at his side. So they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherubim where it had been to the threshold of the house. He called to the man dressed in linen who had the scribe's equipment at his side. ⁴ Yahweh said to him, "Pass through the midst of the city—the midst of Jerusalem—and make a mark on the foreheads of those who groan and sigh about all the abominations being performed in the midst of the city."

⁵ Then he spoke to the others within my hearing, "Pass through the city after him and kill. Do not let your eyes have compassion, and do not spare anyone. ⁶ Kill—completely destroy—old man, young man, virgin, little children or women. But do not approach anyone who has the mark on his head. Begin at my sanctuary!" So they began with the elders who were in front of the house.

⁷ He said to them, "Defile the house, and fill its courtyards with the dead. Proceed!" So they went out and attacked the city. ⁸ As they were attacking it, I found myself alone and I fell on my face and cried out and said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"

⁹ He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood and the city full of perversions, since they say, 'Yahweh has forgotten the land,' and 'Yahweh does not see!' ¹⁰ But as for me, my eye will not pity them, and I will not spare them. I will bring their deeds upon their heads." ¹¹ Behold! The man dressed in linen who had the scribe's equipment by his side came back. He reported and said, "I have done all that you have commanded."

Chapter 10

¹ As I looked toward the dome that was over the heads of the cherubim; something appeared above them like a sapphire with the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ² Then Yahweh spoke to the man dressed in linen and said, "Go between the wheels underneath the cherubim, and fill both your hands with fiery coals from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city." Then the man went in as I watched.

³ The cherubim stood on the right side of the house when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ The glory of Yahweh rose up from the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the house. It filled the house with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the brightness of Yahweh's glory. ⁵ The sound of the cherubim's wings was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ It came about, when God commanded the man dressed in linen and said, "Take fire from between the wheels that are between the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ A cherub reached out his hand between the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and lifted it up and placed it into the hands of the one dressed in linen. The man took it and went back out. ⁸ I saw on the cherubim something like a man's hand under their wings.

⁹ So I looked, and behold! Four wheels were beside the cherubim—one wheel beside each cherub—and the appearance of the wheels was like a beryl stone. ¹⁰ Their appearance was the same likeness for all four of them, like a wheel intersecting another wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they went in any of their four directions, without turning as they went; but whatever direction the head faced, they followed after it without turning as they went.

¹² Their whole body—including their backs, their hands, and their wings—was covered with eyes, and eyes covered the four wheels all around also. ¹³ As I listened, the wheels were called, "Whirling." ¹⁴ They had four faces each; the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim—these were the living creatures that I had seen by the Kebar Canal—rose up. ¹⁶ Whenever the cherubim moved, the wheels would go beside them, and whenever the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise up from the earth, the wheels did not turn. They still stayed beside them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels rose up with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

¹⁸ Then the glory of Yahweh went out from over the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose from the earth in my sight when they went out, and the wheels did the same beside them. They stood at the eastern entrance to the house of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of Israel came upon them from above.

²⁰ These were the living creatures that I had seen below the God of Israel by the Kebar Canal, so I knew that they were cherubim! ²¹ They had four faces each and four wings each, and the likeness of human hands under their wings, ²² and the likeness of their faces was like the faces that I had seen in the vision at the Kebar Canal, and each of them went straight ahead.

Chapter 11

¹ Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the house of Yahweh, facing east, and behold, in the doorway of the gate there were twenty-five men. I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people, among them.

² God said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who decide wicked plans in this city. ³ They are saying, 'The time to build houses is not now; this city is the pot, and we are the meat.' ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man."

⁵ Then the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me and he said for me to say: This is what Yahweh says, "That is what you are saying, house of Israel; for I know what goes through your mind. ⁶ You have multiplied the people you have killed in this city and filled its streets with them. ⁷ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: The people you have killed, whose bodies you have laid in the midst of Jerusalem, are the meat, and this city is the pot. But you are going to be brought out from the midst of this city.

⁸ You have feared the sword, so I am bringing the sword upon you—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh. ⁹ I will bring you out of the midst of the city, and put you into the hands of foreigners, for I will bring judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will fall by the sword. I will judge you within the borders of Israel so you will know that I am Yahweh.

¹¹ This city will not be your cooking pot, nor will you be the meat within her midst. I will judge you within the borders of Israel. ¹² Then you will know that I am Yahweh, whose statutes you have not walked in and whose decrees you have not obeyed. Instead, you have followed the decrees of the nations that surround you."

¹³ It came about that as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah, died. So I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Alas, Lord Yahweh, will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"

¹⁴ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁵ "Son of man, your brothers! Your brothers! The men of your kindred and all the house of Israel! All of them are those of whom it is said by those living in Jerusalem, 'They are far away from Yahweh! This land was given to us as our possession.'

¹⁶ Therefore say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Though I have removed them far off among the nations, and though I have scattered them among the lands, yet I have been a sanctuary for them for a little while in the lands where they have gone.' ¹⁷ Therefore say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you from the lands where you were scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.' ¹⁸ Then they will go there and remove every detestable thing and every abomination from that place.

¹⁹ I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them. I will take out the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they will walk in my statutes, they will carry out my decrees and do them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But to those who walk with affection toward their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their conduct on their own heads—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

²² The cherubim lifted up their wings and the wheels that were beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high up over them. ²³ Then the glory of Yahweh went up from within the midst of the city and stood on the mountain to the east of the city.

²⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into Chaldea, to the exiles, in the vision from the Spirit of God, and the vision that I had seen went up from upon me. ²⁵ Then I declared to the exiles all the things of Yahweh that I had seen.

Chapter 12

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house, where they have eyes to see but they do not see; and where they have ears to hear but do not listen, because they are a rebellious house.

³ Therefore as for you, son of man, prepare your things for exile, and begin going out by day in their sight, for I will exile you in their sight from your place to another place. Perhaps they will begin to see, though they are a rebellious house.

⁴ You will bring out your things for an exile in the day in their sight; go out in the evening in their sight in the way that anyone goes into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall in their sight, and go out through it. ⁶ In their sight, lift up your things onto your shoulder, and bring them out in the darkness. Cover your face, for you must not see the land, since I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel."

⁷ So I did this, just as I was commanded. I brought out my things of exile in the daytime, and in the evening I dug a hole through the wall by hand. I brought my things out in the dark, and lifted them up on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ Then the word of Yahweh came to me in the morning, saying, ⁹ "Son of man, is the house of Israel, that rebellious house, not asking, 'What are you doing?' ¹⁰ Say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: this prophetic action concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel in whose midst they are.'

¹¹ Say, 'I am a sign to you.' As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile and into captivity. ¹² The prince who is among them will lift up his things upon his shoulder in the dark, and will go out through the wall. They will dig through the wall and bring out their things. He will cover his face, so he will not see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will spread out my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; then I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it. He will die there.

¹⁴ I will also scatter in every direction all of those around him who were to assist him and his entire army, and I will send out a sword after them. ¹⁵ Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands. ¹⁶ But I will spare a few men from among them from the sword, famine, and plague, so they may record all of their abominations in the lands where I take them, so they will know that I am Yahweh."

¹⁷ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁸ "Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with shaking and anxiety.

¹⁹ Then say to the people of the land, 'The Lord Yahweh says this concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel, "They will eat their bread with trembling and drink their water with horror, since the land will be stripped of its fullness because of the violence of all those who dwell there. ²⁰ So the cities that were inhabited will be desolate, and the land will become a wasteland; so you will know that I am Yahweh."'"

²¹ Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²² "Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel that says, 'The days are prolonged, and every vision fails'? ²³ Therefore, say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: I will put an end to this proverb, and the people of Israel will no longer use it.' Say to them, 'The days have drawn near when every vision will be fulfilled.

²⁴ For there will no longer be any false visions or favorable divinations within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am Yahweh! I speak, and I carry out the words that I speak. The matter will no longer be delayed. For I will speak this word in your days, rebellious house, and I will carry it out!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

²⁶ Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²⁷ "Son of man! Behold, the house of Israel has said, 'The vision that he sees is for a time many days from now, and he prophesies of far off times.' ²⁸ Therefore say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: My words will not be delayed any longer, but the word that I have spoken will be done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

Chapter 13

¹ Again, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets who are prophesying in Israel, and say to those who are prophesying out of their own imaginations, 'Listen to the word of Yahweh. ³ The Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, but who have seen nothing! ⁴ Israel, your prophets have been like jackals in the wastelands.

⁵ You have not gone to the breaks in the wall around the house of Israel in order to repair it, in order to resist in battle on the day of Yahweh. ⁶ The people have false visions and practice false divination, those who say, "Such and such is Yahweh's declaration." Yahweh has not sent them, but they nevertheless have made people hope that their messages would come true. ⁷ Have you not had false visions and practice false divination, you who say, "Such and such is Yahweh's declaration" when I myself have not spoken?'

⁸ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because you have had false visions and have told lies—therefore this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration against you: ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who have lying visions and who practice false divination. They will not be in the assembly of my people, or enrolled in the record of the house of Israel; they must not go to the land of Israel. For you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh!

¹⁰ Because of this, and because they led my people astray and said, "Peace!" when there is no peace, they are building a wall that they will paint with whitewash.' ¹¹ Say to those who are whitewashing the wall, 'It will fall down; there will be a downpour of rain, and I will send hailstones to make it fall down, and a windstorm wind to break it down. ¹² See, the wall will fall down. Have others not said to you, "Where is the whitewash that you put on it?"

¹³ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I will bring a windstorm in my rage, and there will be floods of rain in my wrath! Hailstones in my rage will completely destroy it. ¹⁴ For I will tear down the wall that you have covered with whitewash, and I will demolish it to the ground and lay bare its foundations. So it will fall, and you will be annihilated in the middle of it all. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

¹⁵ For I will annihilate in my fury the wall and those who whitewashed it. I will say to you, "The wall exists no more, nor do the people who whitewashed it— ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and who had visions of peace for her. But there is no peace!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."'

¹⁷ So you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own minds, and prophesy against them. ¹⁸ Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the women who sew magic charms onto every part of their hand and make veils for their heads of every size, used to hunt down people. Will you hunt down my people but save your own lives?

¹⁹ You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread, to kill people who should not die, and to preserve the lives of those who should not continue to live, because of your lies to my people who heard you.

²⁰ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I am against the magic charms that you have used to ensnare the people's lives as if they were birds. Indeed, I will tear them from your arms; and the people whom you have trapped like birds—I will let them go free. ²¹ I will tear away your veils and rescue my people from your hand, so they will no longer be trapped in your hands. You will know that I am Yahweh.

²² Because you discouraged the heart of the righteous with lies, even though I did not cause him grief, and because you strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he does not turn from his evil ways and save his life, ²³ therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will rescue my people out of your hand. You will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 14

¹ Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ³ "Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts and have put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their own faces. Should I be inquired of at all by them?

⁴ Therefore announce this to them and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart, or who puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and who then comes to a prophet—I, Yahweh, will answer him according to the number of his idols. ⁵ I will do this so that I may take back the house of Israel in their hearts that have been driven far from me through their idols.'

⁶ Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Repent and turn away from your idols! Turn back your faces from all your abominations.

⁷ For every one from the house of Israel and every one of the foreigners sojourning in Israel who deserts me, who takes his idols into his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his own face, and who then comes to a prophet to seek me—I, Yahweh, will answer him myself. ⁸ So I will set my face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, for I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

⁹ If a prophet is deceived and speaks a message, then I, Yahweh, will deceive that prophet; I will reach out with my hand against him and destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ¹⁰ They will carry their own iniquity; the iniquity of the prophet will be the same as the iniquity of the one who inquires from him. ¹¹ Because of this, the house of Israel will no longer wander away from following me nor defile themselves any longer through all their transgressions. They will be my people, and I will be their God—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹² Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹³ "Son of man, when a land sins against me by committing faithlessness so that I reach out with my hand against it and break the staff of its bread, and send out over it a famine and cut off both men and animals from the land; ¹⁴ then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in the land's midst, they could only rescue their own lives by their righteousness—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁵ If I send evil beasts through the land and make it barren so that it becomes a wasteland where no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ then even if these same three men were in it—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued, but the land would become a wasteland.

¹⁷ Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, 'Sword, go through the land and cut off both men and animals from it', ¹⁸ then even if these three men were in the midst of the land—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued.

¹⁹ Or if I send a plague against this land and pour out my fury against it through bloodshed, in order to cut off both men and animals, ²⁰ then even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in that land—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued by their righteousness.

²¹ For the Lord Yahweh says this: I will certainly make things worse by sending my four judgments—famine, sword, wild animals, and plague—against Jerusalem to cut off both men and animals from her.

²² Yet, behold! An escaped remnant will be left in her, survivors who will go out with sons and daughters. Behold! They will go out to you, and you will see their ways and actions and be comforted concerning the punishment that I have sent to Jerusalem, and about everything else that I have sent against the land. ²³ The survivors will comfort you when you see their ways and their actions, so you will know all these things I have done against her, that I have not done them in vain!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 15

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, how is a vine better than any tree with branches that is among the trees in a forest? ³ Do people take wood from a vine to make anything? Or do they make a peg from it to hang anything on it? ⁴ See! If it is thrown into a fire as fuel, and if the fire has burned both of its ends and also the middle, is it good for anything?

⁵ See! When it was complete, it could not make anything; surely then, when the fire has burned, then it still will not make anything useful. ⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Unlike the trees in the forests, I have given the vine as fuel for fires; I will act in the same way toward the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

⁷ For I will set my face against them. Though they come out from the fire, yet the fire will consume them; so you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them. ⁸ Then I will make the land into an abandoned wasteland because they have committed faithlessness—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 16

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and declare, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to Jerusalem: Your beginning and your birth took place in the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.

⁴ On the day of your birth, your mother did not cut your navel, nor did she purify you in water or rub you down with salt, or wrap cloth around you. ⁵ No eye had compassion for you to do any of these things for you, to be compassionate toward you. On the day that you were born, with loathing for your life, you were thrown out into the open field.

⁶ But I passed by you, and I saw you writhing in your own blood; so I said to you in your blood, "Live!" I said to you in your blood, "Live!" ¹ ⁷ I made you grow like a plant in a field. You multiplied and became great, and you became the jewel of jewels. Your breasts became firm, and your hair grew thick, though you had been naked and bare.

⁸ I passed by you again, and I saw you. See! the time of love came for you, so I spread my robe over you and covered your nakedness. Then I swore to you and brought you into a covenant—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—and you became mine.

⁹ So I washed you with water and rinsed your blood off you, and I anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I dressed you in embroidered clothes and placed leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ Next I adorned you with jewelry, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain around your neck. ¹² I put a nose ring in your nostrils and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver, and you were dressed in fine linen, silk, and embroidered clothes; you ate fine flour, honey, and oil, and you were very beautiful, and you became a queen. ¹⁴ Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect in the majesty that I had given to you—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁵ But you trusted in your own beauty, and you acted like a prostitute because of your fame; you poured out your acts of prostitution on everyone who passed by, so that your beauty became his. ¹⁶ Then you took your clothes and with them you made high places for yourself decorated in various colors, and there you acted like a prostitute. This should not have happened. Nor should such a thing exist.

¹⁷ You took the beautiful jewels of the gold and silver that I gave you, and you made for yourself male figures, and you did with them as a prostitute would do. ¹⁸ You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set my oils and incense before them. ¹⁹ My bread I gave you—made with fine flour, oil, and honey—you set before them for a fragrant aroma, for this is what happened—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

²⁰ Then you took your sons and daughters whom you bore for me, and you sacrificed them to the images to be devoured as food. Are your acts of prostitution a small matter? ²¹ You slaughtered my children to the idols and made them pass through the fire. ²² In all your abominations and your acts of prostitution you have not thought about the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare as you thrashed about in your blood.

²³ Woe! Woe to you!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—therefore, in addition to all this wickedness, ²⁴ you built yourself a mound and made yourself a high place in every public place.

²⁵ You built your high place at the head of every road and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to anyone who passed by, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. ²⁶ You have acted like a prostitute with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and you committed many more acts of prostitution, provoking me to anger.

²⁷ See! I will strike you with my hand and cut off your food. I will hand your life over to your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your obscene behavior. ²⁸ You have acted like a prostitute with the Assyrians because you could not be satisfied. You acted like a prostitute and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ You performed many more acts of prostitution in the land of the merchants of Chaldea, and even this did not satisfy you.

³⁰ How weak is your heart—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—that you would do all these things, deeds of a shameless prostitute? ³¹ You have built your mounds at the head of every street and made your high places in every public square. Yet you were not like a prostitute because you scoffed at taking payment.

³² You adulterous woman, you accept strangers instead of your husband. ³³ People give payment to every prostitute, but you give your wages to all your lovers and bribe them to come to you from all around for your acts of prostitution. ³⁴ So there is a difference between you and other women in your fornication. No one offers payment for you to act like a prostitute. You are the very opposite. You gave them payment and none was given to you.

³⁵ Therefore, you prostitute, listen to the word of Yahweh. ³⁶ The Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have poured out your lust and uncovered your nakedness through your acts of prostitution with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood, ³⁷ therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers that you have met, all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated, and I will gather them against you on every side. I will uncover your nakedness to them so they see all your nakedness.

³⁸ For I will punish you for adultery and the shedding of blood, and I will bring on you the bloodshed of my anger and jealousy. ³⁹ I will give you into their hands so they will throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your high places and they will strip you of your clothes and take all of your jewelry. They will leave you naked and bare.

⁴⁰ Then they will bring up a crowd against you and stone you with stones, and they will cut you apart with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your houses and will perform many judgments on you in the sight of many women, for I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers. ⁴² Then I will calm my fury against you; my jealousy will leave you, for I will be satisfied, and will no longer be angry.

⁴³ Because you did not call to mind the days of your youth and have made me shake with anger because of all these things, therefore, behold! I myself will bring down on your own head the punishment for what you have done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. Have you not added prostitution to all your other detestable practices?

⁴⁴ Behold! Everyone who speaks proverbs concerning you will say, "As the mother is, so also is her daughter." ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her children, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite.

⁴⁶ Your older sister was Samaria and her daughters were the ones living in the north, while your younger sister was the one living south of you, that is, Sodom and her daughters.

⁴⁷ You not only walked in their ways and committed their disgusting practices, but in all your ways you have acted more corruptly than they. ⁴⁸ As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—your sister Sodom and her daughters, have not done as much evil as you and your daughters have done.

⁴⁹ Behold! This was the iniquity of your sister Sodom that she was arrogant in her leisure, careless and unconcerned about anything. She did not strengthen the hands of the poor and needy people. ⁵⁰ She was arrogant and committed disgusting practices before me, so I took them away just as you have seen.

⁵¹ Samaria did not commit even half of your sins. You have done many more disgusting things than they did, and you have made your sisters appear more righteous than you because of all the disgusting things you have done! ⁵² Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished justification for your sisters. Because of your sins, which you committed so abominably, you have made your sisters appear to be more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

⁵³ For I will reverse their captivity—the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters—and your captivity will be among them. ⁵⁴ On account of these things you will show your shame; you will be humiliated because of everything that you have done, and in this way you will be a comfort to them. ⁵⁵ So your sister Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former condition, and Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former estate. Then you and your daughters will be restored to your former condition.

⁵⁶ Sodom your sister was not even mentioned by your mouth in the days when you were proud, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was revealed. Now you are scorned by the daughters of Edom and to all the daughters of the Philistines around her—all those around you despise you. ² ⁵⁸ You will show your shame and your disgusting practices!—this is Yahweh's declaration!

⁵⁹ The Lord Yahweh says this: I will deal with you as you deserve, you who have despised your oath by breaking the covenant.

⁶⁰ But I myself will call to mind my covenant with you made in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will call to mind your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older sisters and your younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.

⁶² I myself will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh. ⁶³ Because of these things, you will call everything to mind and be ashamed, so you will no longer open your mouth to speak because of your shame, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹Some modern translations leave out the second occurrence of I said to you in your blood, "Live!" .

²Instead of Edom , some ancient Hebrew copies and some modern translations have Aram , that is, Syria.

Chapter 17

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, present a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel. ³ Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: A large eagle with large wings and long pinions, full of feathers, and that was multicolored went to Lebanon and took hold of the top of a cedar tree. ⁴ It broke off the tips of the branches and took them to the land of Canaan; he planted it in a city of merchants.

⁵ He also took some seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a large body of water like a willow. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a spreading vine low to the ground. Its branches turned toward him, and its roots grew under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and sent out shoots.

⁷ But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers. Behold! This vine turned its roots toward the eagle, and it spread out its branches toward the eagle from the place it had been planted so it would be watered. ⁸ It had been planted in good soil beside a large body of water so it would produce branches and sprout fruit, to become a glorious vine.'

⁹ Say to the people, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Will it prosper? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers, and all its fresh growth will wither? No strong arm or many people will be needed to pull it out by its roots. ¹⁰ So behold! After it has been planted, will it grow? Will it not wither when the eastern wind touches it? It will completely wither away in the garden plot where it sprouted.'"

¹¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹² "Speak to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean? Behold! The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her princes and brought them to him in Babylon.

¹³ Then he took a royal descendant, made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath. He took away the mighty men of the land, ¹⁴ so the kingdom might become lowly and not lift itself up. By keeping his covenant the land will survive.

¹⁵ But the king of Jerusalem rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt to acquire horses and an army. Will he succeed? Will the one doing these things escape? If he breaks the covenant, will he escape?

¹⁶ As I live!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—he will surely die in the land of the king who made him king, the king whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke. He will die in the middle of Babylon.

¹⁷ Pharaoh with his mighty army and a great company of men will not help him in battle, when ramps are constructed and siege walls are built up to cut off many lives. ¹⁸ For the king despised his oath by breaking the covenant. Behold, he reached out with his hand to make a promise and yet he did all these things. He will not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, was it not my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke? So I will bring his punishment on his head! ²⁰ I will spread my net out over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for his faithlessness that he committed when he betrayed me! ²¹ All of his refugees in his armies will fall by the sword, and the ones who remain will be scattered in every direction. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; I have declared this would happen."

²² The Lord Yahweh says this, 'So I myself will take a twig from the highest part of the cedar tree and I will plant it. I will break off a tender twig, and I myself will plant it on a high mountain. ²³ I will plant it on the mountains of Israel so it will bear branches and produce fruit, and it will become a majestic cedar so that every winged bird will live under it. They will nest in the shade of its branches.

²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I am Yahweh. I bring down the high trees and I raise up the low trees. I wither the watered tree and I cause the dried tree to bloom. I am Yahweh, I have declared that this will happen; and I have done it.'"

Chapter 18

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying, ² "What do you mean, you who use this proverb concerning the land of Israel and say, 'Fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are made blunt'?

³ As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—there will certainly no longer be any occasion for you to use this proverb in Israel. ⁴ Behold! Every life belongs to me—the life of the father as well as the life of the son, they belong to me! The soul who sins is the one who will die!

⁵ What can be said about a man who is righteous and who carries out justice and righteousness— ⁶ if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and he does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her impurity, is he a righteous man?

⁷ What can be said about a man who does not oppress anyone, who gives back to the debtor his pledge, and who does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing—is he a righteous man?

⁸ What can be said about a man who does not loan money for usury or take interest but keeps his hand from injustice? It is said of him that he carries out justice and establishes faithfulness between people. ⁹ If that man walks in my statutes and keeps my decrees to act faithfully, then the promise for this righteous man is this: He will surely live!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁰ But suppose that he has a violent son who sheds blood and does any one of these things that were mentioned, ¹ ¹¹ (though his father has not done any of these things). He eats upon the mountains and he defiles his neighbor's wife, what can be said about him?

¹² He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not return a pledge, and he lifts up his eyes to the idols and commits disgusting practices, ¹³ and he loans money for usury and takes interest, should that man live? Surely he will not live! He will certainly die and his blood will be on him because he has done all these detestable things.

¹⁴ But behold! Suppose there is a man who bears a son, and his son sees all the sins that his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do those things.

¹⁵ That son does not eat upon the mountains, and he does not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and he does not defile his neighbor's wife, what can be said about him?

¹⁶ That son does not oppress anyone, or require a pledge, or commit robbery, but instead gives his food to the hungry and covers up the naked with clothing. ¹⁷ That son does not oppress anyone or loan money for usury or take interest, but he carries out my decrees and walks according to my statutes; that son will not die for his father's iniquity: He will surely live!

¹⁸ His father, since he oppressed others by extortion and robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people—behold, he will die in his iniquity.

¹⁹ But you say, 'Why does the son not bear the iniquity of his father?' Because the son carries out justice and righteousness and keeps all my statutes; he does them. He will surely live! ²⁰ The one who sins, he is the one who will die. A son will not bear his father's iniquity, and a father will not bear his son's iniquity. The righteousness of the one who acts rightly will be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be on himself.

²¹ But if the wicked turns away from all his sins that he has done, and obeys all my statutes and performs justice and righteousness, then he will certainly live and not die. ²² All the transgressions that he has committed will not be called to mind against him. He will live by the righteousness that he practices.

²³ Do I greatly rejoice over the death of the wicked—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—and not in his turning away from his way so that he may live?

²⁴ But if the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and practices abominations like all the abominations that the wicked person does, then will he live? All the righteousness that he had done will not be called to mind when he betrays me in his treachery. So he will die in the sins that he committed.

²⁵ But you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' Listen, house of Israel! Are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? ²⁶ When the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity and dies because of them, then he will die in the iniquity that he has done.

²⁷ But when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has done and performs justice and righteousness, then he will preserve his life. ²⁸ For he has seen and turned away from all the transgressions that he had done. He will surely live, and he will not die.

²⁹ But the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' How is my way not fair, house of Israel? It is your ways that are not fair. ³⁰ Therefore I will judge each man among you according to his ways, house of Israel!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. Repent and turn away from all your transgressions so that they will not be stumbling blocks of iniquity against you.

³¹ Throw away from yourselves all of the transgressions that you have committed; make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? ³² For I have no delight in the death of the one who dies—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—so repent and live!"

¹Some ancient Hebrew copies and many modern translations leave out to a brother .

Chapter 19

¹ "Now you, take up a lamentation against the leaders of Israel ² and say,

'Who was your mother?

A lioness, she lived with a lion's son;

in the midst of young lions, she nurtured her cubs.

³ She is the one who raised up one of her cubs to become a young lion,

a lion who learned to tear apart his prey,

and then he devoured men.

⁴ Then the nations heard about him.

He was caught in their trap,

and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

⁵ Then she saw that although she had waited for his return,

her expectation was now gone,

so she took another of her cubs

and raised him to become a young lion.

⁶ This young lion roamed about in the midst of lions.

He was a young lion and learned to tear his victims;

he devoured men.

⁷ He seized their widows

and ruined their cities.

The land and its fullness were made desolate

because of the sound of his roaring. ¹

⁸ But the nations came against him

from the surrounding provinces;

they spread their nets over him.

He was caught in their trap.

⁹ With hooks they put him in a cage

and then they brought him to the king of Babylon.

They brought him to the strongholds

so that his voice would no longer be heard

on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ Your mother was like a vine

planted in your blood beside the water. ²

It was fruitful and full of branches

because of the abundance of water.

¹¹ It had strong branches that were used for rulers' scepters,

and its size was exalted above the branches,

and its height was seen by the greatness of its foliage.

¹² But the vine was uprooted in fury

and thrown down to the earth,

and an eastern wind dried out its fruit.

Its strong branches were broken off and withered

and fire consumed them.

¹³ So now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a land of drought and thirst.

¹⁴ For fire went out from her large branches

and consumed its fruit.

There is no strong branch on it,

no scepter to rule.'

This is a lamentation and will be sung as a lamentation."

¹Instead of He seized their widows , some ancient Hebrew copies and many modern translations have He destroyed their fortresses .

²Instead of in your blood , some ancient Hebrew copies and many modern translations have in your vineyard .

Chapter 20

¹ It came about in the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, that elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh and sat before me.

² Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ³ "Son of man, declare to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Have you come to inquire of me? As I live, I will not be inquired of by you!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'

⁴ Will you judge them? Will you judge, son of man? Let them know about their fathers' abominations. ⁵ Say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day that I chose Israel and raised my hand to swear an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I raised my hand to swear an oath to them. I said, "I am Yahweh your God"— ⁶ on that day I raised my hand to swear an oath to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had carefully selected for them. It was flowing with milk and honey; it was the most beautiful ornament among all the lands.

⁷ I said to them, "Let each man throw away the detestable things from before his eyes and the idols of Egypt. Do not make yourselves unclean; I am Yahweh your God."

⁸ But they rebelled against me and were unwilling to listen to me. Each man did not throw away the detestable things from before his eyes nor abandon the idols of Egypt, so I determined to pour out my fury upon them to satisfy my wrath among them in the middle of the land of Egypt. ⁹ I acted for my name's sake so it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were staying. I made myself known to them, in their eyes, by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ So I sent them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ¹¹ Then I gave them my statutes and made my decrees known to them, by which a man will live if he obeys them. ¹² I also gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between myself and them, for them to know that I am Yahweh who makes them holy.

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes; instead, they rejected my decrees, by which a man will live if he obeys them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths. So, I said I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness in order to end them. ¹⁴ But I acted for my name's sake so it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out of Egypt.

¹⁵ So I myself also raised my hand to swear an oath to them in the wilderness not to bring them into the land that I had been going to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey, which was the most beautiful ornament among all the lands. ¹⁶ I swore this because they had rejected my decrees and did not walk in my statutes, and they profaned my Sabbaths, since their hearts walked after their idols. ¹⁷ But my eye spared them from their destruction and I did not completely destroy them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, or keep their rules, or defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ I am Yahweh your God, walk in my statutes; keep my decrees and obey them. ²⁰ Keep my Sabbaths holy so that they will be a sign between me and you, so that you will know that I am Yahweh your God."

²¹ But their sons and daughters rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes or keep my decrees, by which a man might live if he obeys them. They profaned my Sabbaths, so I determined to pour out my fury upon them to satisfy my wrath against them in the wilderness. ²² But I turned my hand away and acted for my name's sake, so it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought out the Israelites.

²³ I myself also lifted up my hand to swear to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands. ²⁴ I decided to do this since they had not obeyed my decrees, and since they had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths. Their eyes were longing after their fathers' idols.

²⁵ Then I also gave them statutes that were not good, and decrees by which they could not live. ²⁶ I declared them to be unclean through their gifts—they made a sacrifice of every firstborn of the womb and caused them to pass through the fire—that I might fill them with horror so they will know that I am Yahweh!'

²⁷ Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: In this also your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me. ²⁸ When I brought them into the land that I had sworn to give them, and then whenever they saw any high hill and leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices, they provoked me by their offerings, and there they also burned their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ Then I said to them, "What is this high place where you bring offerings there?" So the name is called Bamah to this day.'

³⁰ Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Why do you make yourselves unclean with the ways of your fathers? So why do you act like prostitutes, searching for disgusting things? ³¹ When you offer up your gifts—when you cause your sons to pass through the fire—to this day you defile yourselves with all your idols. So why should I let you seek me, house of Israel? As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—I will not allow you to seek me. ³² The thought that is forming in your mind will never happen. You say, "Let us be like the other nations, like the clans in the other lands who worship wood and stone."

³³ As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—I will certainly reign over you with a mighty hand, a raised arm, and fury that will be poured out on you. ³⁴ I will bring you out from the other peoples and will gather you out of the lands among whom you have been scattered. I will do this with a mighty hand and with fury poured out. ³⁵ Then I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face.

³⁶ As I judged your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so also I will judge you—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ³⁷ I will cause you to pass under my rod, and I will make you obey the requirements of the covenant. ³⁸ I will purge from among you the rebels and those who revolt against me. I will send them out from the land where they are staying as foreigners, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

³⁹ So to you, house of Israel, the Lord Yahweh says this: Each of you should go to his own idols. Worship them if you will refuse to listen to me, but you must no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and your idols.

⁴⁰ For on my holy mountain, on the mountain peak of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—all of the house of Israel will worship me there in the land. I will be pleased to require your contributions there, and also the firstfruits of your tribute with all your holy things. ⁴¹ I will accept you like fragrant incense when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the lands where you have been scattered. I will show myself as holy among you for the nations to see.

⁴² Then, when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I have lifted up my hand to swear to give to your fathers, you will know that I am Yahweh. ⁴³ There you will call to mind your conduct and all of your deeds by which you defiled yourselves, and you will despise yourselves in your own eyes for all your evil deeds that you have done. ⁴⁴ So you will know that I am Yahweh when I do this to you because of my name's sake, and not because of your evil deeds, and not because of your corrupt deeds, house of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

⁴⁵ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁴⁶ "Son of man, set your face toward the southern lands, and speak against the south; prophesy against the forest of the Negev. ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negev, 'This is Yahweh's declaration—the Lord Yahweh says this: See, I will set a fire among you. It will devour every fresh tree and every dried tree among you. The fiery flame will not be quenched; every face from the south to the north will be burned.

⁴⁸ Then all flesh will see that I am Yahweh when I light the fire, and it will not be quenched.'" ⁴⁹ Then I said, "Alas! Lord Yahweh, they are saying of me, 'Is he not a mere teller of parables?'"

Chapter 21

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel. ³ Say to the land of Israel, 'Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you! I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous person and the wicked person from you!

⁴ In order for me to cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you, my sword will go out from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. ⁵ Then all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword from its sheath. It will no longer hold back!'

⁶ As for you, son of man, groan as your loins break! In bitterness groan before their eyes! ⁷ Then it will happen that they will ask you, 'For what reason are you groaning?' Then you will say, 'Because of the news that is coming, for every heart will melt, and every hand will falter! Every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will flow like water. Behold! It is coming and it will be like this!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

⁸ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁹ "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord says this:

Say: A sword! A sword!

It will be sharpened and polished!

¹⁰ It will be sharpened in order to engage in great slaughter!

It will be polished in order to be like lightning!

Should we rejoice in my son's scepter?

The coming sword hates every such rod!

¹¹ So the sword will be given to be polished,

and then to be grasped by the hand!

The sword is sharpened and it is polished

and it is to be given into the hand of the one who kills!'"

¹² Call for help and wail, son of man!

For that sword has come against my people!

It is against all the leaders of Israel.

They are thrown against the sword with my people.

Therefore, slap your thigh!

¹³ For there is a trial,

but what if the scepter that despises does not last?

—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁴ Now you, son of man, prophesy

and hit your two hands together,

for the sword will attack even a third time!

A sword for the ones to be slaughtered!

It is a sword for the many to be slaughtered,

piercing them everywhere!

¹⁵ In order to melt their hearts and to multiply their fallen,

I have set the sword for slaughter at all their gates.

Ah! It is made like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.

¹⁶ Strike sharply to the righthand side!

Strike to the lefthand side!

Go wherever your face is turned.

¹⁷ For I will also hit my two hands together,

and then I will bring my fury to rest!

I, Yahweh, declare it!"

¹⁸ The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying, ¹⁹ "Now you, son of man, assign two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. The two roads will start in the same land, and a signpost will mark one of them as leading to a city. ²⁰ Mark one road for the sword to come to Rabbah, the city of the Ammonites. Mark the other to lead the army to Judah and the city of Jerusalem, which is fortified.

²¹ For the king of Babylon will stop at the crossroads, at the junction, in order to practice divination. He will shake some arrows and ask direction from some idols and he will examine a liver. ²² In his right hand will be a divination about Jerusalem, to set battering rams against it, to open his mouth to order the slaughter, to sound a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect siege towers. ²³ It will seem to be a false divination in their eye, those who had sworn an oath to the Babylonians! But the king will accuse them of iniquity in order to besiege them!

²⁴ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, making your transgressions to be revealed, so that in all your actions your sins will be seen—because you have done this you will be taken in hand.

²⁵ As for you, profane and wicked ruler of Israel, whose day of punishment has come, and whose time of committing iniquity has ended, ²⁶ the Lord Yahweh says this to you: Remove the turban and take off the crown! Things will no longer be the same! Exalt the lowly and humble the exalted! ²⁷ A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until the one comes who is assigned to execute judgment.

²⁸ So you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to the people of Ammon concerning their coming disgrace: A sword, a sword is drawn! It is sharpened for the slaughter in order to devour, so it will be like lightning! ²⁹ While prophets see empty visions for you, while they practice divination to make up lies for you, this sword will lie on the necks of the wicked who are about to be killed, whose day of punishment has come and whose time of iniquity is about to end.

³⁰ Return the sword to its sheath. In the place of your creation, in the land of your origin, I will judge you! ³¹ I will pour out my indignation on you! I will fan the fire of my rage against you and put you into the hand of cruel men, craftsmen of destruction!

³² You will become fuel for the fire! Your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh have declared this!'"

Chapter 22

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

² "Now you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of blood? Make her know all her abominations. ³ You must say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: This is a city that pours out blood in her midst so that her time may come; a city that makes idols to make herself unclean.

⁴ You have become guilty by the blood that you have poured out, and you have become unclean by the idols that you have made. You have drawn your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the lands. ⁵ Both those who are near and those who are far away from you will mock you—you unclean city—with the reputation known everywhere as being full of confusion.

⁶ Behold! The rulers of Israel, each one by his own power, have come to you to pour out blood. ⁷ They have dishonored fathers and mothers within you, and they have performed oppression on the foreigners in your midst. They have mistreated the orphans and the widows within you. ⁸ You have despised my holy things and have profaned my Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have come within you in order to pour out blood, and they eat on the mountains. They perform wickedness in your midst.

¹⁰ Within you men uncover the nakedness of their father. Within you they have violated unclean women during their impurity. ¹¹ Men who commit abominations with their neighbors' wives, and men who make their own daughters-in-law shamefully unclean; men who abuse their own sisters—daughters of their own fathers—all these are done within you. ¹² These men take bribes within you in order to pour out blood and you have loaned money for usury and taken interest, and you have treated your neighbors violently for profit by extortion, and you have forgotten me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹³ See! With my hand I have struck the dishonest gain that you have made, and the bloodshed that is done in the midst of you. ¹⁴ Will your heart stand, will your hands be strong on the days when I myself will deal with you? I, Yahweh, am declaring this, and I will do it. ¹⁵ So I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands. In this way, I will purge your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ So you will become unclean in the eyes of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'" ¹

¹⁷ Next the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁸ "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are the leftovers of bronze and tin, and iron and lead in the midst of you. They will be like the dross of silver in your furnace. ¹⁹ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because all of you have become like dross, therefore, behold! I am about to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

²⁰ As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead and tin and put it inside a furnace to melt it, and they blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath, and I will put you there and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in a furnace, you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you!'"

²³ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²⁴ "Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that has not been cleansed. There is no rain on the day of wrath! ²⁵ There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing apart a victim. They consume life and take precious wealth; they make many widows within her! ²

²⁶ Her priests do violence to my law, and they profane my holy things. They do not distinguish between holy things and profane things, and do not teach the difference between the unclean and the clean. They hide their eyes from my Sabbaths so that I am profaned in their midst. ²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing apart their victims. They pour out blood and destroy life for unjust gain. ²⁸ Her prophets have painted them over with whitewash—their seers of false visions and diviners of lies. They say "The Lord Yahweh says this" when Yahweh has not spoken.

²⁹ The people of the land have oppressed through extortion and plundered through robbery, and they mistreat the poor and needy, and oppress the foreigner without justice.

³⁰ So I searched for a man from them who would build up a wall and who would stand before me in its breach for the land so I would not destroy it, but I found no one. ³¹ So I will pour out my indignation upon them. I will finish them with the fire of my indignation and set their way on their own heads—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹Instead of you will become unclean , some ancient copies have I will give you your inheritance .

²Instead of There is a conspiracy of her prophets within her , some ancient copies have whose princes .

Chapter 23

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. ³ They acted as prostitutes in Egypt in the time of their youth. They acted as prostitutes there. Their breasts were squeezed and their virgin nipples were fondled there. ⁴ Their names were Oholah—the older sister—and Oholibah—her younger sister. Then they became mine and bore sons and daughters. Their names mean this: Oholah means Samaria, and Oholibah means Jerusalem.

⁵ But Oholah acted as a prostitute even when she was mine; she lusted for her lovers, for the Assyrians who were dominant, ⁶ for the governor clothed in purple, and for his officials, who were strong and handsome, all of them men riding on horses. ⁷ So she gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the best of Assyria's men, and she made herself unclean with everyone she lusted for—and with all their idols.

⁸ For she had not left her prostitute behavior behind in Egypt, when they had lain with her when she had been a young girl, when they caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her. ⁹ Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians for whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They uncovered her nakedness, took her sons and daughters, killed her with the sword, and she became notorious among other women, so they executed judgment on her.

¹¹ Her sister Oholibah saw this, but her lust was more passionate than her sister's, and her prostitution was worse. ¹² She lusted for the Assyrians, the governors and the dominating officials who dressed impressively, who were men riding horses. All of them were strong, handsome men. ¹³ I saw that she had made herself unclean. It was the same for both sisters.

¹⁴ Then she increased her prostitution even more. She saw men carved on walls, figures of Chaldeans painted in red, ¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads. All of them had the appearance of officers of chariot troops, the likeness of sons of Babylonia, whose native land is Chaldea.

¹⁶ As soon as her eyes saw them, she lusted for them, so she sent out messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ Then the Babylonians came to her and to her bed of lust, and they made her unclean with their fornication. By what she had done she was made unclean, so she turned herself away from them in disgust.

¹⁸ When she displayed her acts of prostitution and uncovered her nakedness, I turned away from her, just as I had turned away in disgust from her sister. ¹⁹ Then she increased her prostitution as she remembered the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in the land of Egypt.

²⁰ So she lusted for her lovers, whose private parts were like those of donkeys and whose reproductive emissions were like those of horses. ²¹ This is how you committed shameful acts of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your nipples and squeezed your young breasts.

²² Therefore, Oholibah, the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I will turn your lovers against you. Those from whom you turned away, I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, strong, handsome men, governors and officials, all of them are officers and men of reputation, all of them riding on horses.

²⁴ They will come against you with weapons, and with chariots and wagons, and with a great crowd of people. They will set large shields, small shields, and helmets against you all around. I will give them the opportunity to punish you, and they will judge you according to their judgments. ²⁵ For I will set my jealous anger on you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and your daughters, and your survivors will be devoured by fire.

²⁶ They will strip you of your clothes and take away all of your beautiful jewelry. ²⁷ So I will remove your shameful behavior from you and your acts of prostitution from the land of Egypt. You will not lift up your eyes toward them with longing, and you will think of Egypt no longer.'

²⁸ For the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I will give you into the hand of the ones you hate, back into the hand of the ones from whom you had turned away. ²⁹ They will deal with you hatefully; they will take all the products of your labor and abandon you naked and bare. The nakedness of your fornication will be uncovered—and your wicked deeds and your fornications.

³⁰ These things will be done to you in your acting like a prostitute, lusting after nations by which you became unclean with their idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister, so I will put her cup of punishment into your hand.'

³² The Lord Yahweh says this,

'You will drink your sister's cup that is deep and large.

You will become a laughingstock and a subject for derision—

this cup contains a great amount.

³³ You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,

the cup of horror and devastation;

the cup of your sister Samaria.

³⁴ You will drink it and drain it empty;

then you will shatter it

and tear your breasts with the pieces.

For I have declared it—

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'

³⁵ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because you have forgotten me and thrown me away behind your back, so also you will bear the consequences of your shameful behavior and acts of sexual immorality.'"

³⁶ Yahweh said to me, "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? So present to them their disgusting practices, ³⁷ since they have committed adultery, and since there is blood on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and they have even caused their sons to pass through the fire, as food for their idols.

³⁸ Then they continue to do this to me: They make my sanctuary unclean, and on the same day they defile my Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, then they came to my sanctuary on the same day to defile it! So behold! This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

⁴⁰ You sent out for men who came from far away, to whom messengers had been sent—now behold. They indeed came, those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry. ⁴¹ There you sat on a beautiful bed and at a table arranged before it where you placed my incense and my oil.

⁴² So the sound of a carefree crowd was around her, including all kinds of men, even Sabeans were brought in from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ Then I said of her who was worn out by adulteries, 'Now they will fornicate with her, and she with them.' ⁴⁴ They went to her as men go to a prostitute. In this way they went to Oholah and Oholibah, immoral women. ⁴⁵ But righteous men will pass judgment and punish them as adulteresses, and they will punish them with the sentence for those who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ So the Lord Yahweh says this: I will raise up a company against them and give them up to be terrorized and plundered. ⁴⁷ Then that company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

⁴⁸ For I will remove shameful behavior from the land and discipline all the women so they will no longer act like prostitutes. ⁴⁹ So they will set your shameful behavior against you. You will bear the guilt of your sins with your idols, and in this way you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh."

Chapter 24

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, and on the tenth day of the month, saying, ² "Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, this exact day, for this exact day the king of Babylon has besieged Jerusalem.

³ So speak a proverb against this rebellious house, a parable. Say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this:

Place the cooking pot.

Place it and pour water into it.

⁴ Gather pieces of food within it,

every good piece—the thigh and shoulder—

and fill it with the best bones.

⁵ Take the best of the flock,

and pile up the bones under it.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the bones in it.

⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the city of blood, a cooking pot that has rust in it and that rust will not come out of it. Take piece after piece from it, but do not cast lots for it.

⁷ For her blood is in the midst of her. She has set it on the smooth rock; she has not poured it out on the ground to cover it with dust, ⁸ so it brings fury up to exact vengeance. I placed her blood on the smooth rock so it could not be covered.

⁹ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the city of blood. I will also enlarge the pile of wood. ¹⁰ Stack up the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well and mix in the spices and let the bones be charred.

¹¹ Then set the pot on its coals empty, in order to heat and scorch its bronze, so its uncleanness within it will be melted, its corrosion consumed.' ¹² She has become weary because of toil, but her corrosion has not gone out of her by the fire.

¹³ Your shameful behavior is in your uncleanness. Because I tried to cleanse you but still you would not be cleansed from your uncleanness, you will not be cleansed anymore until I have satisfied my fury upon you.

¹⁴ I, Yahweh, have declared it, and I will do it. I will not relent nor will I rest from it. As your ways were, and as your activities, they will judge you!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹⁵ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁶ "Son of man! Behold, I am taking the delight of your eyes from you with a plague, but you must not mourn nor weep, and your tears must not flow. ¹⁷ You must groan silently. Do not conduct a funeral for the dead. Tie your turban on you and place your sandals on your feet, but do not cover your facial hair or eat the bread of men who mourn for having lost their wives."

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning I did what I had been commanded to do.

¹⁹ The people asked me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean, the things that you are doing?" ²⁰ So I said to them, "The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²¹ 'Say to the house of Israel, the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I will desecrate my sanctuary—the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword.

²² Then you will do exactly as I have done: you will not veil your facial hair, nor eat the bread of mourning men! ²³ Instead, your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn nor weep, for you will rot away in your iniquities, and each man will groan for his brother. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a sign for you, as everything that he has done you will do when this comes. Then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh!'

²⁵ "But you, son of man, on the day that I capture their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, and the delight of their eyes and the burden of their soul, their sons and daughters, ²⁶ on that day, a refugee will come to you to give you the news! ²⁷ On that day your mouth will be opened up to that refugee and you will speak—you will no longer be silent. You will be a sign for them so that they will know that I am Yahweh."

Chapter 25

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face against the people of Ammon and prophesy against them.

³ Say to the people of Ammon, 'Hear the word of the Lord Yahweh. This is what the Lord Yahweh says: Because you said, "Aha!" over 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 exile, ⁴ therefore, behold, I am giving you to a people in the east as their possession. They will set up camp against you and set up their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and they will drink your milk. ⁵ I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the people of Ammon a field for flocks. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

⁶ For the Lord Yahweh says this: You have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all the contempt within you against the land of Israel. ⁷ Therefore, behold! I will strike you with my hand and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from among the lands! I will destroy you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.'

⁸ The Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because Moab and Seir say, "Behold! The house of Judah is like every other nation." ⁹ Therefore, behold! I will open the slopes of Moab, starting at his cities on the border—the splendor of Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim— ¹⁰ to the people of the east who have been against the people of Ammon. I will give them up as a possession so that the people of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ So I will perform judgments against Moab, and they will know that I am Yahweh.'

¹² The Lord Yahweh says this, 'Edom has taken vengeance against the house of Judah and has committed wrong in doing so. ¹³ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: I will strike Edom with my hand and destroy all men and animals there. I will make them a ruined, abandoned place, from Teman to Dedan. They will fall by the sword.

¹⁴ I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will do to Edom according to my anger and my fury, and they will know my vengeance—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'

¹⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because the Philistines have acted vengefully and taken vengeance with contempt in their heart as enemies trying to destroy Judah for all time, ¹⁶ this is what the Lord Yahweh says: Behold! I will reach out with my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy the remnant who are along the seacoast. ¹⁷ For I will take great vengeance against them with furious acts of punishment, so they will know that I am Yahweh, when I take my vengeance on them.'"

Chapter 26

¹ So it was in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gates of the people are broken! She has turned to me; I will be filled up because she is ruined.'

³ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I am against you, Tyre, and I will raise up many nations against you like the sea raises its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers. I will sweep her dust away and make her like a bare rock.

⁵ She will become a place for nets to dry out in the midst of the sea, since I have declared it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—and she will become plunder for the nations. ⁶ Her daughters who are in the fields will be slaughtered by the swords, and they will know that I am Yahweh.'

⁷ For this is what the Lord Yahweh says: Behold, from the north I am bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a great crowd of people. ⁸ He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will set up a siege work and build a ramp against your walls and raise up shields against you.

⁹ He will place his battering rams to hit against your walls, and with his tools he will tear down your towers. ¹⁰ His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake with the sound of horsemen, wagons, and chariots. When he enters your gates, he will enter as men come into a city whose walls have been broken down. ¹¹ The hooves of his horses will trample all of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword and your mighty stone pillars will fall to the ground.

¹² They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your delightful homes. Your stones, your timber, and the rubble they will throw into the waters. ¹³ I will stop the noise of your songs. The sound of your harps will be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you a bare rock, you will become a place where nets are spread out to dry. You will never be built again, for I, Lord Yahweh have spoken—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this to Tyre, 'Will not the islands quake with the sound of your downfall, and with the groans of the wounded when the terrible slaughter is in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and cast off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling, they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment, and they will be appalled because of you.

¹⁷ They will lift up a lament for you and say to you,

How you, who were inhabited by sailors,

have been destroyed.

The famous city that was so strong—

it is now gone from the sea.

The ones living in her

once spread a terror about themselves

upon everyone who lived near them.

¹⁸ Now the coasts tremble on the day of your downfall.

The islands in the sea are terrified,

because you are no longer in your place.'

¹⁹ For the Lord Yahweh says this: When I make you a desolate city, like the other cities that are not inhabited, when I raise up the deeps against you, and when the great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down to the people of ancient times, like the others who have gone down into the pit; for I will make you live in the lowest parts of the earth as in ruins of ancient times. Because of this you will not come back and stand in the land of the living. ¹ ²¹ I will place disaster on you, and you will be no more forever. Then you will be sought, but you will never be found ever again—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹The expression and stand in the land of the living follows the ancient Greek translation. The ancient Hebrew copies have I will place glory in the land of the living , which does not seem to fit the context here.

Chapter 27

¹ Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Now you, son of man, begin a lamentation concerning Tyre, ³ and say to Tyre, who lives within the gates of the sea, merchants of peoples to many islands, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to you:

Tyre, you have said, "I am perfect in beauty."

⁴ Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

your builders have perfected your beauty.

⁵ They have made all your planks with cypress from Senir;

they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

⁶ They made your oars from the oaks of Bashan;

they made your decks out of cypress wood from Cyprus,

and they overlaid them with ivory.

⁷ Your sails were made from colorful linen from Egypt

that served as your signal flag;

the colors of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah

are used for the awning on your boat.

⁸ Those who were living in Sidon and Arvad were your rowers;

the wise men of Tyre were within you;

they were your pilots.

⁹ The elders of Byblos filled your seams;

all the ships of the sea and their sailors among you

were carrying your merchandise for trade.

¹⁰ Persia, Lydia, and Libya were in your army,

your men of war.

They hung shield and helmet within you;

they showed your splendor.

¹¹ The men of Arvad and Helek in your army

were on your walls surrounding you,

and the people of Gammad were in your towers.

They hung up their shields on your walls all around you!

They completed your beauty.

¹² Tarshish was a trading partner with you because of your abundant wealth of goods to sell: Silver, iron, tin, and lead. They bought and sold your wares! ¹³ Greece, ¹ Tubal, and Meshech—they traded slaves and in items made of bronze. They handled your merchandise.

¹⁴ Beth Togarmah provided horses, warhorses, and mules as your merchandise. ¹⁵ The men of Rhodes traded with you on many coasts. Merchandise was in your hand; they sent back horn, ivory, and ebony as payment!

¹⁶ Aram was a trading partner for the many products of your labor; they provided emeralds, purple, colored cloth, fine fabric, pearls, and rubies as your merchandise. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel were trading with you. They provided wheat from Minnith, cakes, honey, oil, and balsam as your merchandise. ¹⁸ Damascus was a trading partner for the many products of your labor, of all your enormous wealth, and of the wine of Helbon and the wool of Zahar.

¹⁹ Dan and Javan from Izal provided you with merchandise of wrought iron, cinnamon, and calamus. This became merchandise for you. ²⁰ Dedan was your dealer in fine saddle blankets. ²¹ Arabia and all the chiefs of Kedar were your trading partners; they provided you with lambs, rams and goats.

²² The traders of Sheba and Raamah came to sell you the best of every spice and in all kinds of precious gems; they traded gold for your merchandise. ²³ Haran, Kanneh, and Eden were your trading partners, along with Sheba, Ashur, and Kilmad.

²⁴ These were your dealers in ornate robes of violet cloths with woven colors, and in blankets of multicolored, embroidered, and well-woven cloth in your marketplaces.

²⁵ The ships of Tarshish

were the transporters of your merchandise!

So you were filled up,

heavily laden with cargo in the heart of the seas!

²⁶ Your rowers have brought you into vast seas;

the eastern wind has broken you in the middle of them.

²⁷ Your wealth, merchandise, and trade goods;

your sailors and pilots, and ship builders;

your traders of merchandise and all the men of war who are in you,

and all your company—

they will sink into the depths of the sea

on the day of your overthrow.

²⁸ Cities at the sea will tremble

at the sound of your pilots' cry.

²⁹ All those who handle oars will come down from their ships;

mariners and all the pilots on the sea will stand on the land.

³⁰ Then they will make their voices heard over you

and they will cry aloud bitterly;

they will cast dust up on their heads.

They will roll about in ashes.

³¹ They will shave their heads bald for you

and bind themselves with sackcloth,

and they will weep bitterly over you

and they will cry out.

³² They will lift up their wails of lamentation for you

and sing dirges over you,

Who is like Tyre, who has now been brought to silence

in the middle of the sea?

³³ When your merchandise went ashore from the sea,

it satisfied many peoples;

you enriched the kings of the earth

with your great wealth and merchandise!

³⁴ But when you were shattered by the seas, by deep waters,

your merchandise and all your company sank!

³⁵ All the inhabitants of the coasts were appalled at you,

and their kings bristled in horror!

Their faces trembled!

³⁶ The traders among the people hiss at you;

you have become a horror,

and you will be no more forever.'"

¹Some modern English translations read, Javan .

Chapter 28

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Your heart is arrogant! You have said, "I am a god! I will sit in the seat of the gods in the heart of the seas!" Even though you are a man and not a god, you make your heart like the heart of a god; ³ you think that you are wiser than Daniel, and that no secret amazes you!

⁴ You have made yourself wealthy with wisdom and skill, and obtained gold and silver in your treasuries! ⁵ By great wisdom and by your trading, you have multiplied your wealth, so your heart is arrogant because of your wealth.

⁶ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have made your heart like the heart of a god, ⁷ I will therefore bring foreigners against you, terrifying men from other nations. They will bring their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they will profane your splendor.

⁸ They will send you down to the pit, and you will die the death of those who die in the heart of the seas. ⁹ Will you truly say, "I am a god" to the face of one who kills you? You are a man and not God, and you will be in the hand of the one who pierces you. ¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have declared it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹¹ The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying, ¹² "Son of man, lift up a lament for the king of Tyre and say to him, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone covered you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made from gold. It was on the day you were created that they were prepared.

¹⁴ I placed you on the holy mountain of God as the cherub I anointed to guard mankind. You were in the midst of the fiery stones where you walked about. ¹⁵ You had integrity in your ways from the day you were created until injustice was found within you.

¹⁶ Through your great trade you were filled with violence, and so you sinned. So I threw you out of the mountain of God, as a one who was defiled, and I destroyed you, guardian cherub, and drove you from among the fiery stones. ¹⁷ Your heart was arrogant with your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor. I have sent you down to the earth. I have placed you before kings so they may see you.

¹⁸ Because of your many iniquities and your dishonest trade, you have defiled your holy places. So I have made fire come out from you; it will consume you. I will turn you into ashes on the earth in the sight of all who look at you. ¹⁹ All the ones who knew you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become terrified, and you will be no more forever.'"

²⁰ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²¹ "Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her. ²² Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Sidon! For I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh when I execute judgments within her. I will be shown to be holy in her.

²³ I will send out a plague in her and blood in her streets, and those who are fatally wounded will fall in the midst of her. When the sword comes against her from all around, then they will know that I am Yahweh.

²⁴ Then there will no longer be pricking briers and painful thorns for the house of Israel from all those around them who despise them, so they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh!'

²⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this, 'When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and when I am set apart among them, so the nations may see, then they will make their homes in the land I will give to my servant Jacob. ²⁶ Then they will live securely within her and build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I execute judgments on all the ones who now despise them from all around; so they will know that I am Yahweh their God!'"

Chapter 29

¹ In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt; prophesy against him and against all of Egypt. ³ Declare and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this:

Behold! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

You, the great sea monster that lurks in the midst of the river,

that says, "My river is my own. I have made it for myself."

⁴ For I will place hooks in your jaw,

and the fish of your Nile will cling to your scales;

I will lift you up from the middle of your river

along with all the fish of the river that cling to your scales.

⁵ I will throw you down into the wilderness,

you and all the fish from your river.

You will fall on the open field;

you will not gather together or assemble.

I will give you as food to the living things of the earth

and to the birds of the heavens.

⁶ Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know

that I am Yahweh,

because they have been a walking stick

made of a reed to the house of Israel.

⁷ When they took hold of you in their hand,

you broke and tore open their shoulder;

and when they leaned on you,

you were broken,

and you caused their legs to be unsteady.

⁸ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I will bring a sword against you. I will cut off both men and animals from you. ⁹ So the land of Egypt will become desolate and a ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, because the sea monster had said, "The river is mine, for I have made it." ¹⁰ Therefore, behold! I am against you and against your river, so I will give the land of Egypt over to desolation and waste, and you will become a wasteland from the Migdol to Syene and the borders of Cush.

¹¹ No man's foot will pass through it, and no wild animal's foot will pass through it. It will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² For I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of uninhabited lands, and its cities in the midst of wasted cities will become a desolation for forty years; then I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them though the lands.

¹³ For the Lord Yahweh says this: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ I will reverse the captivity of Egypt and bring them back to the region of Pathros, to the land of their origin. Then they will be a lowly kingdom there.

¹⁵ It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will not be lifted up any more among the nations. I will diminish them so they will no longer rule over nations. ¹⁶ Egypt will no longer be a reason for confidence for the house of Israel. Instead, it will be a reminder of the iniquity that Israel committed when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.'"

¹⁷ Then it came about in the twenty-seventh year on the first of the first month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁸ "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon stationed his army to do hard work against Tyre. Every head was rubbed until it was made bald, and every shoulder was made raw. Yet he and his army received no payment from Tyre for the hard work that he carried out against it.

¹⁹ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I am giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he will capture its loot, steal its plunder, and carry off all he finds there; that will be his army's wages. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt as the wages for the work they did for me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

²¹ On that day I will make a horn sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will make you speak in their midst, so that they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 30

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this:

Wail, "Woe is the coming day."

³ The day is near.

The day is near for Yahweh.

It will be a day of clouds

a time of doom for nations.

⁴ Then a sword will come against Egypt,

and there will be anguish in Cush

when the killed people fall in Egypt—

when they take her wealth,

and when her foundations are ruined.

⁵ Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, and Libya, together with the people belonging to the covenant—they will all fall by the sword.

⁶ Yahweh says this:

So the ones who support Egypt will fall,

and the pride of her strength will go down.

From Migdol to Syene their soldiers will fall by the sword—

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

⁷ They will be appalled in the midst of the abandoned lands,

and their cities will be among all the ruined cities.

⁸ Then they will know that I am Yahweh,

when I set fire in Egypt,

and when all of her helpers are destroyed.

⁹ In that day messengers will go out from before me in ships to terrorize a secure Cush, and there will be anguish among them on the day of Egypt's doom. For behold! It is coming.

¹⁰ The Lord Yahweh says this: I will make an end of the multitudes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. ¹¹ He and his army with him, the terror of nations, will be brought to destroy the land; they will draw out their swords against Egypt and fill the land with those who have been killed.

¹² I will make the rivers into dry ground, and I will sell the land into the hand of wicked men. I will make the land and its fullness desolate by the hand of strangers—I, Yahweh, have spoken.

¹³ The Lord Yahweh says this: I will destroy idols, and I will bring an end to the worthless idols of Memphis. There will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt, and I will put fear on the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ Then I will make Pathros desolate and set fire in Zoan, and I will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.

¹⁵ For I will pour out my fury on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes. ¹⁶ Then I will set fire in Egypt; Pelusium will be in great agony, Thebes will be broken up, and Memphis will face enemies every day.

¹⁷ The young men in Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and their cities will go into captivity. ¹⁸ In Tahpanhes, the day will become dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there, and the pride of her strength will be finished. There will be a cloud covering her, and her daughters will walk into captivity. ¹⁹ I will execute acts of judgment in Egypt, so they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

²⁰ Then it came about in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²¹ "Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Behold! It has not been bound up for healing or set with a splint so that it can become strong enough to grasp a sword.

²² Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. For I will break his arm, both the strong one and the broken one, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ Then I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the lands. ²⁴ I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and place my sword in his hand so that I might destroy Pharaoh's arms. He will groan before the king of Babylon with the groans of a dying man.

²⁵ For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while Pharaoh's arms will fall. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon; for he will attack the land of Egypt with it. ²⁶ So I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them through the lands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 31

¹ Then it came about in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his multitudes around him,

'In your greatness, who are you like?

³ Behold! Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches,

giving shade to the forest,

and the tallest in height,

and the branches formed its treetop.

⁴ Many waters made it tall;

the deep waters made it huge.

Rivers flowed all around the place where it was planted,

for their channels stretched out to all the trees in the field.

⁵ Its great height was more than any of the other trees in the field,

and its branches became very many;

its branches grew long

because of many waters as they grew.

⁶ Every bird of the heavens

nested in its branches,

while every living thing of the field

gave birth to its young under its foliage.

All of the many nations

lived under its shade.

⁷ For it was beautiful in its greatness

and the length of its branches,

for its roots were in many waters.

⁸ Cedars in the garden of God could not equal it.

None among the cypress trees matched its branches,

and the plane tree could not equal its boughs.

There was no other tree in the garden of God

that was like it in its beauty.

⁹ I made it beautiful with its many branches

and all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.

¹⁰ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Because it was tall in height, and it set its treetop between its branches, it lifted up its heart because of its height. ¹¹ I have given it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations, to deal with it according to what its wickedness deserves. I have thrown it out.

¹² Foreigners who were the terror of all the nations cut it off and left it to die. Its branches fell on the mountains and all the valleys, and its boughs lay broken in all the ravines of the land. Then all the nations on earth came out from under its shade and they went away from it.

¹³ All the birds of the sky rested on the trunk of the fallen tree and every animal of the field came to its branches.

¹⁴ This happened so that no other trees that grow by the waters will lift up their foliage to the height of the tallest trees, and that no other trees that grow beside the waters will reach up to that height. All of them have been assigned to death, to the earth below, among the children of humanity, with those that go down to the pit.

¹⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day when the cedar went down to Sheol I brought mourning to the earth. I covered the deep waters over it, and I held back the ocean waters. I kept back the great waters, and I brought mourning to Lebanon for him. So all the trees of the field mourned because of it.

¹⁶ I brought shuddering to the nations at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol with those who went down into the pit. So I comforted all the trees of Eden in the lowest parts of the earth. These had been the choicest and best trees of Lebanon; the trees that drank the waters.

¹⁷ For they also went down with it to Sheol, to the ones who had been killed by the sword. These were its strong arm, those nations who had lived in its shade. ¹⁸ Which of the trees in Eden was your equal in glory and greatness? For you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lowest parts of the earth among the uncircumcised; you will lie down with those who were killed by the sword.'

This is Pharaoh and all of his multitudes—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 32

¹ Then it happened in the twelfth month of the twelfth year, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, lift up a lament concerning Pharaoh the king of Egypt; say to him,

'You are like a young lion among the nations,

but you are like a monster in the seas;

you churn up the water,

you stir up the waters with your feet and muddy their waters.

³ The Lord Yahweh says this:

So I will spread my net over you in the assembly of many peoples,

and they will lift you up in my net.

⁴ I will abandon you in the land.

I will throw you into a field

and cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you;

the hunger of all living animals on earth will be satisfied by you.

⁵ For I will put your flesh on the mountains,

and I will fill the valleys with your worm-filled corpse.

⁶ Then I will pour your blood over the mountains,

and the stream beds will be filled with your blood.

⁷ Then when I extinguish you,

I will cover the heavens and darken their stars;

I will cover the sun with clouds,

and the moon will not shine its light.

⁸ All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you,

and I will put darkness over your land—

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

⁹ So I will terrify the heart of many peoples in lands that you do not know, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among lands that you have not known. ¹ ¹⁰ I will shock many peoples concerning you; their kings will bristle in horror concerning you when I swing my sword before them. Every moment each one will tremble because of you, on the day of your ruin.

¹¹ For the Lord Yahweh says this: The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you.

¹² I will cause your multitudes to fall by warriors' swords—

each warrior a terror of nations.

These warriors will devastate the pride of Egypt

and destroy all of its multitudes.

¹³ For I will destroy all the cattle from beside the plentiful waters;

the foot of man will no longer stir the waters up,

neither will the hooves of cattle stir them.

¹⁴ Then I will calm their waters

and make their rivers run like oil—

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁵ When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,

when the land is made desolate of all its fullness,

when I attack all the inhabitants in her,

they will know that I am Yahweh.

¹⁶ There will be a lament; the daughters of the nations will lament over her; they will lament over Egypt, over all her multitudes they will lament—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹⁷ Then it happened in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁸ "Son of man, weep for the multitudes of Egypt and bring them down—her and the daughters of majestic nations—to the lowest earth with those who have gone down to the pit.

¹⁹ 'Are you really more beautiful than anyone else?

Go down and lie down with the uncircumcised.'

²⁰ They will fall among those who were killed by the sword. The sword has been drawn! She has been given to the sword; they will seize her and her multitudes. ²¹ The strongest of the warriors in Sheol will declare about Egypt and her allies, 'They have come down here! They will lie down with the uncircumcised, with those who were killed by the sword.'

²² Assyria is there with all her assembly. Her graves surround her; all of them were killed by the sword. ²³ Those whose graves are set in the recesses of the pit are there, with all her assembly. Her graves surround all of those who were killed, who fell by the sword, those who brought terror on the land of the living.

²⁴ Elam is there with all her multitudes. Her graves surround her; all of them were killed— those who fell by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lowest parts of the earth, who brought their terrors on the land of the living and who carry their own shame, together with the ones going down to the pit. ²⁵ Among those who were killed, they have made a bed for her, with her multitude all around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, pierced by the sword, because they had brought their terrors on the land of the living. So they carry their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among those who were killed.

²⁶ Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitudes are there! Their graves surround them. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, because they had brought their terrors on the land of the living. ²⁷ They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of the uncircumcised who have gone down to Sheol with all their weapons of war, and with their swords placed under their heads and their iniquities over their bones. For they were the terror of warriors in the land of the living.

²⁸ So you, Egypt, will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised! You will lie alongside those who were pierced by the sword.

²⁹ Edom is there with her kings and all her leaders. They have been placed in their strength with those killed by the sword. With the uncircumcised they lie, with those who have gone down to the pit.

³⁰ The princes of the north are there—all of them and all the Sidonians who went down with the ones who had been pierced. They were powerful and terrorized others, but now they lie down there in shame, uncircumcised with those who were pierced by the sword. They carry their own shame, together with the ones going down to the pit.

³¹ Pharaoh will look and be comforted about all his multitudes who were pierced by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ³² I put him as my terrifying one in the land of the living, but he will be laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised, among those pierced by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitudes—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹Instead of when I bring about your destruction among the nations , some ancient translations and some modern translations have when I take you into captivity among the nations .

Chapter 33

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, declare this to your people; say to them, 'When I bring a sword against any land, then the people of that land take one man from among themselves and make him a watchman for them. ³ He looks for the sword as it comes on the land, and he blows his horn to warn the people! ⁴ If the people hear the sound of the horn but do not pay attention, and if the sword comes and kills them, then each one's blood is on his own head.

⁵ If someone hears the sound of the horn and pays no attention, his blood is on him; but if he pays attention, he will save his own life.

⁶ "However, if the watchman sees the sword as it is coming, but if he does not blow the horn, with the result that the people are not warned, and if the sword comes and takes anyone's life, then that person dies in his own iniquity, but I will require his blood from the watchman.'

⁷ "Now you yourself, son of man! I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; you will hear the words from my mouth and warn them on my behalf. ⁸ If I say to a wicked person, 'Wicked one, you will surely die!' but if you do not announce this so as to warn the wicked about his way, then he who is wicked will die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood from your hand! ⁹ But you, if you warn the wicked about his way, so that he might turn back from it, and if he does not turn back from his way, then he will die in his iniquity, but you yourself will have saved your own life.

¹⁰ "So you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'You are saying this, "Our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting away in them! How can we live?"' ¹¹ Say to them, 'As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—I do not delight in the death of the wicked, for if the wicked repents from his way, then he will live! Repent! Repent from your wicked ways! For why should you die, house of Israel?'

¹² So now you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of a righteous person will not save him if he sins! The wickedness of a wicked person will not cause him to perish if he repents from his wickedness! For the righteous person will not be able to live because of his righteousness if he sins. ¹³ If I say to the righteous, "He will surely live!" and if he trusts in his righteousness and then commits injustice, I will not call to mind any of his righteousness. He will die for the wickedness he committed.

¹⁴ So if I say to the wicked, "You will surely die," but if he then repents from his sins and does what is just and right— ¹⁵ if he restores the loan guarantee that he wickedly demanded, or if he makes restitution for what he has stolen, and if he walks in the statutes that give life and no longer commits injustice—then he will surely live. He will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins that he has committed will be called to mind for him. He has done justice and righteousness, and so, he will surely live!

¹⁷ 'But your people say, "The way of the Lord is not fair!" but it is your ways that are not fair! ¹⁸ When the righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits injustice, then he will die in it! ¹⁹ When the wicked turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and righteous, he will live because of those things! ²⁰ But you people say, "The way of the Lord is not fair!" I will judge each of you according to his way, house of Israel!'"

²¹ It happened in the twelfth year, on the fifth day of the tenth month of our captivity, that a fugitive came to me from Jerusalem and said, "The city has been captured!" ²² The hand of Yahweh had been on me in the evening before the fugitive came, and my mouth was opened by the time that he came to me in the dawn. So my mouth was open; I was no longer mute!

²³ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²⁴ "Son of man, the ones inhabiting those ruins in the land of Israel are talking and say, 'Abraham was only one person, and he inherited the land, but we are many! The land has been given to us as a possession.'

²⁵ Therefore say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: You eat blood, and you lift up your eyes towards your idols, then you pour out people's blood. Should you really possess the land? ²⁶ You have depended on your swords and have done abominations; each man defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you really possess the land?'

²⁷ You will say this to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: As I live, surely the ones in the ruins will fall by the sword, and I will give those in the fields to the living creatures as food, and those in fortresses and in caves will die of plagues. ²⁸ Then I will turn the land into a desolation and a horror, and the pride of its might will end, for the mountains of Israel will be deserted, and there will be no one to pass through them.' ²⁹ So they will know that I am Yahweh, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all the abominations that they have done.

³⁰ "So now you, son of man—your people are saying things about you beside the walls and the gates of the houses, and each says to one another—each man to his brother, 'Let us go and listen to the prophet's word that comes out from Yahweh!' ³¹ So my people will come to you, as they often do, and will sit in front of you and listen to your words, but they will not obey them. Right words are in their mouths, but their hearts are going after unjust profit.

³² For you are like a lovely song to them, a beautiful sound that is well played on a stringed instrument, so they will listen to your words, but none of them will obey them. ³³ So when all of this happens—behold! it will happen!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them."

Chapter 34

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who are shepherding themselves. Should not shepherds guard the flock? ³ You eat the fatty portions and you clothe yourselves in wool. You slaughter the fatlings of the flock. You do not shepherd at all.

⁴ You have not strengthened those who are weak, nor do you heal the ones who are ill. You do not bind up the ones who are broken, and you do not restore the outcasts or seek the lost. Instead, you rule over them through strength and violence. ⁵ Then they were scattered without a shepherd, and they became food for all the living beasts in the fields, after they were scattered. ⁶ My flock strays on all of the mountains and on every high hill, and it is dispersed over the entire surface of the earth. Yet no one is searching for them.

⁷ Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: ⁸ As I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—because my flock has become plunder and food for all the beasts in the fields, because there was no shepherd and none of my shepherds sought my flock, but the shepherds guarded themselves and did not shepherd my flock.

⁹ Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: ¹⁰ The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock from their hand. Then I will dismiss them from shepherding the flock; neither will the shepherds any longer shepherd themselves since I will take away my flock from their mouths, so that my flock will no longer be food for them.

¹¹ For the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I myself will seek out my flock and I will look after them, ¹² like a shepherd seeking his flock on the day he is within the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will seek my flock, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ Then I will bring them out from among the peoples; I will gather them from the lands and bring them to their land. I will put them in pastures on the mountainsides of Israel, by the streams, and in every settlement in the land.

¹⁴ I will put them in good pastures; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing places. They will lie down there in good places for grazing, in abundant pastures, and they will graze on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will shepherd my flock, and I myself will make them lie down—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration— ¹⁶ I will seek the lost and restore the outcast. I will bind up the broken sheep and heal the sick sheep, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd with justice.

¹⁷ So now you, my flock—this is what the Lord Yahweh says—behold, I will be a judge between sheep and sheep and between rams and male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample down with your feet what is left of the pasture; and to drink from clear waters, that you must muddy the rivers with your feet? ¹⁹ Must my sheep eat what you have trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this to them: Behold! I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin ones, ²¹ for you have pushed them with your sides and shoulders, and you have gored all of the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them away from the land.

²² I will save my flock and they will no longer be plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another! ²³ I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will shepherd them, he will feed them, and he will be their shepherd. ²⁴ For I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them—I, Yahweh, have declared this.

²⁵ Then I will make a covenant of peace with them and remove the evil wild animals from the land, so that they will live securely in the wilderness and safely sleep in the forests. ²⁶ I will also bring blessings on them and on the places around my hill, for I will send out showers in due season. These will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ Then the trees of the field will produce their fruit, and the earth will yield its produce. My sheep will be secure in their land; then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I break the bars of their yoke, and when I rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them.

²⁸ They will no longer be plunder for the nations, and the wild animals on the earth will no longer devour them. For they will live securely, and no one will frighten them. ²⁹ For I will provide them a renowned plantation; so they will not be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear the insults of the nations.

³⁰ Then they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them. They are my people, the house of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ³¹ For you are my sheep, the flock of my pasture, and my people, and I am your God—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

Chapter 35

¹ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. ³ Say to it, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will strike you with my hand and make you a desolation and a waste.

⁴ I will make your cities ruins, and you yourself will become desolate; then you will know that I am Yahweh. ⁵ Because you have always been hostile to the people of Israel, and because you poured them out into the hands of the sword at the time of their distress, at the time their punishment was at its greatest. ⁶ Therefore, as I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—I will prepare you for bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you! Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

⁷ I will make Mount Seir a complete desolation when I cut off from it anyone who passes through and returns again. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with those who were killed; on your high hills and valleys and in all your streams those who were killed by the sword will fall. ⁹ I will make you a perpetual desolation. Your cities will not be inhabited, but you will know that I am Yahweh.

¹⁰ You have said, "These two nations and these two lands will become mine, and we will possess them," even when Yahweh was present with them. ¹¹ Therefore, as I live—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—so I will do according to your anger and according to your jealousy that you had in your hatred of Israel, and I will show myself to them when I judge you.

¹² So you will know that I am Yahweh. I have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, when you said, "They have been destroyed; they have been given over to us to devour." ¹³ You exalted yourselves against me with what you said, and you multiplied the words you said against me; and I heard it all.

¹⁴ The Lord Yahweh says this: I will make you a desolation, while the entire earth rejoices. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the people of Israel because of its desolation, I will do the same to you. You will become a desolation, Mount Seir, and all of Edom—all of it! Then they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 36

¹ "Now you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of Yahweh. ² The Lord Yahweh says this: The enemy has said about you, "Aha!" and "The ancient high places have become our possession."' ³ Therefore prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Because of your desolation and because of the attacks that came on you from all sides, you have become a possession of the other nations; you have been the subject of slanderous lips and tongues, and of people's stories.

⁴ Therefore, mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord Yahweh: The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and the high hills, to the streambeds and valleys, to the uninhabited desolations and the abandoned cities that have become plunder and a subject of mocking for the other nations that surround them— ⁵ therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I have certainly spoken in the fire of my zeal against the other nations, against Edom and all who took my land for themselves as a possession, against all those who had both joy in their heart and contempt in their spirit, as they seized my land that they might claim its pasturelands for themselves.' ⁶ Therefore, prophesy to the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the high hills, to the streambeds and to the valleys, 'the Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! In my zeal and in my anger I am declaring this because you have borne the insults of nations.

⁷ Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: I myself will lift up my hand to swear that the nations that surround you will certainly carry their own shame.

⁸ But you, mountains of Israel, you will grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, since they will soon come back to you. ⁹ For behold, I am for you, and I treat you with favor; you will be plowed and sown with seed.

¹⁰ So I will multiply upon you the number of your people, even the whole house of Israel. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply men and animals on you mountains so that they will multiply and be fruitful. Then I will cause you to be inhabited as you previously were, and I will do you more good than in the past, for you will know that I am Yahweh. ¹² I will bring men, my people Israel, to walk on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer cause their children to die.

¹³ The Lord Yahweh says this: Because they are saying to you, "You devour men, bereaving your nation of children," ¹⁴ therefore you will not consume people any longer, and you will no longer make your nation mourn their deaths. This is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ¹⁵ Nor will I allow you to hear the insults of the nations any longer; you will no longer have to suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹⁶ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁷ "Son of man, when the house of Israel inhabited their land, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds. Their ways were like the uncleanness of the impurity before me. ¹⁸ So I poured out my fury against them for the blood that they poured out on the land and for their pollution of it by their idols.

¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed through the lands. I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. ²⁰ Then they went to the nations, and wherever they went, they profaned my holy name when people said of them, 'Are these really the people of Yahweh? For they have been thrown out of his land.' ²¹ But I had compassion for my holy name that the house of Israel had defiled among the nations, when they went there.

²² Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: I am not doing this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations everywhere you have gone. ²³ For I will make my great name holy, which you have profaned among the nations—in the midst of the nations, you profaned it. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—when you see that I am holy.

²⁴ I will take you from the nations and gather you from every land, and I will bring you to your land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle pure water on you so you will be clean; you will be purified from all of your uncleanness, and I will purify you from all of your idols.

²⁶ I will give you a new heart and a new spirit in your innermost parts, and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh. For I will give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will set my Spirit in you and enable you to walk in my statutes and keep my decrees, so you will do them. ²⁸ Then you will inhabit the land that I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

²⁹ For I will save you from all of your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and multiply it. I will no longer put famine upon you. ³⁰ I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field so that you will no longer bear the shame of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will think of your wicked ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will show loathing on your faces because of your own iniquities and your disgusting practicies.

³² I am not doing this for your sake—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—let this be known to you. So be ashamed and disgraced because of your ways, house of Israel. ³³ The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day that I purify you from all your iniquity, I will cause you to inhabit the cities and to rebuild the ruined places. ³⁴ For you will plow the ruined land until it is no longer a ruin before the eyes of all who pass by.

³⁵ Then they will say, "This land was desolate, but it has become like the garden of Eden; the desolate cities and the uninhabited ruins that were torn down are now fortified and inhabited." ³⁶ Then the other nations around you will know that I am Yahweh, that I built up the ruins and replanted the deserted places. I am Yahweh. I have declared it and I will do it.

³⁷ The Lord Yahweh says this: Again I will be asked by the house of Israel to do this for them, to increase them like a flock of people. ³⁸ Like the flock is set apart for sacrifices, like the flock in Jerusalem at her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people and they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 37

¹ The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the midst of a valley; it was full of bones. ² Then he made me pass through them round and round. Behold! A great many of them were in the valley. Behold! They were very dry. ³ He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live again?" So I said, "Lord Yahweh, you alone know."

⁴ Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones. Listen to the word of Yahweh. ⁵ The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: Behold! I am about to put breath into you, and you will live. ⁶ I will place sinews over you and bring flesh onto you. I will cover you with skin and put breath within you so you will live. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'"

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; as I prophesied, behold, a sound came, that of shaking. Then the bones drew together—bone against bone. ⁸ I looked and, behold, sinews were now on them, and flesh grew up and skin covered them. But there was still no breath in them.

⁹ Then Yahweh said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Breath, come from the four winds, and breathe on these who have been killed, so they may live.'" ¹⁰ So I prophesied as I was commanded; the breath came into them and they lived. Then they stood on their feet, a very great army.

¹¹ Then Yahweh said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the entire house of Israel. Behold! They are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, and our hope is gone. We have been cut off.' ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I will open your graves and lift you out from them, my people. I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

¹³ Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and bring you out from them, my people. ¹⁴ I will place my Spirit within you so you will live, and I will cause you to rest in your land when you know that I am Yahweh. I declare and will do it—this is Yahweh's declaration.'"

¹⁵ Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁶ "So now you, son of man, take one stick for yourself and write on it, 'For Judah and for the people of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim, and for all the people of Israel, their companions.' ¹⁷ Bring both of them together into one stick, so that they become one in your hand.

¹⁸ When your people speak to you and say, 'Will you not tell us what these things of yours mean?' ¹⁹ then say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am taking the branch of Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions and joining it to the branch of Judah, so that they will make one branch, and they will become one in my hand.' ²⁰ Hold in your hand the branches that you wrote on before their eyes.

²¹ Declare to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am about to take the people of Israel from among the nations where they went. I will gather them from the surrounding lands and I will bring them to their land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and there will be one king as king over all of them, and they will no longer be two nations. They will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ Then they will no longer defile themselves with their idols, their disgusting things, or any of their other sins. For I will save them from all of their faithless actions with which they have sinned, and I will purify them, so they will be my people and I will be their God. ¹

²⁴ David my servant will be king over them. So there will be one shepherd over them all, and they will walk according to my decrees and they will keep my statutes and obey them. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I have given to my servant Jacob, where your fathers had stayed. They will live in it forever—they, their children, and their grandchildren, for David my servant will be their chief forever.

²⁶ I will establish a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and multiply them and set my holy place in their midst forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh who sets Israel apart, when my holy place is among them forever.'"

¹Some ancient translations of the Hebrew copies and most modern translations read in this way: from all of their faithless actions . However, the Hebrew text, as it is, is difficult to translate. It reads: from their dwelling places , which many think makes little sense in this context.

Chapter 38

¹ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, set your face toward Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and prophesy against him. ³ Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

⁴ So I will turn you around and set hooks in your jaw; I will send you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them dressed in full armor, a great company with large shields and small shields, all of them holding swords! ⁵ Persia, Cush, and Libya are with them, all of them with shields and helmets! ⁶ Gomer and all her troops, and Beth Togarmah, from the far parts of the north, and all its troops! Many peoples are with you!

⁷ Get ready! Yes, prepare yourself and your troops assembled with you, and be their commander. ⁸ You will be called after many days, and after some years you will go to a land that has recovered from the sword and that has been gathered from many peoples, gathered back to the mountains of Israel that had been a continuous ruin. But the land's people will be brought out of the peoples, and they will live in safety, all of them! ⁹ So you will go up as a storm goes; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, all the many soldiers with you.

¹⁰ The Lord Yahweh says this: It will happen on that day that plans will form in your heart, and you will devise wicked schemes.' ¹¹ Then you will say, 'I will go up to the open land; I will go to the quiet people living in safety, all of them living where there are no walls or bars, and where there are no city gates. ¹² I will capture booty and steal plunder, in order to bring my hand against the ruins that are newly inhabited, and against the people gathered from the nations, people who are gaining livestock and property, and who are living at the center of the earth.'

¹³ Sheba and Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish along with all its young warriors will say to you, 'Have you come to take booty? Have you assembled your company to take away plunder, to carry off silver and gold, to take their livestock and property and to haul away much plunder?'

¹⁴ Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: On that day, when my people Israel are living securely, will you not learn about them? ¹⁵ You will come from your place far away in the north with a great army, all of them riding on horses, a great company, a large army. ¹⁶ You will attack my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, so the nations might know me when I show myself through you, Gog, to be holy before their eyes.

¹⁷ The Lord Yahweh says this: Are you not the one of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in their own time for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ So it will come to be in that day when Gog attacks the land of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—my wrath will mount up in my anger.

¹⁹ In my zeal and in the fire of my anger, I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ They will shake before me—the fish of the sea and the birds of the skies, the beasts of the fields, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and every person who is on the surface of the land. The mountains will be thrown down and the cliffs will fall, until every wall falls to the earth.

²¹ I will summon a sword against him on all my mountains—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—each man's sword will be against his brother. ²² With plague and blood I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain on him and on his troops—and on the many nations with him—a torrential downpour and hailstones, fire and sulfur. ²³ For I will show my greatness and my holiness and I will make myself known in the eyes of the many nations, and they will know that I am Yahweh.'"

Chapter 39

¹ "Now you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Gog, chief of Meshech and Tubal. ² I will turn you and lead you on; I will bring you up from the far north and bring you to the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make the arrows fall from your right hand.

⁴ You will fall on the mountains of Israel—you and all your troops and the soldiers who are with you. I will give you to the birds of prey and the wild beasts of the fields for food. ⁵ You will fall on the open field, for I myself declare it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ⁶ Then I will send out fire on Magog and on those living in safety on the coasts, and they will know that I am Yahweh.

⁷ For I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will no longer allow my holy name to be profaned; the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ Behold! The day is coming, and it will take place—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

⁹ The ones living in the cities of Israel will go out and they will use weapons to kindle and make fires and burn them—small shields, large shields, bows, arrows, the clubs and spears; they will make fires with them for seven years. ¹⁰ They will not gather wood from the fields or cut down trees from the forests, since they will kindle fires with the weapons; they will take from those who wanted to take from them; they will plunder those who wanted to plunder them—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹¹ Then it will happen on that day that I will make a place there for Gog—a grave in Israel, a valley for those who journey to the east of the sea. It will block those who wish to cross over. There they will bury Gog with all his multitudes. They will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.

¹² For seven months the house of Israel will bury them in order to purify the land. ¹³ For all the people of the land will bury them; it will be a day of renown for them when I am glorified—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁴ Then they will designate men to continually go through the land, to find those who were traveling through, but who died and their bodies remained on the surface of the land, so that they may bury them, in order to cleanse the land. At the end of the seventh month they will begin their search. ¹⁵ As these men pass through the land, when they see any human bone, they will put a marker by it, until gravediggers come and bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. ¹⁶ There will be a city there by the name of Hamonah. In this way they will purify the land.

¹⁷ Now to you, son of man, the Lord Yahweh says this: Say to all the winged birds and all the wild beasts in the fields, 'Gather together and come. Gather from all around to the sacrifice that I myself am making for you, a large sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, so that you may consume flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will consume the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; they will be rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, they were all fattened in Bashan.

¹⁹ Then you will eat fat to your satisfaction; you will drink blood until you become drunk; this will be the sacrifice that I will slaughter for you. ²⁰ You will be satisfied at my table with horse, chariot, warrior, and every man of war—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'

²¹ I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see my judgment that I perform and my hand that I have set against them. ²² The house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God from that day onward.

²³ The nations will know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their iniquity by which they betrayed me, so I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries so that all of them fell by the sword. ²⁴ I did to them according to their uncleanness and their sins, when I hid my face from them.

²⁵ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all the house of Israel, when I act with zeal for my holy name. ²⁶ Then they will bear their shame and all the treachery by which they betrayed me. They will forget all this when they rest in their land in safety, with no one to terrify them. ²⁷ When I restore them from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, I will show myself to be holy in the sight of many nations.

²⁸ Then they will know that I am Yahweh their God, for I sent them into captivity among the nations, but then I will gather them back to their land. I will not leave any of them among the nations. ²⁹ I will no longer hide my face from them when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

Chapter 40

¹ In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity at the beginning of the year on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured—on that same day, the hand of Yahweh was upon me and he took me there. ² In visions from God he brought me to the land of Israel. He brought me to rest on a very high mountain; to the south were what appeared to be buildings of a city.

³ Then he brought me there. Behold, a man! His appearance was like the appearance of bronze. A linen cord and a measuring stick were in his hand, and he stood in the city gate. ⁴ The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and listen with your ears, and fix your mind on all that I am revealing to you, for you were brought here so I could reveal them to you. Report everything that you will see to the house of Israel."

⁵ There was a wall surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring stick in the man's hand was six long cubits. Each long cubit was a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the wall, and it was one measuring stick thick and one measuring stick high. ⁶ Then he went to the temple gate that faced east. He went up its steps and measured the threshold of the gate—one stick in depth. ¹ ⁷ The guard chambers were each one stick in length and one stick in width; there were five cubits between any two of the chambers, and the threshold of the temple gate by the temple portico was one stick deep.

⁸ He measured the portico of the gate; it was one stick in length. ⁹ He measured the portico of the gate. It was one stick deep. The doorposts were two cubits in width. This was the portico of the gate facing the temple. ¹⁰ There were three guard chambers on either side of the east gate, and each of them had the same measurement, and the walls that separated them had the same measurement.

¹¹ Then the man measured the width of the gateway entrance—ten cubits; and he measured the length of the gateway entrance—thirteen cubits. ¹² He measured the wall that was bordering the front of the chambers—one cubit high. The chambers measured six cubits on each side. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one chamber to that of the next chamber—twenty-five cubits, from the entrance of the first chamber to that of the second.

¹⁴ Then he measured the wall that went between the guard chambers—sixty cubits in length; he measured as far as the gate's portico. ¹⁵ The entrance from the front of the gate to the other end of the gate's portico was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were closed windows toward the chambers and toward their pillars within the gates all around; and it was the same for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and each jamb was decorated with palm trees.

¹⁷ Then the man brought me to the outer courtyard of the temple. Behold, there were rooms, and there was pavement in the courtyard, with thirty rooms next to the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement went up to the side of the gates, and its width was the same as the gates' length. This was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then the man measured the distance from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner gate; it was one hundred cubits on the east side, and the same on the north side.

²⁰ Then he measured the length and width of the gate that was at the north of the outer court. ²¹ There were three chambers on either side of that gate, and the gate and its portico measured the same as the main gate—fifty cubits in total length and twenty-five cubits in width.

²² Its windows, portico, chambers, and its palm trees corresponded to the gate that faced east. Seven steps went up to it and to its portico. ²³ There was a gate to the inner courtyard in front of the gate facing north, just as also there was a gate to the east; the man measured from one gate to the other gate—one hundred cubits in distance.

²⁴ Next the man brought me to the gate of the southern entrance, and its walls and portico measured the same as the other outer gates. ²⁵ There were closed windows in the gateway and its portico just as at that gate. The south gate and its portico measured fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.

²⁶ There were seven steps up to the gate and its portico, and there were carvings of palm trees on the walls on either side. ²⁷ There was a gate to the inner courtyard on the southern side, and the man measured from that gate to the gate of the south entrance—one hundred cubits in distance.

²⁸ Then the man brought me to the inner courtyard by way of its southern gate, which had the same measurements as the other gates. ²⁹ Its chambers, walls, and porticos measured the same as the other gates; there were windows all around in the portico. The inner gate and its portico measured fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width. ³⁰ There were also porticos all around the inner wall; these were twenty-five cubits in length and five cubits in width. ³¹ This portico faced the outer courtyard with carved palm trees on its walls and eight steps going up to it.

³² Then the man brought me to the inner courtyard by the eastern way and measured the gate, which had the same measurements as the other gates. ³³ Its chambers, walls, and portico measured the same as the other gates, and there were windows all around. The inner gate and its portico measured fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width. ³⁴ Its portico faced the outer courtyard; it had palm trees on either side of it and eight steps going up it.

³⁵ Next the man brought me to the northern gate and measured it; it measured the same as the other gates. ³⁶ Its chambers, walls, and portico measured the same as the other gates, and there were windows all around. The gateway and its portico measured fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width. ³⁷ Its portico faced the outer courtyard; it had palm trees on either side of it and eight steps going up it.

³⁸ There was a room with a door by each of the inner gateways. This was where they rinsed the burnt offerings. ³⁹ There were two tables on each side of each portico, on which the burnt offering was slaughtered, and also the sin offering and the guilt offering.

⁴⁰ By the wall of the courtyard, going up to the gate to the north, there were two tables. Also on the other side there were two tables at the gate's portico. ⁴¹ There were four tables on either side by the gate; they slaughtered animals on the eight tables.

⁴² There were four tables of cut stone for the burnt offerings, one and a half cubits in length, one and a half cubits in width, and one cubit tall. On them they laid the tools with which they slaughtered the burnt offerings for the sacrifices. ⁴³ Two-pronged hooks a handbreadth in length were fastened in the portico all around, and the flesh of the offerings would be put on the tables.

⁴⁴ On the outside of the inner gate, within the inner courtyard, were singers' chambers, one on the north side facing south, and the other on the south side facing north. ⁴⁵ Then the man said to me, "This room facing south is for the priests who are on duty in the temple.

⁴⁶ The room facing north is for the priests on duty at the altar. These are the sons of Zadok who come near to Yahweh to serve him; they are among the sons of Levi." ⁴⁷ Next he measured the courtyard—one hundred cubits in length and one hundred cubits in width in a square, with the altar in front of the house.

⁴⁸ Then the man brought me to the portico of the house and measured its doorposts—they were five cubits thick on either side. The gateway itself was fourteen cubits in width, and the walls on each side of it were three cubits in width. ² ⁴⁹ The length of the portico was twenty cubits, and its depth was eleven cubits. There were steps that went up to it and columns that stood on either side of it. ³ ⁴

¹After one stick in depth , many copies of the ancient Hebrew text contains the additional phrase: one threshold one stick in depth" . Many modern translations, however, leave this expression out, because it seems to be a repetition of preceding verse.

²Instead of the walls on each side of it were three cubits in width , the copies of the ancient Hebrew text read the entrance was three cubits in width , but this seems to be a mistake, judging from the preceding words in this verse.

³Instead of steps , some copies of the ancient Hebrew text, and some modern translations read ten steps .

⁴Instead of eleven cubits , some ancient translations of the Hebrew copies and many modern translations read twelve cubits .

Chapter 41

¹ Then the man brought me into the temple's holy place and measured the doorposts—six cubits in width on either side. ¹ ² The width of the doorway was ten cubits; the wall on each side was five cubits in length. Then the man measured the dimensions of the holy place—forty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width.

³ Then the man went into the very holy place and measured the posts of the doorway—two cubits, and the doorway was six cubits in width. The walls on either side were seven cubits in width. ⁴ Then he measured the room's length—twenty cubits. Its width—twenty cubits to the front of the temple hall. Then he said to me, "This is the most holy place."

⁵ Then the man measured the wall of the house—it was six cubits thick. The width of each side room around the house was four cubits in width. ⁶ There were side rooms on three levels, one room above another, thirty rooms on each level. There were ledges around the wall of the house, to support all of the side rooms, for there was no support put in the wall of the house. ⁷ So the side rooms widened and went around going up, for the house went around higher and higher all around; the rooms widened as the house went up, and a stairway went up to the highest level, through the middle level.

⁸ Then I saw a raised part all around the house, the foundation for the side chambers; it measured a full stick in height—six cubits. ⁹ The width of the wall of the side rooms on the outside was five cubits. There was an open space to the outside of these rooms in the sanctuary.

¹⁰ On the other side of this open space were the priests' outer side rooms; this space was twenty cubits in width all around the sanctuary. ¹¹ There were doors into the side rooms from another open space—one doorway was on the north side, and the other on the south side. The width of this open area was five cubits all around.

¹² The building that faced the courtyard on the west side was seventy cubits in width. Its wall measured five cubits thick all around, and it was ninety cubits in length. ¹³ Then the man measured the sanctuary—one hundred cubits in length. The separated building, its wall, and the courtyard also measured one hundred cubits in length. ¹⁴ The width of the front of the courtyard in front of the sanctuary was also one hundred cubits.

¹⁵ Then the man measured the length of the building behind the sanctuary, to its west, and the galleries on either side—one hundred cubits. The holy place and the portico, ¹⁶ the inner walls and the windows, including the narrow windows, and the galleries all around on three levels, were all paneled in wood. ¹⁷ Above the entryway to the inner sanctuary and spaced along the walls there was a measured pattern.

¹⁸ It was decorated with cherubim and palm trees; with a palm tree between each cherub, and each cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ the face of a man looked toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion looked toward a palm tree on the other side. They were carved all around the entire house. ²⁰ From the ground to above the doorway, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the outer wall of the house.

²¹ The gate posts of the holy place were square. Their appearance was like the appearance of ²² the wooden altar in front of the holy place, which was three cubits high and two cubits in length on each side. Its corner posts, base, and frame were made of wood. Then the man said to me, "This is the table that stands before Yahweh." ² ²³ There were double doors for the holy place and the most holy place. ²⁴ These doors had two hinged door panels each, two panels for one door and two panels for the other.

²⁵ Carved on them—on the doors of the holy place—were cherubim and palm trees just as the walls were decorated, and there was a wooden roof over the portico at the front. ²⁶ There were narrow windows and palm trees on either side of the portico. These were the side rooms of the house, and they also had overhanging roofs.

¹After six cubits in width on either side , ancient Hebrew copies and some modern translations add the width of the tent .

²Instead of Their appearance was like the appearance of the wooden altar in front of the holy place, which was , some modern translations have They all looked like each other. The wooden altar in front of the holy place was .

Chapter 42

¹ Next the man sent me out to the outer courtyard on the north side, and he brought me to rooms in front of the outer courtyard and the northern outer wall. ² Those rooms were one hundred cubits along their front and fifty cubits in width. ³ Some of those rooms faced the inner courtyard and were twenty cubits away from the sanctuary. There were three levels of rooms, and the ones above looked down on the ones below and were open to them, having a walkway. Some of the rooms looked out onto the outer courtyard.

⁴ A passage ten cubits in width and one hundred cubits in length ran in front of the rooms. The rooms' doors were toward the north. ¹ ⁵ But the upper halls were smaller, for the walkways took away from them more space than they did in the lowest and middle levels of the building. ⁶ For the halls on the third story had no columns, unlike the courtyards, which did have columns. So the highest level's rooms were smaller in size compared to the rooms in the lowest and middle levels.

⁷ The outside wall ran along the rooms toward the outer courtyard, the courtyard that was in front of the rooms. That wall was fifty cubits in length. ⁸ The length of the rooms of the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, and the rooms facing the sanctuary were one hundred cubits in length. ⁹ There was an entrance to the lowest rooms from the east side, coming from the outer courtyard.

¹⁰ Along the wall of the outer courtyard on the eastern side of the outer courtyard, in front of the sanctuary's inner courtyard, there were also rooms ² ¹¹ with a walkway in front of them. They were as the appearance of the rooms on the northern side. They had the same length and breadth and the same exits and arrangements and doors. ¹² On the south side were doors into rooms that were just the same as on the north side. A passage on the inside had a door at its head, and the passage opened into the various rooms. On the east side there was a doorway into the passage at one end.

¹³ Then the man said to me, "The northern rooms and the southern rooms that are in front of the outer courtyard are holy rooms where the priests who work nearest to Yahweh may eat the most holy food. They will put the most holy things there—the food offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—for this is a holy place. ¹⁴ When the priests enter there, they must not go out of the holy place to the outer court, without laying aside the clothes in which they served, since these are holy. So they must dress in other clothes before going near the people."

¹⁵ The man completed measuring the inner house and then took me out to the gate that faced the east and measured all the surrounding area there.

¹⁶ He measured the east side with a measuring stick—five hundred cubits with the measuring stick. ³ ¹⁷ He measured the north side—five hundred cubits with the measuring stick. ⁴ ¹⁸ He also measured the south side—five hundred cubits with the measuring stick. ⁵ ¹⁹ He also turned and measured the west side—five hundred cubits with the measuring stick. ⁶

²⁰ He measured it on four sides. It had a wall around it that was five hundred cubits in length, and five hundred cubits in width, to separate the holy from the profane.

¹Some ancient translations of the Hebrew copies and many modern translations read one hundred cubits . Other ancient Hebrew copies some other modern translations read one cubit .

²Many copies of the ancient Hebrew text and some modern translations read on the eastern side . However, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew copies and most modern translations read on the southern side .

³The ancient Greek translation and most modern translations read five hundred cubits , and appears to be correct; but the Hebrew copies read: five hundred measuring sticks , which seems to be an error.

⁴The ancient Greek translation and most modern translations read five hundred cubits, ; but the ancient Hebrew copies read: five hundred measuring sticks , which seems to be an error.

⁵The ancient Greek translation and most modern translations read five hundred cubits ; but the ancient Hebrew copies read: five hundred measuring sticks , which seems to be an error.

⁶The ancient Greek translation and most modern translations read five hundred cubits ; but the ancient Hebrew copies read: five hundred measuring sticks , which seems to be an error.

Chapter 43

¹ The man then brought me to the gate that opened to the east. ² Behold! The glory of the God of Israel came from the east; his voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

³ It was according to the appearance of the vision that I saw, according to the vision that I saw when he had come ¹ to destroy the city, and the visions were like the vision that I saw at the Kebar Canal—and I fell to my face. ⁴ So the glory of Yahweh came to the house by way of the gate that opened to the east. ⁵ Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. Behold! The glory of Yahweh was filling the house.

⁶ The man was standing beside me, and I heard someone else speaking to me from the house. ⁷ He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live in the midst of the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer defile my holy name—they or their kings—with their faithlessness or with the corpses of their kings at their high places. ⁸ They will no longer profane my holy name by putting their threshold next to my threshold, and their gateposts next to my gateposts, with nothing but a wall between me and them. They defiled my holy name with their disgusting practices, so I consumed them with my anger.

⁹ Now let them remove their faithlessness and the corpses of their kings from before me, and I will live in their midst forever.

¹⁰ Son of man, you yourself must tell the house of Israel about this house so they will be ashamed of their iniquities. They should think about this description. ¹¹ For if they are ashamed of all that they have done, then reveal to them the design of the house, its details, its exits, its entrances, and all its designs, all its decrees and rules. Then write this down before their eyes so they will keep to all its design and all its rules, so as to obey them.

¹² This is the regulation for the house: From the peak of the hill to all the surrounding border around it, it will be most holy. Behold! This is the law for the house.

¹³ These will be the measurements of the altar in cubits—that cubit being a regular cubit and a handbreadth in length. So the gutter around the altar will be a cubit deep, and its width will also be a cubit. The border around its surrounding edge will be one span. This will be the base of the altar. ¹⁴ From the gutter at the ground level up to the lower ledge of the altar is two cubits, and that ledge itself is one cubit in width. Then from the small ledge up to the large edge of the altar, it is four cubits, and the large edge is a cubit in width.

¹⁵ The hearth on the altar for the burnt offerings is four cubits high, and there are four horns pointing upward on the hearth. ¹⁶ The hearth is twelve cubits in length and twelve cubits in width, a square. ¹⁷ Its border is fourteen cubits in length and fourteen cubits in width on each of its four sides, and its rim is a half cubit in width. The gutter is a cubit in width all around with its steps facing east."

¹⁸ Next he said to me, "Son of man, the Lord Yahweh says this: These are the regulations for the altar on the day they make it, for raising the burnt offering onto it, and for sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹ You will give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering for the Levitical priests who are the descendants of Zadok, those who come near to me to serve me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

²⁰ Then you will take some of its blood and place it on the altar's four horns and the four sides of its edge and on the surrounding rim; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the appointed part of the temple area outside of the sanctuary.

²² Then on the second day you will offer a male goat without blemish from the goats as a sin offering; the priests will cleanse the altar just as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you finish its cleansing, offer an unblemished bull from the herd and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁴ Offer them before Yahweh; the priests will throw salt onto them and raise them up as a burnt offering to Yahweh.

²⁵ You must prepare a male goat as a sin offering daily for seven days, and the priests must also prepare an unblemished bull from the herd and an unblemished ram from the flock. ²⁶ They must atone for the altar for seven days and purify it, and in this way they must consecrate it. ²⁷ They must complete these days, and on the eighth day and onward it will come about that the priests will prepare your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I will accept you—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹Instead of when he had come which some Hebrew copies and some ancient and many modern translations read, some other copies of the Hebrew text read: when I came .

Chapter 44

¹ Then the man brought me back to the outer sanctuary gate that faced east; it was closed tightly. ² Yahweh said to me, "This gate has been sealed shut; it will not be opened. No man will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has come through it, so it has been closed tightly. ³ The ruler of Israel will sit in it to eat food before Yahweh. He will enter by way of the gate's portico and go out the same way."

⁴ Then he brought me by way of the northern gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh, and I fell to my face. ⁵ Then Yahweh said to me, "Son of man, set your heart and look with your eyes and listen with your ears to all that I am declaring to you, to all the statutes of the house of Yahweh and all its laws. Think about the house's entrance and the sanctuary's exits.

⁶ Then say to the rebellious ones, the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Let all of your disgusting practices be enough for you, house of Israel— ⁷ that you brought foreigners with uncircumcised hearts and uncircumcised flesh to be in my sanctuary, profaning my house, while you were offering me food, fat and blood—you have broken my covenant by all your disgusting practices.

⁸ You have not carried out your duties regarding my holy things, but you appointed others to take up your duties, and you assigned them to care for my holy place. ⁹ The Lord Yahweh says this: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, from any of those who live among the people of Israel, may enter my holy place.

¹⁰ Yet the Levites went far from me—they wandered away from me, going after their idols—but they will pay for their iniquity. ¹¹ They are servants in my sanctuary, watching the gates of the house and serving in the house and they slaughter the burnt offerings and the people's sacrifices, and they will stand before the people and serve them. ¹² But because they performed the sacrifices before their idols, they became stumbling blocks for sin for the house of Israel. Therefore I will lift up my hand to swear an oath against them—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—they will bear their punishment.

¹³ They will not come near me to serve me as priests or to come near any of my holy things, to my most holy things. Instead, they will bear their shame and their disgusting practices that they have done. ¹⁴ But I will place them as keepers of the work in the house, for all of its duties and everything that is done in it.

¹⁵ Then the Levitical priests and the descendants of Zadok who fulfilled the duties of my sanctuary when the people of Israel were wandering away from me, they will come near to me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ¹⁶ They will come to my sanctuary; they will approach my table to worship me and to fulfill their duties to me.

¹⁷ So it will be that when they come to the gates of the inner courtyard, they must be clothed in linen clothes, for they must not come in wool inside the gates of the courtyard and its house. ¹⁸ There should be linen turbans on their heads and linen underclothes on their hips. They must not gird themselves in clothes that make them sweat.

¹⁹ When they go out to the outer courtyard, to the outer courtyard in order to go to the people, they must take off the clothes they wore when they served; they must take them off and lay them down in a holy room, so they do not make other people holy by contact with their special clothing.

²⁰ Also they must neither shave their heads nor allow their hair to hang loosely, but they must trim the hair of their heads. ²¹ No priest may drink wine when he comes to the inner court, ²² nor take a widow or a divorced woman as a wife for himself, but only a virgin from the line of the house of Israel or a widow who was previously married to a priest.

²³ For they will teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane; they will make them know the unclean from the clean. ²⁴ In a dispute they will stand to judge with my decrees; they must be just. They will keep my law and my statutes in every feast, and they will celebrate my holy Sabbaths.

²⁵ They must not defile themselves by going near to a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then they may defile themselves. ²⁶ After a priest has become unclean, they will count off a period of seven days for him. ²⁷ On the day he enters the holy place, into the inner courtyard to serve in the holy place, he must bring a sin offering for himself—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

²⁸ This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance, and you must give them no property in Israel; I will be their property! ²⁹ They will eat the food offerings, the sin offerings, the guilt offerings, and everything devoted to Yahweh in Israel, will be theirs.

³⁰ The best of the firstfruits of all things and every contribution, anything from all of your contributions will belong to the priests, and you will give the first of your dough to the priests so that blessing may rest on your house. ³¹ The priests will not eat any carcass or animal torn by a wild animal, whether bird or beast.

Chapter 45

¹ When you cast lots to divide up the land as an inheritance, you must make an offering to Yahweh; this offering will be a holy part of the land, twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and ten thousand cubits in width. It will be holy, all its area round about. ¹ ² From this there will be a five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits square surrounding the holy place, with a surrounding border fifty cubits in width.

³ From this area you will measure a portion that is twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width; it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. ⁴ It will be a holy place in the land for the priests who serve Yahweh, who come near Yahweh to serve him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy area for the holy place. ⁵ So it will be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width, and it will be for towns that belong to the Levites who serve in the house.

⁶ You will designate an area for the city, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand in length, that will be next to the area reserved for the holy place; this city will belong to all the house of Israel. ⁷ The prince's land will be on both sides of the area reserved for the holy place and the property of the city. It will be to their west and to their east. The length will correspond to the length of one of those portions, from the west to the east.

⁸ This land will be property for the prince in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people; instead, they will give the land to the house of Israel, for their tribes.

⁹ The Lord Yahweh says this: It is enough for you, princes of Israel! Remove violence and strife; do justice and righteousness! Quit your evictions of my people!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration. ¹⁰ You must have just scales, just ephahs, and just baths! ¹¹ The ephah and the bath will be the same amount, so that a bath will be a tenth of a homer; the ephah will be a tenth of a homer. Their measure will be corresponding to the homer. ¹² The shekel will be twenty gerahs; sixty shekels will make a mina for you.

¹³ This is the contribution that you must present: A sixth of an ephah for every homer of wheat, and you will give a sixth of an ephah for every homer of barley. ¹⁴ The regulation offering of oil will be a tenth of a bath for every cor (which is ten baths), or for every homer, since a homer is also ten baths. ¹⁵ One sheep or goat will be taken from the flock for every two hundred animals from the well-watered land of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, the burnt offerings, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the people—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

¹⁶ All the people of the land will give this contribution to the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ It will be the prince's responsibility to furnish animals for the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the festivals and the new moon celebrations, and on the Sabbath days—all the fixed festivals of the house of Israel. He will provide for the sin offerings, the grain offerings, the burnt offerings, and the peace offerings for atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

¹⁸ The Lord Yahweh says this: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take an unblemished bull from the herd and perform a sin offering for the sanctuary. ¹⁹ The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorposts of the house and on the four corners of the border of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gate to the inner court. ²⁰ You will do this on the seventh of the month for each person's sin by accident or ignorance; in this way you will atone for the temple.

²¹ In the first month on the fourteenth day of the month, there will be for you the Passover, a seven-day festival. You will eat unleavened bread. ²² On that day, the prince will prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull as a sin offering.

²³ For the seven days of the festival, the prince will prepare a burnt offering for Yahweh: Seven bulls and seven unblemished rams each day for seven days, and a male goat each day as a sin offering. ²⁴ Then the prince will perform a food offering of an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram with a hin of oil for each ephah.

²⁵ In the seventh month on the fifteenth day of the month, at the festival, the prince will perform offerings on these seven days: Sin offerings, burnt offerings, food offerings, and offerings of oil.

¹Instead of ten thousand , which the copies of the ancient Hebrew text and some modern translations have, some copies of the ancient Hebrew text and many modern translations have twenty thousand .

Chapter 46

¹ The Lord Yahweh says this: The gate of the inner courtyard, facing east, will be shut for the six days of work, but on the Sabbath it will be opened, and on the day of the new moon it will be opened. ² The prince will enter the outer courtyard by the way of the gate and its portico from outside, and he will stand before the doorposts of the inner gate while the priests perform his burnt offering and peace offering. Then he will worship at the threshold of the inner gate and go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.

³ The people of the land will also worship before Yahweh at the entrance to this gate on the Sabbaths and new moons. ⁴ The burnt offering that the prince offers to Yahweh on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram. ⁵ The grain offering with the ram will be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs will be what he wishes to give, and a hin of oil with each ephah of grain.

⁶ On the day of the new moon he must offer an unblemished bull from a herd, six lambs, and an unblemished ram. ⁷ He must make a grain offering of an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and what he wishes to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil for every ephah of grain. ⁸ When the prince enters by the way of the gate and its portico, he must leave by the same way.

⁹ But when the people of the land come before Yahweh at the appointed festivals, anyone entering through the north gate to worship must leave through the south gate; and anyone entering through the south gate must leave through the north gate. No one may turn back to the gate through which he entered, for he must go out straight ahead. ¹⁰ The prince must be in their midst; when they go in, he must go in, and when they leave, he must leave.

¹¹ At the festivals, the grain offering must be an ephah of grain for the bull and an ephah for the ram, and whatever he wishes to give with the lambs, and a hin of oil for every ephah. ¹² When the prince gives a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or a peace offering to Yahweh, the gate facing east will be opened for him. He will offer his burnt offering or his peace offering as he does it on the Sabbath day. Then he must go out, and after he has gone out the gate will be shut.

¹³ In addition, you will give an unblemished lamb one year old as a burnt offering to Yahweh daily; you will do this morning after morning. ¹⁴ You will give a grain offering with it morning after morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour of the grain offering for Yahweh, according to a permanent statute. ¹⁵ They will prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil morning after morning, a permanent burnt offering.

¹⁶ The Lord Yahweh says this: If the prince gives a gift to one of his sons, it is his inheritance. It will also belong to his descendants. It is their property by inheritance. ¹⁷ But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it will be that servant's until the year of liberty, and then it will return to the prince. His inheritance will certainly be for his sons. ¹⁸ The prince will not take the people's inheritance, oppressing them by taking their own property; he must provide for his sons from his own property so that my people will not be scattered, each man from his own property.'"

¹⁹ Next the man brought me through the entrance at the gate to the holy rooms for the priests, which faced north and behold! There was a place toward the west. ²⁰ He said to me, "This is the place where the priests must boil the guilt offering and the sin offering and where they must bake the grain offering. They must not bring the offerings into the outer courtyard, for then the people would be consecrated."

²¹ Then he brought me to the outer courtyard and he led me past the four corners of that courtyard, and I saw that in every corner of the courtyard there was another court. ²² In the four corners of the outer courtyard there were four small courtyards, forty cubits in length and thirty in width. The four courtyards were the same size. ¹ ²³ There was a row made of stone all around the four of them, and cooking hearths were under the stone row. ²⁴ The man said to me, "These are the places where the temple servants will boil the people's sacrifices."

¹The Hebrew word translated here as small is unclear. Some ancient and some modern translations translate it as "small". However, there is some uncertainty about this word, and others translate it differently.

Chapter 47

¹ Then the man took me back to the entrance to the temple, and there was water flowing out from under the temple threshold of the house toward the east—for the front of the temple faced east—and the water was flowing down the south side of the temple, to the right of the altar. ² So he brought me out through the northern gate and led me around to the gate facing east, and there the water was flowing from this gate on its south side.

³ As the man was going toward the east, there was a measuring line in his hand; he measured off one thousand cubits and brought me through the water to ankle-deep water. ⁴ Then he measured one thousand cubits again and brought me through the water to knee-deep water; and he measured another thousand cubits and brought me to hip-deep water. ⁵ Next he measured off another thousand cubits, but it was a river that I could not cross through because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—it was a river that could not be crossed.

⁶ The man said to me, "Son of man, do you see this?" and he brought me out and had me walk back along the riverbank. ⁷ As I walked back, there the riverbank had many trees on this side and also the other side. ⁸ The man said to me, "This water is going out to the eastern territory and down to the Arabah; this water flows into the Salt Sea and will make it fresh.

⁹ It will be that every living creature that swarms will live where the water goes; there will be many fish, for these waters flow there. It will make the salt water fresh. Everything will live wherever the river goes. ¹⁰ Then it will happen that fishermen of En Gedi will stand by the water, and there will be a place to dry out the fishing nets by En Eglaim. There will be many kinds of fish in the Salt Sea, like the fish in the Great Sea for their abundance.

¹¹ But the Salt Sea's swamps and marshes will not be made fresh; they will be for providing salt. ¹² Beside this river on its banks, on both sides, all kinds of trees will grow that bear food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will never fail to grow. Each month the trees will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves will be for healing.

¹³ The Lord Yahweh says this: This will be the way that you divide the land up for the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph will have two portions. ¹⁴ You are to divide equally what I lifted up my hand and swore to give to your fathers. This land will come to you as an inheritance.

¹⁵ This will be the boundary of the land on the north side from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon, and then to Zedad. ¹ ¹⁶ Then the boundary will go to Berothah, to Sibraim, which is between Damascus and Hamath, and then to Hazer Hattikon, which is beside the boundary of Hauran. ¹⁷ So the boundary will go from the sea to Hazar Enan on the border with Damascus and Hamath to the north. This will be the north side.

¹⁸ On the east side the boundary will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan River between Gilead and the land of Israel. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This will be the eastern border. ²

¹⁹ Then on the south side the boundary will run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the boundary on the south side.

²⁰ Then the boundary on the west side will be the Great Sea to a point opposite Lebo Hamath. This will be the west side.

²¹ In this way you will divide this land for yourselves, for the tribes of Israel. ²² So you will distribute the inheritances for yourselves and for the foreigners in your midst, those who have given birth to children in your midst and who are, with you, like the native born people of Israel. You will cast lots for inheritances among the tribes of Israel. ²³ Then it will happen that the foreigner will be with the tribe among whom he is living. You must give him an inheritance—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration."

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text read: by way of Hethlon, and then to Zedad , but some modern translations follow Ezekiel 48:1 at this point, and add Lebo Hamath .

²The copies of the ancient Hebrew text read: You will measure from the border to the eastern sea . However, the ancient Greek translations of the Hebrew copies, and many modern translations read to the eastern sea as far as Tamar .

Chapter 48

¹ These are the names of the tribes. The tribe of Dan will receive one portion of land; its boundary will run along the northern boundary of Israel by way of Hethlon and Lebo Hamath. Its boundary will go on to Hazar Enan and along the border with Damascus to the north and then on to Hamath. Dan's boundary will go from east all the way to the Great Sea. ² Adjoining the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher will have one portion. ³ Adjoining the border of Asher from the east side to the west, Naphtali will have one portion.

⁴ Adjoining the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west, Manasseh will have one portion. ⁵ Adjoining the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion. ⁶ Adjoining the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion. ⁷ Adjoining the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah will have one portion.

⁸ The offering of land that you will make will be along the border with Judah and extend from the east side to the west side; it will be twenty-five thousand cubits in width. Its length will correspond to one tribe's portion from the east side to the west side, and the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. ⁹ This land that you will offer up to Yahweh will be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand cubits in width.

¹⁰ These will be the assignments of this holy portion of land: The priests will have land assigned to them measuring twenty-five thousand cubits in length on the north side; ten thousand cubits in width on the west side; ten thousand cubits in width on the east side; and twenty-five thousand cubits in length on the south side, with the holy place of Yahweh in the middle of it. ¹¹ This will be for the consecration of the priests of the line of Zadok, who have served me faithfully and who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. ¹² The offering for them will be a portion of this most holy land, extending to the border of the Levites.

¹³ The Levites' land along the border with the priests' land will be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand cubits in width. The entire length of the two tracts of land will be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and twenty thousand cubits in width. ¹⁴ They must not sell it or exchange it; none of this firstfruits of the land of Israel must ever be separated from these tracts, for it all is holy to Yahweh.

¹⁵ The remaining land, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand cubits in length, will be for the collective use of the city, the houses, and the pastureland; the city will be in its midst. ¹⁶ These will be the city's measurements: The north side will be 4,500 cubits in length; the south side will be 4,500 cubits in length; the east side will be 4,500 cubits in length; and the west side will be 4,500 cubits in length.

¹⁷ There will be pasture for the city toward the north, 250 cubits deep; to the south, 250 cubits deep; to the east, 250 cubits deep, and to the west, 250 cubits deep. ¹⁸ The remaining area of the holy offering will stretch for ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand cubits to the west. It will stretch along the border of the holy offering, and its produce will be food for those working in the city.

¹⁹ The people who work in the city, from all the tribes of Israel, will farm the land. ²⁰ All the land offering will measure twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits. In this way you will make the holy offering of land, together with the land for the city.

²¹ The rest of the land on either side of the holy offering and the city area will be for the prince. The prince's tract of land to the east will extend for twenty-five thousand cubits from boundary of the holy offering to the eastern border—and his tract to the west will extend for twenty-five thousand cubits to the western border. In the middle will be the holy offering, and the holy place of the temple will be in its midst. ²² The land extending from the property of the Levites and the area of the city in its midst will be for the prince; it will be between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin—this land will be for the prince.

²³ As for the remaining tribes, their portions will also run from the eastern side to the west side. Benjamin will receive one portion. ²⁴ Adjoining the border of Benjamin from the east side to the west, Simeon will have one portion. ²⁵ Adjoining the border of Simeon from the east side to the west, Issachar will have one portion. ²⁶ Adjoining the border of Issachar from the east side to the west, Zebulun will have one portion.

²⁷ To the south of Zebulun's boundary, running from the east side to the west side, will be the land of Gad—one portion. ²⁸ The southern boundary of Gad will extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, and farther to the brook of Egypt, and then to the Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the land for which you will cast lots; it will be the inheritance of the tribes of Israel. These will be their portions. This is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

³⁰ These will be the exits from the city: On the north side, which will measure 4,500 cubits in length, ³¹ will be three gates, named for tribes of Israel: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi. ³² On the east side, which will measure 4,500 cubits in length, will be three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan.

³³ On the south side, which is 4,500 cubits in length, will be three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. ³⁴ On the west side, which will measure 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. ³⁵ The distance around the city will be eighteen thousand cubits; from that day on, the city's name will be "Yahweh Is There."

Daniel

Chapter 1

¹ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem and surrounded the city to cut off all supplies to it. ² The Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar victory over Jehoiakim king of Judah, and he gave him some of the sacred objects from the house of God. He brought them into the land of Babylonia, to the house of his god, and he placed the sacred objects in his god's treasury.

³ The king spoke to Ashpenaz, his chief official, to bring in some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility— ⁴ young men without blemish, attractive in appearance, having insight in all wisdom, filled with knowledge and understanding, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. ⁵ The king counted out for them a daily portion of his delicacies and some of the wine that he drank. These young men were to be trained for three years, and after that, they would serve the king.

⁶ Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, some of the people of Judah. ⁷ The chief official gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel intended in his mind that he would not pollute himself with the king's delicacies or with the wine that he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official that he might not defile himself. ⁹ Now God gave Daniel favor and compassion through the respect that the chief official had for him. ¹⁰ The chief official said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my master the king. He has commanded what food and drink you should have. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your own age? The king might have my head because of you."

¹¹ Then Daniel spoke to the steward whom the chief official had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹² He said, "Please test us, your servants, for ten days. Give us only some vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the king's delicacies, and treat us, your servants, based on what you see."

¹⁴ So the steward agreed with him to do this, and he tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days their appearance was more healthy, and they were better nourished, than all the young men who ate the king's delicacies. ¹⁶ So the steward took away their delicacies and their wine and gave them only vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and insight in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel could understand all kinds of visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹ The king spoke with them, and among the whole group there were none to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They stood before the king, ready to serve him. ²⁰ In every question of wisdom and understanding that the king asked them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and those who claimed to speak with the dead, who were in his entire kingdom. ²¹ Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Chapter 2

¹ In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he had dreams. His mind was troubled, and he could not sleep. ² Then the king summoned the magicians and those who claimed to speak with the dead. He also called the sorcerers and educated men. He wanted them to tell him his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

³ The king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my mind is anxious to know what the dream means." ⁴ Then the educated men spoke to the king in Aramaic, "King, live forever! Tell the dream to us, your servants, and we will reveal the interpretation."

⁵ The king replied to the educated men, "This matter has been settled. If you do not reveal to me the dream and its interpretation, your bodies will be torn apart and your houses made into rubbish heaps. ⁶ But if you will tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive gifts from me, a reward, and great honor. So tell to me the dream and its interpretation."

⁷ They replied again and said, "Let the king tell us, his servants, the dream and we will tell you its interpretation." ⁸ The king answered, "I know for certain that you want more time because you see how firm my decision is about this. ⁹ But if you do not tell me the dream, there is only one sentence for you. You have decided to prepare false and corrupt words that you agreed together to say to me until I change my mind. So then, tell me the dream, and then I will know that you can tell the interpretation."

¹⁰ The educated men replied to the king, "There is not a man on earth able to meet the king's demand. There is no great king or ruler who has demanded such a thing from any magician, or from anyone who claims to speak with the dead, or from an educated man. ¹¹ What the king demands is difficult, and there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans."

¹² This made the king angry and very furious, and he gave an order to destroy all the wise men in Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out to put the wise men to death, and they sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch the commander of the king's bodyguard, who had come to kill all the wise men in Babylon. ¹⁵ Daniel asked the king's commander, "Why is the king's decree so urgent?" So Arioch told Daniel what had happened. ¹⁶ Then Daniel went in and requested an appointment with the king so that he could present the interpretation to the king.

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and explained to his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. ¹⁸ He urged them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹ That night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven ²⁰ and Daniel said,

"Praise the name of God forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to him.

²¹ He changes the times and seasons;

he removes kings and places kings on their thrones.

He gives wisdom to wise men

and knowledge to those who have understanding.

²² He reveals the deep and hidden things

because he knows what is in the darkness,

and the light lives with him.

²³ God of my ancestors, I thank you and praise you

for the wisdom and power you gave to me.

Now you have made known to me what we asked of you;

you have made known to us the matter that concerns the king."

²⁴ Then Daniel went in to see Arioch (the one the king appointed to kill everyone who was wise in Babylon). He went and said to him, "Do not destroy the wise men in Babylon. Take me to the king and I will show the king the interpretation of his dream."

²⁵ Then Arioch quickly brought in Daniel before the king and said, "I have found among the exiles of Judah a man who will reveal the interpretation of the king's dream." ²⁶ The king said to Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar), "Are you able to tell me the dream that I saw and its interpretation?"

²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, "The mystery that the king has asked about cannot be revealed by wise men, nor by those who claim to speak with the dead, nor by magicians, and not by astrologers. ²⁸ Nevertheless, there is a God who lives in the heavens, who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, what will happen in the days to come. These were your dream and the visions of your mind as you lay on your bed.

²⁹ As for you, king, your thoughts on your bed were about things to come, and the one who reveals mysteries has made known to you what is about to happen. ³⁰ As for me, this mystery was not revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living person. This mystery was revealed to me so that you, king, may understand the interpretation, and so that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

³¹ King, you looked up and you saw a great statue. This statue, which was large and had exceeding splendor, stood before you. Its brightness was terrifying. ³² The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its breast and arms were of silver. Its middle and its thighs were made of bronze, ³³ and its legs were made of iron. Its feet were made partly of iron and partly of clay.

³⁴ You looked up, and a stone was cut out, although not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it shattered them. ³⁵ Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold at the same time were broken into pieces and became like the chaff of the threshing floors in the summer. The wind carried them away and there was no trace of them left. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ This was the dream. Now we will tell the king the interpretation. ³⁷ You, king, are king of the kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the honor. ³⁸ He has given into your hand the place where the human beings live. He has given over the animals of the field and the birds of the heavens into your hand, and he has made you rule over them all. You are the statue's head of gold.

³⁹ After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze will rule over all the earth.

⁴⁰ There will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks other things into pieces and shatters everything. It will shatter all these things and crush them.

⁴¹ Just as you saw, the feet and toes were partly made of baked clay and partly made of iron, so it will be a divided kingdom; some of the strength of iron will be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. ⁴² As the toes of the feet were partly made of iron and partly made of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so the people will be a mixture; they will not stay together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

⁴⁴ In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be conquered by another people. It will break the other kingdoms into pieces and put an end to all of them, and it will remain forever. ⁴⁵ Just as you saw, a stone was cut out of the mountain, but not by human hands. It broke the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to you, king, what will happen after this. The dream is true and this interpretation is reliable."

⁴⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel and honored him; he commanded that an offering be made and that incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the one who reveals mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."

⁴⁸ Then the king made Daniel highly honored and gave him many wonderful gifts. He made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. Daniel became chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel made a request of the king, and the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be administrators over the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.

Chapter 3

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue that was sixty cubits tall and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² Then Nebuchadnezzar sent messages out to gather together the provincial governors, regional governors, and local governors, together with the counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the high officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that the king had set up.

³ Then the provincial governors, regional governors, and local governors, together with the counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the high officials of the provinces gathered together to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood before it. ⁴ Then a herald loudly shouted, "You are commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that at the time you hear the sound of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship, at that very moment, will be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire." ⁷ So when all the peoples heard the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

⁸ Now at this time certain Chaldeans came and brought accusations against the Jews. ⁹ They said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, "King, live forever! ¹⁰ You, king, have made a decree that every person who hears the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music, must fall down and worship the golden statue.

¹¹ Whoever does not fall down and worship must be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire. ¹² Now there are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon; their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, king, pay no attention to you. They will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up."

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, filled with anger and rage, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Have you made your minds up, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my gods or worship to the golden statue that I have set up?

¹⁵ Now if you are ready—when you hear the sounds of the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, and pipes, and all kinds of music—to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, all will be well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire. Who is the god who is able to rescue you out of my hands?"

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If there is an answer, it is that our God whom we serve is able to keep us safe from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us out of your hand, king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, king, that we will not serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden statue you set up."

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage; the look on his face changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was normally heated. ²⁰ Then he commanded some very strong men in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

²¹ They were tied up still wearing their robes, tunics, turbans, and other clothing, and they were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² Because the king's command was strictly followed and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flames of the fire killed the men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire while they were tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was amazed and stood up quickly. He asked his advisors, "Did we not throw three men tied up into the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, king." ²⁵ He said, "But I see four men who are not tied up walking around in the fire, and they are not hurt. The brilliance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of God Most High, come out! Come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire. ²⁷ The provincial governors, regional governors, other governors, and the king's counselors who had gathered together saw these men. The fire had not hurt their bodies; the hair on their heads was not singed; their robes were not harmed; and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar said, "Let us praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his messenger and rescued his servants who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and they gave up their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their God.

²⁹ Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must be torn apart, and that their houses must be made into rubbish heaps because there is no other god who is able to save like this." ³⁰ Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Chapter 4

¹ King Nebuchadnezzar sent this decree to all peoples, nations, and languages who lived on the earth: May your peace increase.

² It has seemed good to me to tell you about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

³ How great are his signs,

and how mighty are his wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and his dominion lasts from generation to generation."

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living happily in my house, and I was enjoying prosperity in my palace. ⁵ But a dream I had made me afraid. As I lay there, the images I saw and the visions in my mind troubled me. ⁶ So I gave a decree to bring before me all the wise men of Babylon so they could interpret the dream for me.

⁷ Then came the magicians, those who claimed to speak with the dead, the educated men, and the astrologers. I told them the dream, but they could not make known the interpretation to me. ⁸ But at last Daniel came in—the one who is named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream. ⁹ "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Tell me the appearance of my dream and its interpretation.

¹⁰ These were the sights that I saw in my mind as I lay upon my bed: I looked, and there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was very great. ¹¹ The tree grew and became strong. Its top reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of the whole earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and on it was food for all. The animals of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches. All living creatures were fed from it.

¹³ I saw in my mind as I lay on my bed, and a watcher, a holy one came down from the heavens. ¹⁴ He shouted and said, 'Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds fly away from its branches.

¹⁵ Leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the middle of the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew from the heavens. Let it live with the animals among the plants on the ground. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from a man's mind, and let an animal's mind be given to him until seven years pass by.

¹⁷ This sentence is by the decree of the watchers, a decision made by the holy ones, so that those who are alive may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of people and gives them to anyone he wishes to place over them, even to the most humble men.' ¹⁸ I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had this dream. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able to do so, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you."

¹⁹ Then Daniel, who was also named Belteshazzar, was greatly upset for a brief time, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you." Belteshazzar replied, "My master, may the dream be for those who hate you; may its interpretation be for your enemies.

²⁰ The tree that you saw—which grew and became strong, and whose top reached up to the heavens, and which could be seen to the ends of the whole earth— ²¹ whose leaves were beautiful, and whose fruit was abundant, so that in it was food for all, and under it the animals of the field found shade, and in which the birds of the heavens lived— ²² this tree is you, king, you who have grown so strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion reaches to the ends of the earth.

²³ You, king, saw a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, 'Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the middle of the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew from the heavens. Let it live with the animals in the field until seven years pass by.'

²⁴ This is the interpretation, king. It is a decree of the Most High that has reached you, my master the king. ²⁵ You will be driven from among men, and you will live with the animals in the field. You will be made to eat grass like cattle, and you will be wet with the dew from the heavens, and seven years will pass by until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of people and that he gives them to anyone he wishes.

²⁶ As it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, in this way your kingdom will be returned to you from the time you learn that heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, king, let my advice be pleasing to you. Stop sinning and do what is right. Turn away from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, and it may be that your prosperity will be extended."

²⁸ All these things happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, ³⁰ and he said, "Is this not the great Babylon, which I have built for my royal residence, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?"

³¹ While the words were still on the lips of the king, a voice came from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, it is announced to you that this kingdom has been taken away from you. ³² You will be driven away from people, and your home will be with the animals in the field. You will be made to eat grass like cattle. Seven years will pass until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of people and he gives them to anyone he wishes."

³³ This decree against Nebuchadnezzar was carried out immediately. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was wet with the dew from the heavens. His hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails became like birds' claws.

³⁴ At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was given back to me.

"I praised the Most High,

and I honored and glorified the one who lives forever.

For his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and his kingdom endures from all generations to all generations.

³⁵ All the earth's inhabitants

are considered by him to be as nothing;

he does among the army of heaven

and the inhabitants of the earth

whatever suits his will.

No one can stop him or challenge him.

No one can say to him, 'Why have you done this?'"

³⁶ At the same time that my sanity returned to me, my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My counselors and my noblemen sought my favor. I was brought back to my throne, and even more greatness was given to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol, and honor the King of heaven, for all his deeds are true, and his ways are just. He can humble those who walk in their own pride.

Chapter 5

¹ Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his noblemen, and he drank wine in front of all one thousand of them. ² While Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the containers made of gold or silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, from which the king, his noblemen, and his wives and concubines could drink.

³ The servants brought the gold containers that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God, in Jerusalem. The king, his noblemen, and his wives and concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank the wine and praised their idols made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵ At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared in front of the lampstand and wrote on the plaster wall in the king's palace. The king could see part of the hand as it wrote. ⁶ Then the king's face changed and his thoughts frightened him; his limbs could not support him, and his knees were knocking together.

⁷ The king shouted a command to bring in those who claimed to speak with the dead, the educated men, and the astrologers. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and makes known its interpretation to me will be clothed with purple and will have a gold chain around his neck. He will have the authority of the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known its interpretation to the king. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed and the look on his face changed. His noblemen were perplexed.

¹⁰ Now the queen came into the banquet house because of what the king and his nobles had said. The queen said, "King, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you. Do not let the look on your face change.

¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father the king, made him chief of the magicians, as well as chief of those who speak with the dead, of the educated men, and of the astrologers. ¹² An excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting of dreams, explaining of riddles and solving of problems—these qualities were found in this man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now call for Daniel and he will tell you the interpretation."

¹³ Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, "You are that Daniel, one of the people of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought out of Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard about you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.

¹⁵ Now the wise men and those who claim to speak with the dead have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not make known to me the interpretation of the message. ¹⁶ I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will be clothed with purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will have the authority of the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another person. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to you, king, and will tell you the interpretation. ¹⁸ As for you, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ¹⁹ Because of the greatness God gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared him. He killed those he wanted to die, and he kept alive those he wished to live. He raised up those he wanted, and he humbled those he wished.

²⁰ But when his heart was arrogant and his spirit was hardened so that he acted presumptuously, he was brought down from his royal throne, and they took away his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from humanity, he had the mind of an animal, and he lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cattle. His body was wet with the dew from the heavens until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of people and that he sets over them anyone he wishes.

²² You his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. ²³ You have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. From his house they brought you the containers that you, your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from, and you praised the idols made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—idols that do not see, hear, or know anything. You have not honored the God who holds your breath in his hand and who knows all your ways. ²⁴ Then God sent out a hand from his presence and this inscription was written.

²⁵ This is the writing that was done: 'Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Pharsin.'

²⁶ This is the interpretation of the message: 'Mene,' 'God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end.'

²⁷ 'Tekel,' 'you are weighed in the scales and are found lacking.'

²⁸ 'Peres,' 'your kingdom is divided and is given to the Medes and Persians.'"

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave a command, and they clothed Daniel with purple. A chain of gold was put around his neck, and the king made a proclamation about him that he would have the authority of the third highest ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ That night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed, ³¹ and Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

Chapter 6

¹ It seemed good to Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 provincial governors who would rule over all the kingdom. ² Over them there were three chief administrators, and Daniel was one of them. These chief administrators were appointed so that they might supervise the provincial governors, so that the king should suffer no loss. ³ Daniel was distinguished above the other chief administrators and the provincial governors because he had an extraordinary spirit. The king was planning to put him over the whole kingdom.

⁴ Then the other chief administrators and the provincial governors looked for mistakes in the work Daniel did for the kingdom, but they could find no corruption or failure in his duty because he was faithful. No mistakes or negligence was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, "We cannot find any reason to complain against this Daniel unless we find something against him regarding the law of his God."

⁶ Then these administrators and governors brought a plan before the king. They said to him, "King Darius, may you live forever! ⁷ All the chief administrators of the kingdom, the regional governors, and the provincial governors, the advisors, and the governors have consulted together and decided that you, the king, should issue a decree and enforce a prohibition, so that whoever makes a petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, king, that person must be thrown into the den of lions.

⁸ Now, king, issue the prohibition and sign the document so that it may not be changed, as directed by the law of the Medes and Persians, so it cannot be repealed." ⁹ So king Darius signed the document, the prohibition.

¹⁰ When Daniel learned that the document had been signed into law, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his upper room toward Jerusalem), and he got down on his knees, as he did three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men who had formed the plot together saw Daniel make requests and seek favor from God.

¹² Then they approached the king and spoke with him about his prohibition: "Did you not make a prohibition that everyone who makes a petition to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, king, must be thrown into the den of lions?" The king answered, "The matter is settled, as directed by the law of the Medes and Persians; it cannot be repealed."

¹³ Then they replied to the king, "That person Daniel, who is one of the people of the exile from Judah, pays no attention to you, king, or to the prohibition that you have signed. He prays to his God three times a day." ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was terribly distressed, and he applied his mind to rescue Daniel from this ruling. He labored until sunset to try to save Daniel.

¹⁵ Then these men who had formed the plot gathered together with the king and said to him, "Know, king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no prohibition or statute that the king issues can be changed."

¹⁶ Then the king gave an order, and they brought in Daniel, and they threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you."

¹⁷ A stone was brought over the entrance to the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and he went through the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then at daybreak the king got up and he quickly went to the lions' den. ²⁰ As he came near to the den, the king called out to Daniel in a sad voice, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

²¹ Then said Daniel to the king, "King, live forever! ²² My God has sent his messenger and has shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me. For I was found blameless before him and also before you, king, and I have done you no harm."

²³ Then the king was very happy. He gave an order that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted up out of the den. No harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴ The king gave an order, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel and threw them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the floor, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones to pieces. ²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that live in all the earth:

"May peace increase for you.

²⁶ I hereby make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God

and lives forever,

and his kingdom will not be destroyed;

his dominion will last to the end.

²⁷ He makes us safe and rescues us,

and he does signs and wonders

in heaven and in earth;

he has kept Daniel safe

from the strength of the lions."

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Chapter 7

¹ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylonia, Daniel had a dream and visions in his mind while lying on his bed. Then he wrote down what he had seen in the dream. He wrote down the most important events: ² Daniel explained, "In my vision at night I saw that the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ Four large animals, each one different from the other, came up out of the sea.

⁴ The first was like a lion but had eagle's wings. As I was looking, its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground and made to stand on two feet, like a man. The mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ Then there was a second animal, like a bear, and it was bending over; it had three ribs between its teeth in its mouth. It was told, 'Get up and devour many people.'

⁶ After this I looked again. There was another animal, one that looked like a leopard. On its back it had four wings like bird wings, and it had four heads. It was given authority to rule. ⁷ After this I saw in the visions of the night a fourth animal, terrifying, frightening, and very strong. It had large iron teeth; it devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled underfoot what was left. It was different from the other animals, and it had ten horns.

⁸ While I was considering the horns, I looked and saw another horn grow up among them, a little horn. Three of the first horns were wrenched out by the roots. I saw in this horn eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that was boasting about great things.

⁹ As I looked,

thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

His clothing was as white as snow,

and the hair of his head was like pure wool.

His throne was flames of fire,

and its wheels were burning fire.

¹⁰ A river of fire

flowed out from before him;

millions served him,

and one hundred million were standing before him.

The court was in session,

and the books were opened.

¹¹ I continued to look because of the sound of the boastful words spoken by the horn. I watched while the animal was killed, and its body was destroyed, and it was given over to be burned up. ¹² As for the rest of the four animals, their authority to rule was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a period of time.

¹³ In my visions that night,

I saw one coming with the clouds of heaven like a son of man;

he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

¹⁴ Authority to rule and glory and royal power were given to him

so that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.

His authority to rule is an everlasting authority that will not pass away,

and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

¹⁵ As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved inside of me, and the visions I saw in my mind troubled me. ¹⁶ I approached one of them standing there and asked him to show me the interpretation of these things.

¹⁷ 'These large animals, four in number, are four kings that will arise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will possess it forever and ever.'

¹⁹ Then I wanted to know more about the fourth animal—it was so different from the others and very horrifying with its iron teeth and bronze claws; it devoured, broke into pieces, and trampled on what was left with its feet. ²⁰ I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head, and about the other horn that grew up, and before which the three horns fell down. I wanted to know about the horn that had eyes and about the mouth that boasted about great things and that seemed greater than its companions.

²¹ As I looked, this horn waged war against the holy people and was defeating them ²² until the Ancient of Days came, and justice was given to the holy people of the Most High. Then the time came when the holy people took possession of the kingdom.

²³ This is what that person said, 'As for the fourth animal,

it will be a fourth kingdom on earth

that will be different from all the other kingdoms.

It will devour the whole earth,

and it will trample it down

and break it into pieces.

²⁴ As for the ten horns,

out of this kingdom ten kings will arise,

and another will arise after them.

He will be different from the previous ones,

and he will subdue the three kings.

²⁵ He will speak words against the Most High

and will oppress the holy people of the Most High God.

He will try to change the festivals and the law.

These things will be given into his hand

for one year, two years, and half a year.

²⁶ But the court will be in session,

and they will take his royal power away

to be consumed and destroyed at the end.

²⁷ The kingdom and the dominion,

and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,

will be given to the people

who belong to the holy people of the Most High.

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and all other kingdoms will serve and obey him.'

²⁸ Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me and my face changed in appearance. But I kept these things to myself."

Chapter 8

¹ In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, I, Daniel, had a vision appear to me (after the one that appeared to me at first). ² I saw in the vision, as I was looking, that I was in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

³ I looked up and saw before me a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal. One horn was longer than the other, but the longer one grew more slowly than the shorter and was passed up in length by it. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing west, then north, and then south; no other animal could stand before him. None of them was able to rescue anyone out of his hand. He did whatever he wanted, and he became great.

⁵ As I was thinking about this, I saw a male goat come from the west, who went across the surface of the whole earth, running fast, not seeming to touch the ground. The goat had a large horn between his eyes. ⁶ He came to the ram who had two horns—I had seen the ram standing on the bank of the canal—and the goat rushed toward the ram in a powerful rage.

⁷ I saw the goat come close to the ram. He was very angry at the ram, and he hit the ram and broke off its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand before him. The goat knocked him down to the ground and trampled on him. There was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. ⁸ Then the goat became very large. But when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in its place four other large horns grew up that pointed toward the four winds of the heavens.

⁹ Out of one of them grew another horn, little at first, but which grew exceedingly large toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. ¹⁰ It became so large as to engage in war with the army of heaven. Some of that army and some of the stars were thrown down to the earth, and it trampled on them.

¹¹ It made itself to be as great as the commander of the army. It took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was polluted. ¹² Because of rebellion, the army will be given over to the goat's horn, and the burnt offering will be stopped. The horn will throw truth down to the ground, and it will succeed in what it does.

¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking and another holy one answering him, "How long will these things last, this vision about the burnt offering, the sin that brings destruction, the handing over of the sanctuary, and heaven's army being trampled on?" ¹⁴ He said to me, "It will last for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that the sanctuary will be restored."

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then there stood before me one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ I heard a man's voice calling between the banks of the Ulai Canal. He said, "Gabriel, help this man understand the vision." ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood. When he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end."

¹⁸ When he spoke to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹ He said, "See, I will make known to you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time for the end.

²⁰ As for the ram you saw, the one that had two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The male goat is the king of Greece. The large horn between his eyes is the first king.

²² As for the horn that was broken, in the place of which four others arose—four kingdoms will arise from his nation, but not with his great power. ²³ At the latter time of those kingdoms, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a grim-faced king, one who is very intelligent, will arise.

²⁴ His power will be mighty—but not by his own power. He will be amazing in what he destroys; he will act and succeed. He will destroy mighty ones and the holy people. ²⁵ By his craftiness he will make deceit prosper under his hand. He will become great in his own mind. He will unexpectedly destroy many people. He will even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he will be broken, but not by any human hand.

²⁶ The vision about the evenings and mornings that has been told is true. But seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future."

²⁷ Then I, Daniel, was overcome and lay weak for several days. Then I got up, and went about the king's business. But I was astounded by the vision, and there was no one who understood it.

Chapter 9

¹ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus ¹ —a descendant of the Medes, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of Darius' reign, I, Daniel, was studying the books containing Yahweh's word, the word that had come to Jeremiah the prophet. I observed that there would be seventy years until Jerusalem's desolations would end.

³ I turned my face to the Lord God, to seek him with prayer and humble requests, with fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. ⁴ I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession of our sins. I said, "I beg you, Lord—you are the great and awesome God—you are the one who keeps the covenant and is faithful to love those who love you and keep your commandments.

⁵ We have sinned and have done what is wrong. We have acted wickedly and we have rebelled, turning aside from your commands and decrees. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ To you, Lord, belongs righteousness. To us today, however, belongs shame on our faces—for the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem, and to all Israel. This includes those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands where you scattered them. This is because of the faithless deeds that we committed against you. ⁸ To us, Yahweh, belongs shame on our faces—to our kings, to our leaders, and to our ancestors—because we have sinned against you.

⁹ To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God by walking in his laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. The curse and oath that are written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, for we have sinned against him.

¹² Yahweh has confirmed the words that he spoke against us and against our rulers over us, by bringing on us a great disaster. For under the whole of heaven there has not been done anything that could compare with what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not begged for mercy from Yahweh our God by turning away from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore Yahweh has kept the disaster ready and has brought it on us, for Yahweh our God is righteous in all the deeds he does, yet we have not obeyed his voice.

¹⁵ Now, Lord our God, you brought out your people from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and you have made a famous name for yourself, as in this present day. But still we sinned; we have done wicked things. ¹⁶ Lord, because of all your righteous deeds, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins, and because of the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery to all those around us.

¹⁷ Now, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his humble requests; for your sake, Lord, make your face shine on your sanctuary that is desolate. ¹⁸ My God, incline your ears and listen; open your eyes and see. We have been devastated; look at the city that is called by your name. We do not bring our humble requests to you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay attention and take action! For your own sake, do not delay, my God, for your city and your people are called by your name."

²⁰ While I was speaking—praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my humble request before Yahweh my God on behalf of God's holy mountain— ²¹ while I was praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, flew down to me in rapid flight, at the time of the evening sacrifice.

²² He gave me understanding and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. ²³ When you began presenting your humble requests, the order was given and I have come to tell you the answer, for you are precious. Therefore consider this word and understand the revelation.

²⁴ Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to end the guilt and put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring everlasting righteousness, to carry out the vision and the prophecy, and to consecrate the most holy place. ²⁵ Know and understand that from the issuing of the order to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the anointed one (who will be a leader), there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a moat, despite the times of distress.

²⁶ After the sixty-two sevens, the anointed one will be destroyed and will have nothing. The army of a coming ruler will destroy the city and the holy place. Its end will come with a flood, and there will be war even to the end. Desolations have been decreed.

²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven he will put an end to the sacrifice and the offering. On the wing of abominations will come someone who makes desolate until the complete destruction that has been decreed is poured out on the one who has made the desolation."

¹Also known as Ahasuerus .

Chapter 10

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. This message was true. It was about a great conflict. Daniel understood the message when he had insight from the vision.

² In those days I, Daniel, was in mourning for three weeks. ³ I ate no delicacies, I ate no meat, I drank no wine, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the completion of three entire weeks.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was beside the great river (that is, the Tigris), ⁵ I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen, with a belt around his waist made of pure gold from Uphaz. ⁶ His body was like topaz, and his face was like lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches, and his arms and his feet were like polished bronze. The sound of his words was like the sound of a great crowd.

⁷ I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision. However, a great terror came on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision. No strength remained in me; my bright appearance was turned into a ruined look, and no strength remained in me. ⁹ Then I heard his words—and as I heard them, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ A hand touched me, and it made me tremble in my knees and the palms of my hands. ¹¹ The angel said to me, "Daniel, precious man, understand the words that I am speaking to you. Stand upright, for I have been sent to you." When he had spoken this message to me, I stood up trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you set your mind to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. ¹³ The prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me, and I was kept there with the kings of Persia for twenty-one days. But Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. ¹

¹⁴ Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days. For the vision is for days yet to come." ¹⁵ While he was speaking to me using these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was unable to speak.

¹⁶ One who was like the sons of man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and spoke to him who stood before me: "My master, I am in agony because of the vision; I have no strength left. ¹⁷ I am your servant. How can I talk with my master? For I now have no strength, and there is no breath left in me."

¹⁸ Again the one with an appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹ He said, "Do not be afraid, precious man. May peace be to you! Be strong now, be strong!" While he was speaking to me, I was strengthened. I said, "Let my master speak, for you have strengthened me."

²⁰ He said, "Do you know why I have come to you? I will soon return to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. There is no one who shows himself to be strong with me against them, except Michael your prince.

¹Instead of kings of Persia , some ancient copies have prince of the kings of Persia .

Chapter 11

¹ In the first year of Darius the Mede, I myself came to support and protect Michael. ² Now I will tell you the truth. Three kings will arise in Persia, and a fourth will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

³ A mighty king will rise up who will rule a very great kingdom, and he will act according to his desires. ⁴ When he has risen up, his kingdom will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his own descendants, and not with the authority he had when he was ruling. For his kingdom will be uprooted for others besides his descendants.

⁵ The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will have dominion. His dominion will be a great dominion. ⁶ After a few years, when the time is right, they will make an alliance. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to confirm the agreement. But she will not keep her arm's strength, nor will he stand, or his arm. She will be abandoned—she and those who brought her, and her father, and the one who supported her in those times. ¹

⁷ But a branch from her roots will rise up in her place. He will attack the army and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will fight them, and he will conquer them. ⁸ He will capture their gods, along with their cast metal figures and their precious vessels of silver and of gold, and take them to Egypt. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North. ⁹ Then the king of the North will invade the kingdom of the king of the South, but he will withdraw to his own land.

¹⁰ His sons will get ready and assemble a great army. It will keep coming and will flood everything; it will pass through all the way to his fortress.

¹¹ Then the king of the South will become very angry; he will go and fight against him, the king of the North. The king of the North will raise up a great army, but the army will be given into his hand. ¹² The army will be carried off, and the heart of the king of the South will be lifted up, and he will make tens of thousands to fall, but he will not be victorious.

¹³ Then the king of the North will raise up another army, greater than the first. After some years, the king of the North will surely come with a great army supplied with much equipment.

¹⁴ In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Sons of the violent among your people will set themselves in order to fulfill a vision, but they will stumble.

¹⁵ The king of the North will come, pour out earth for siege mounds, and capture a city with fortifications. The forces of the South will not be able to stand, not even their best soldiers. There will be no strength to stand. ¹⁶ The one who comes against him will do as he desires, and no one will stand in his way. He will stand in the Beautiful Land, and destruction will be in his hand.

¹⁷ The king of the North will set his face to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and with him will be an agreement that he will make with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter of women in marriage to ruin the kingdom of the South. But the plan will not succeed or help him. ¹⁸ After this, the king of the North will pay attention to the coastlands and will capture many of them. But a commander will end his contempt and will cause his contempt to turn back upon him. ¹⁹ Then he will pay attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall; he will not be found.

²⁰ Then someone will rise up in his place who will make a tax collector pass through for the sake of the splendor of the kingdom. But in the next days he will be broken, but not in anger or in battle. ²¹ In his place will rise up a despised person to whom the people will not have given the honor of royal power; he will come unexpectedly and will take over the kingdom by trickery. ²² An army will be swept away like a flood from before him. Both that army and the leader of the covenant will be destroyed.

²³ From the time an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; with only a small number of people he will gain power. ²⁴ Without warning he will come into the richest part of the province, and he will do what neither his father nor his father's father did. He will spread among his followers the booty, the plunder, and the wealth. He will plan the overthrow of fortresses, but only for a time.

²⁵ He will wake up his power and his heart against the king of the South with a great army. The king of the South will wage war with an extremely large and mighty army, but he will not stand because others will make plots against him. ²⁶ Even those who eat his fine food will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away like a flood, and many of them will fall killed. ²⁷ Both these kings, with their hearts set on evil against each other, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but it will be of no use. For the end will come at the time that has been fixed.

²⁸ Then the king of the North will go back into his land with great riches, with his heart set against the holy covenant. He will act and then will return to his own land.

²⁹ At the appointed time he will return and come against the South again. But this time it will not be as before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will become afraid. He will return and be furious against the holy covenant, and he will take action. He will return and show favor to those who abandon the holy covenant.

³¹ His forces will rise up and profane the fortress sanctuary. They will put an end to the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. ³² As for those who acted wickedly against the covenant, he will deceive them and corrupt them. But the people who know their God will be strong and will take action.

³³ Those among the people who have insight will make many understand. But they will stumble by the sword and by flame; they will stumble into captivity and into being robbed for days. ³⁴ In their stumbling, they will be helped with a little help. In hypocrisy many will join themselves with them. ³⁵ Some of those who have insight will stumble so that refining will happen to them, and cleansing, and purifying, until the time of the end. For the appointed time is still to come.

³⁶ The king will act according to his desires. He will lift himself up and make himself great above every god. Against the God of gods he will say astonishing things, for he will succeed until the wrath is completed. For what has been decreed will be done. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, not even the god desired by women, nor will he regard any other god, but will exalt himself above them all.

³⁸ He will honor the god of fortresses instead of these. It is a god whom his fathers did not know that he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and other precious things. ³⁹ He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. To anyone who acknowledges him, he will give much honor. He will make them rulers over many people, and he will divide up the land as a reward. ²

⁴⁰ At the time of the end, the king of the South will attack. The king of the North will storm against him with chariots and horsemen and with many ships. He will go against lands, flood them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He will go into the Beautiful Land, and tens of thousands of Israelites will fall. But these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the remainder of the people of Ammon.

⁴² He will extend his hand into lands; the land of Egypt will not be rescued. ⁴³ He will have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; the Libyans and the Cushites will be in his footsteps.

⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north will frighten him, and he will go out with great rage to completely destroy and to set many apart for destruction. ⁴⁵ He will set up the tent of his royal residence between the seas and the mountain of the beauty of holiness. He will come to his end, and there will be no helper for him.

¹Instead of his arm , which the Hebrew text has, some ancient translations of the Hebrew text and many modern translations read his seed , that is, his children .

²Instead of He will attack the strongest fortresses , some modern translations have He will defend his fortress .

Chapter 12

¹ At that time Michael, the great prince who guards your people, will rise up. There will be a time of trouble such as never was since the beginning of any nation until that time. At that time your people will be saved, everyone whose name is found written in the book. ² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³ Those who have insight will shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness are like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, close up these words; keep the book sealed until the time of the end. Many will run here and there, and knowledge will increase."

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and there were two others standing. One stood on the bank on this side of the river, and one stood on the bank on the other side of the river. ⁶ One of them said to the man clothed in linen, the one who was upstream along the river, "How long will it be to the end of these amazing events?"

⁷ I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upstream along the river—he raised his right hand and his left hand to heaven and swore by the one who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these things will be completed.

⁸ I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My master, what will be the outcome of all these things?" ⁹ He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

¹⁰ Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. ¹¹ From the time that an end is put to the regular burnt offering and the abomination that causes complete desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

¹² Blessed is the one who waits until the end of the 1,335 days. ¹³ You must go your way until the end, and you will rest. You will rise in the place assigned to you, at the end of days."

¹Some modern translations have The rebels have dug a deep pit , The rebels have dug deep at Shittim , or, continuing on from the previous verse, a pit dug deep at Shittim .

¹Instead of They gather together , which the copies of the ancient Hebrew text have, some ancient translations of the copies of the Hebrew text, and many modern translations have They cut themselves , an allusion to the pagan custom of idol worshipers wounding themselves in the frenzy of prayer.

¹Some ancient translations of the Hebrew text and most modern translations have they went away from me . The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have they went away from them .

¹The phrase so that we may offer to you the fruit of our lips represents the interpretation of some ancient translations of the Hebrew text. The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have so that we may offer bulls, our lips . Some modern translations interpret this to mean, so that we may offer to you bulls, which we have promised to do .

¹Instead of the sin of Samaria , some scholars translate the Hebrew as, Ashimah of Samaria . Ashimah was the name of a pagan goddess worshiped in some parts of Syria.

²The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have, As the way to Beersheba exists , where this might refer to what people going to worship Beersheba's idols might have said. However, some scholars understand the Hebrew text to read As the loved one of Beersheba lives . Here loved one stands for an idol worshiped in Beersheba.

¹Instead of come together in battle ranks , some modern translations read cut yourselves , referring to the pagan practice of cutting oneself while praying to idols. There are some modern translations that follow an ancient translation of the Hebrew text that reads build up your fortifications .

²The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have the phrase: in its entrances , that is, in their gates. However, some modern translations suppose that a different Hebrew word was intended: with a drawn sword .

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text which were translated here read, Listen to the rod and to the one who has put it in place , but some modern translations have Listen, tribe, and those assembled together in the city .

²Parts of this verse are difficult to understand, because in the copies of the ancient Hebrew text there are two Hebrew words in it whose meanings are not known. As a result, various other readings have been proposed by scholars and some modern translations follow those suggestions.

³The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have you will bear the reproach of my people , but the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew copies reads: you will bear the scorn of the nations and some modern translations are following that reading.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text are translated here, their multitudes go like the desert wind ; this is a difficult passage to translate, and it is translated in different ways in modern translations.

¹Instead of how I should turn from my complaint , which is the reading of the copies of the Hebrew text, some modern translations have how I should answer when he replies to my complaint or how I should answer when he rebukes me .

²There is some question about whether the Hebrew should be translated as you express your anger or as you pour from your wineskin .

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text add the expression on shigionoth , which may refer to musical directions for singers.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have by their king , but some modern translations read by Milcom , the name of a pagan god that many people worshiped.

¹The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have, until the day that I rise up to seize the prey . However, some of the copies of the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew copies, and modern translations that follow those suggestions, read, until the day that I rise up as a witness .

²This verse is very difficult to understand, and modern translations translate it in many different ways.

¹Some ancient translations of the copies of the Hebrew text and most modern translations have their iniquity . The copies of the ancient Hebrew text have their eye , but this is widely thought to be an error.

¹Most interpreters translate the Hebrew words as against enemy armies and some translate the Hebrew as a guard, and so translate the phrase, I will surround my temple as a guard .

¹Many modern translations arrange the text by adding together at the start of the next verse.

¹Instead of rebuke your descendants , which is in the copies of the ancient Hebrew text, some ancient translations have cut off your shoulder or throw the arm to you . Some other modern translations have corrupt your descendants .

²Instead of he will take you away with it , which is in the ancient copies of the Hebrew text, some ancient translations have I will take you away from beside me , that is, from my presence .

³Instead of the one who answers , which follows the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew copies, some scholars have translated the ancient Hebrew copies as the one who studies .

Matthew

Chapter 1

¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

⁴ Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse.

⁶ Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.

⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa.

⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram an ancestor of Uzziah.

⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

¹¹ Josiah was an ancestor of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² After the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel was an ancestor of Zerubbabel.

¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.

¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

¹⁷ All the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

¹⁸ The birth of Jesus Christ happened in the following way. His mother, Mary, was engaged to marry Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ But Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to publicly disgrace her, so he intended to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ As he thought about these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, because the one who is conceived in her is conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

²² Now all this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ²³ "Behold, the virgin will become pregnant and will bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel"—which being translated is "God with us."

²⁴ Joseph got up from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took her as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not know her until she gave birth to a son. Then he called his name Jesus.

Chapter 2

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, learned men from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, ² "Where is he who was born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴ Herod brought together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and he asked them, "Where is the Christ to be born?" ⁵ They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶ 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are not the least among the rulers of Judah,

for from you will come one who rules,

who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the learned men to ask them exactly what time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search carefully for the young child. When you have found him, bring me a report so that I also may come and worship him."

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star that they had seen in the east went before them until it came and stood still over where the young child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy.

¹¹ They went into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother. They fell down and worshiped him. They opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³ After they had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the young child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Remain there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." ¹⁴ That night Joseph rose and took the young child and his mother and departed into Egypt. ¹⁵ He remained there until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I have called my Son."

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been mocked by the learned men, was very angry. He sent and killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old and under, according to the time that he had determined exactly from the learned men.

¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁸ "A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she refused to be comforted,

because they were no more."

¹⁹ When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ²⁰ "Get up and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." ²¹ Joseph rose, took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After God warned him in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee ²³ and went and lived in a city called Nazareth. This fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Chapter 3

¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, ² "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." ³ For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

"The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,

'Make ready the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.'"

⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan River went out to him. ⁶ They were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him for baptism, he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath that is coming? ⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not think of saying among yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham even out of these stones.

¹⁰ Already the ax has been placed against the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not worthy even to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand to thoroughly clear off his threshing floor and to gather his wheat into the storehouse. But he will burn up the chaff with fire that can never be put out."

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John kept trying to stop him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" ¹⁵ Jesus responded and said to him, "Permit it now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John permitted him.

¹⁶ After he was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting upon him. ¹⁷ Behold, a voice came out of the heavens saying, "This is my beloved Son. I am very pleased with him."

Chapter 4

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread."

⁴ But Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.'"

⁵ Then the devil took him into the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple building, ⁶ and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

'He will command his angels to take care of you,'

and

'They will carry you in their hands,

so that you will not hit your foot against a stone.'"

⁷ Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You must not test the Lord your God.'"

⁸ Again, the devil took him up to a very high hill and showed him all the kingdoms of the world along with all their glory. ⁹ He said to him, "All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me."

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, "Go away from here, Satan! For it is written, 'You will worship the Lord your God, and you will serve only him.'"

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been handed over, he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth and went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the Sea of Galilee in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali.

¹⁴ This happened to fulfill what was said by Isaiah the prophet:

¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles!

¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light,

and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death,

upon them has a light arisen."

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

¹⁸ As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰ Immediately they left the nets and followed him.

²¹ As Jesus was going on from there he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and John his brother. They were in the boat with Zebedee their father mending their nets. He called them, ²² and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.

²³ Jesus went about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ The news about him went out into all of Syria, and the people brought to him all those who suffered from various diseases and pains, those who were possessed by demons, the epileptics, and the paralytics. Jesus healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Chapter 5

¹ When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. ² He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful,

for they will obtain mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For in this way people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

¹³ "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? It is never again good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but rather on the lampstand, and it shines for everyone in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before people in such a way that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ "Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have come not to destroy them, but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you that until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will in any way pass away from the law, until all things have been accomplished.

¹⁹ Therefore whoever breaks the least one of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no way enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹ "You have heard that it was said to them in ancient times, 'Do not murder,' and 'Whoever murders will be subject to judgment.' ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, 'You worthless person!' will be subject to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be subject to the fire of hell.

²³ Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go on your way. First be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way to court, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, you will never come out from there until you have paid the last penny you owe.

²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is better for you that one of your members should perish than that your whole body should be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. For it is better for you that one of your members should perish than that your whole body should go into hell.

³¹ It was also said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' ³² But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on account of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress. Whoever marries her after she has been divorced commits adultery.

³³ "Again, you have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, 'Do not swear a false oath, but carry out your oaths to the Lord.' ³⁴ But I say to you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the footstool for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ Neither swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your speech be 'Yes, yes,' or 'No, no.' Anything that is more than this is from the evil one.

³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. Instead, whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁴⁰ If anyone wishes to bring a lawsuit against you and takes away your tunic, let that person also have your cloak. ⁴¹ Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to anyone who asks you, and do not turn away from anyone who wishes to borrow from you.

⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ¹ ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you get? Do not even the tax collectors do the same thing? ⁴⁷ If you greet only your brothers, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same thing? ⁴⁸ Therefore you must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹The best ancient copies do not have Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you .

Chapter 6

¹ "Watch out that you do not do your acts of righteousness before people to be seen by them, or else you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ² So when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before yourself as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full.

³ But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ⁴ so that your alms may be given in secret. Then your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁵ "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, enter your inner chamber. Shut the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret. Then your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ⁷ When you pray, do not make useless repetitions as the pagans do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

⁸ Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.

⁹ Therefore pray like this:

'Our Father in heaven,

may your name be honored as holy.

¹⁰ May your kingdom come.

May your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

¹² Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ Do not bring us into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.' ¹

¹⁴ For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

¹⁶ "When you fast, do not have a sad face as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to people to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that you may not appear to people to be fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

²² The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you is actually darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

²⁵ Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. For is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they are?

²⁷ Which one of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his lifespan? ²⁸ Why are you anxious about clothing? Think about the lilies in the fields, how they grow. They do not labor, and they do not spin cloth. ²⁹ Yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

³⁰ If God so clothes the grass in the fields, which exists today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What clothes will we wear?'

³² For the Gentiles search for these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you. ³⁴ Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough evil of its own.

¹The best ancient copies do not have For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen .

Chapter 7

¹ "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. ² For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure that you measure, it will be measured out to you.

³ Why do you look at the tiny piece of straw that is in your brother's eye, but you do not take notice of the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take out the piece of straw that is in your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the piece of straw that is in your brother's eye.

⁶ Do not give what is holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls in front of the pigs. Otherwise they may trample them underfoot, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

⁷ "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives; everyone who seeks, finds; and to the person who knocks, it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

¹¹ Therefore, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him? ¹² Therefore, whatever things you want people to do to you, you should also do to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many people who go through it. ¹⁴ But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but are truly ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruits you will know them. Do people gather grapes from a thornbush or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but the bad tree produces bad fruit.

¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will recognize them by their fruits.

²¹ Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many people will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, in your name drive out demons, and in your name do many miracles?' ²³ Then will I openly declare to them, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you who practice lawlessness!'

²⁴ "Therefore, everyone who hears my words and obeys them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall down, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶ But everyone who hears my words and does not obey them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and struck that house, and it fell, and its destruction was complete."

²⁸ It came about that when Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were astonished by his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Chapter 8

¹ When Jesus had come down from the hill, large crowds followed him. ² Behold, a leper came to him and bowed before him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be clean." Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.

⁴ Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to any man. Go on your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

⁵ When he was coming into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, begging him ⁶ and saying, "Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible agony."

⁷ Then Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

⁸ The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. Only say the word and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I also am a man under authority, and I have soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those who were following him, "Truly I say to you, I have not found anyone with such faith in Israel.

¹¹ I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, and they will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." ¹³ Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! As you have believed, so may it be done for you." And the servant was healed at that very hour.

¹⁴ When Jesus had come into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ Jesus touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and started serving him.

¹⁶ When evening had come, the people brought to Jesus many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

"He took our illnesses

and bore our diseases."

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave instructions to leave for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. ¹⁹ Then a scribe came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

²⁰ Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

²¹ Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father."

²² But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

²³ When Jesus had entered a boat, his disciples followed him into it. ²⁴ Behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But Jesus was asleep. ²⁵ The disciples came to him and woke him up, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!"

²⁶ Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. Then there was a great calm.

²⁷ The men marveled and said, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

²⁸ When Jesus had come to the other side and to the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They were coming out of the tombs and were very violent, so that no traveler could pass that way. ²⁹ Behold, they cried out and said, "What do we have to do with you, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the set time?"

³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was there feeding, not too far away from them. ³¹ The demons kept pleading with Jesus and saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into that herd of pigs."

³² Jesus said to them, "Go!" The demons came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep hill into the sea and they died in the water.

³³ Those who had been tending the pigs ran away and they went into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to the men who had been possessed by demons. ³⁴ Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Chapter 9

¹ Jesus entered a boat, crossed over, and came into his own city. ² Behold, they brought to him a paralyzed man lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Son, be encouraged. Your sins have been forgiven."

³ Behold, some of the scribes said among themselves, "This man is blaspheming." ⁴ Jesus knew their thoughts and said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, ... " he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your mat, and go to your house."

⁷ Then the man got up and went away to his house. ⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were afraid and glorified God, who had given such authority to people. ⁹ As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's tent. He said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him.

¹⁰ As Jesus sat down to eat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and dined with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹² When Jesus heard this, he said, "People who are strong in body do not need a physician; only those who are sick do. ¹³ You should go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous to repent, but sinners."

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁵ Jesus said to them, "Can the sons of the wedding hall mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶ No man puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch will tear away from the garment, and a worse tear will be made.

¹⁷ Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will be spilled, and the wineskins will be destroyed. Instead, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both will be preserved."

¹⁸ While Jesus was saying these things to them, behold, an official came and bowed down to him. He said, "My daughter has just now died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." ¹⁹ Then Jesus got up and followed him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰ Behold, a woman who suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his garment. ²¹ For she had said to herself, "If only I touch his clothes, I will be made well."

²² But Jesus turned and saw her, and said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed from that hour.

²³ When Jesus came into the official's house, he saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion. ²⁴ He said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead, but she is asleep." But they laughed at him in mockery.

²⁵ When the crowd had been put outside, he entered the room and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶ The news about this spread into all that region.

²⁷ As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him. They kept shouting and saying, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

²⁸ When Jesus had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?"

They said to him, "Yes, Lord."

²⁹ Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done to you according to your faith," ³⁰ and their eyes were opened. Then Jesus strictly commanded them and said, "See that no one knows about this." ³¹ But the two men went out and spread the news about this throughout that region.

³² As those two men were going away, behold, a mute man possessed by a demon was brought to Jesus. ³³ When the demon had been driven out, the mute man spoke. The crowds were astonished and said, "This has never been seen before in Israel!"

³⁴ But the Pharisees were saying, "By the ruler of the demons, he drives out demons."

³⁵ Jesus went about all the cities and the villages. He continued teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of disease and all kinds of sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were troubled and discouraged. They were like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷ He said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore urgently pray to the Lord of the harvest, so that he may send out laborers into his harvest."

Chapter 10

¹ Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal all kinds of disease and all kinds of sickness.

² Now the names of the twelve apostles were these. The first, Simon (whom he also called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who would betray him.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out. He instructed them and said, "Do not go to any place where Gentiles live, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; ⁷ and as you go, preach and say, 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'

⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Do not carry any gold, silver, or copper in your belts. ¹⁰ Do not take a traveling bag for your journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals, or a staff, for a laborer deserves his food.

¹¹ Whatever city or village you enter, find who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. ¹² As you enter into the house, greet it. ¹³ If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

¹⁴ As for those who do not receive you or listen to your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

¹⁶ "See, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people! They will deliver you up to councils, and they will whip you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ Then you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

¹⁹ When they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you will speak, for what to say will be given to you at that time. ²⁰ For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father who will speak in you.

²¹ Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But whoever endures to the end, that person will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in this city, flee to the next, for truly I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man has come.

²⁴ "A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he should be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much worse will be the names they call the members of his household!

²⁶ Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the darkness, say in the daylight, and what you hear softly in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. Instead, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² Therefore everyone who confesses me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. ³³ But he who denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ "Do not think that I came to bring peace upon the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to set

a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶ A man's enemies will be those of his own household.

³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ He who does not pick up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it. But he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ "He who welcomes you welcomes me, and he who welcomes me also welcomes him who sent me. ⁴¹ He who welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and he who welcomes a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.

⁴² Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will in no way lose his reward."

Chapter 11

¹ It came about that when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. ² Now when John heard in the prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent a message by his disciples ³ and said to him, "Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?"

⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you see and hear. ⁵ The blind are receiving sight, the lame are walking, lepers are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing again, the dead are being raised back to life, and the gospel is being preached to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble because of me."

⁷ As these men went on their way, Jesus began to say to the crowds about John, "What did you go out in the desert to see—a reed being shaken by the wind? ⁸ But what did you go out to see—a man dressed in soft clothing? Really, those who wear soft clothing live in kings' houses.

⁹ But what did you go out to see—a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it was written,

'See, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.'

¹¹ Truly I say to you that among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and men of violence take it by force.

¹³ For all the prophets and the law have been prophesying until John; ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶ To what should I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces calling out to the others, ¹⁷ saying:

'We played a flute for you,

and you did not dance.

We mourned,

and you did not weep.'

¹⁸ For John came not eating bread or drinking wine, and they say, 'He has a demon.' ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, 'Look, he is a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her deeds."

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles were done, because they had not repented. ²¹ "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.

²³ You, Capernaum, do you think you will be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if in Sodom there had been done the miracles that were done in you, it would still have remained until today. ²⁴ But I say to you that it will be easier for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you concealed these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was pleasing in your sight. ²⁷ All things have been entrusted to me from my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Chapter 12

¹ At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. ² But when the Pharisees saw that, they said to Jesus, "See, your disciples do what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath."

³ But Jesus said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was hungry, and the men who were with him? ⁴ He went into the house of God and ate the bread of the presence, which was unlawful for him to eat and unlawful for those who were with him, but lawful only for the priests.

⁵ Have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath but are guiltless? ⁶ But I say to you that one greater than the temple is here.

⁷ If you had known what this meant, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

⁹ Then Jesus left from there and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ Behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" so that they might accuse him of sinning.

¹¹ Jesus said to them, "What man would there be among you, who, if he had just one sheep, and if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not take hold of it and raise it out? ¹² How much more valuable, then, is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

¹³ Then Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was restored to health, just like the other hand. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him. They were seeking how they might destroy him.

¹⁵ Jesus, knowing this, withdrew from there. Many people followed him, and he healed them all. ¹⁶ He commanded them not to make him known to others, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled, what had been said through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁸ "See, my servant whom I have chosen;

my beloved one, in whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹ He will not strive nor cry aloud;

neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

²⁰ He will not break any bruised reed;

he will not quench any smoking flax,

until he leads justice to victory,

²¹ and in his name the Gentiles will have hope."

²² Then someone blind and mute, possessed by a demon, was brought to Jesus. He healed him, with the result that the mute man spoke and saw. ²³ All the crowds were amazed and said, "Can this man be the Son of David?"

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard of this miracle, they said, "This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."

²⁵ But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is made desolate, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

²⁸ But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ How can anyone enter the house of the strong man and take away his belongings without tying up the strong man first? Then he will steal his belongings from his house. ³⁰ The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

³¹ Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks any word against the Son of Man, that will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, that will not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.

³³ Make a tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You offspring of vipers, since you are evil, how can you say good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man from the good treasure of his heart produces what is good, and the evil man from the evil treasure of his heart produces what is evil.

³⁶ I say to you that in the day of judgment people will give an account for every idle word they will have said. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

³⁸ Then certain scribes and Pharisees answered Jesus and said, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

³⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. But no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the big fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation of people and will condemn it. For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and see, someone greater than Jonah is here.

⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them. She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and see, someone greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ When an unclean spirit has gone away from a man, it passes through waterless places and looks for rest, but does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' Having returned, it finds the house empty—it had been swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all come in to live there. Then the final condition of that man becomes worse than the first. It will be just like that with this evil generation."

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone said to him, "Look, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you."

⁴⁸ But Jesus answered and said to him who told him, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" ⁴⁹ Then he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, "See, here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, that person is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Chapter 13

¹ On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it while the whole crowd stood on the beach.

³ Then Jesus said many things to them in parables. He said, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow seed. ⁴ As he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil. Immediately they sprang up because the soil had no depth. ⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched because they had no root, and they withered away.

⁷ Other seeds fell among the thorn plants. The thorn plants grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear."

¹⁰ The disciples came and said to Jesus, "Why do you talk to the crowd in parables?"

¹¹ Jesus answered and said to them, "You have been given the privilege of understanding mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. ¹² For whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³ This is why I talk to them in parables:

Though they are seeing,

they do not see;

and though they are hearing,

they do not hear, or understand.

¹⁴ To them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, that which says,

'Listening, you will hear, but you will never understand;

seeing, you will see, but you will never know.

¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull,

and with their ears they hardly hear,

and they have shut their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart and turn again,

and I would heal them.'

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ Truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things that you see and did not see them. They desired to hear the things that you hear and did not hear them.

¹⁸ Listen then to the parable of the farmer who sowed his seed. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the seed that was sown beside the road.

²⁰ What was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself and he endures for a while. When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, he quickly falls away.

²² What was sown among the thorn plants, this is the person who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ The seed that was sown on the good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands it. He bears fruit and produces a crop, yielding in one case a hundred, in another sixty, and in another thirty times as much as was planted."

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while people slept, his enemy came and also sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. ²⁶ When the blades sprouted and then produced their crop, then the weeds appeared also.

²⁷ The servants of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How does it now have weeds?'

²⁸ "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'

"The servants said to him, 'So do you want us to go and pull them out?'

²⁹ "The landowner said, 'No. Because while you are pulling out the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First pull out the weeds and tie them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

³¹ Then Jesus presented another parable to them. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. ³² This seed is indeed the smallest of all seeds. But when it has grown, it is greater than the garden plants. It becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches."

³³ Jesus then told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen."

³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; and he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was in order that what had been said through the prophet might be fulfilled, when he said,

"I will open my mouth in parables.

I will say things that were hidden from the foundation of the world."

³⁶ Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

³⁷ Jesus answered and said, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰ Therefore, as the weeds are gathered up and consumed by fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness. ⁴² They will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. ⁴³ Then will the righteous people shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁴⁴ "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it and hid it. In his joy he goes, sells everything he possesses, and buys that field. ⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a merchant looking for valuable pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything that he possessed and bought it.

⁴⁷ "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, and that gathered all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was filled, the fishermen drew it up on the beach. Then they sat down and gathered the good ones into containers, but the bad ones they threw away.

⁴⁹ It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous. ⁵⁰ They will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

⁵¹ "Have you understood all these things?"

The disciples said to him, "Yes."

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is the owner of a house, who draws out old and new things from his treasure." ⁵³ Then it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from that place.

⁵⁴ Then Jesus entered his own region and taught the people in their synagogue. The result was that they were astonished and said, "Where does this man get his wisdom and these miraculous powers from? ⁵⁵ Is not this man the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? Are not his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ Are not all his sisters with us? Where did he get all these things?"

⁵⁷ They were offended by him.

But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own family."

⁵⁸ He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Chapter 14

¹ About that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus. ² He said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. Therefore these powers are at work in him."

³ For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. ⁴ For John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her as your wife." ⁵ Herod would have killed him, but he feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst and pleased Herod. ⁷ In response, he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.

⁸ After being instructed by her mother, she said, "Give me here, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist." ⁹ The king was grieved by her request, but because of his oath and because of all those at dinner with him, he ordered that it should be done.

¹⁰ He sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹ Then his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came, took up the corpse, and buried it. After this, they went and told Jesus.

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place. When the crowds heard of it, they followed him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ Then Jesus came before them and saw the large crowd. He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ When the evening had come, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour has already passed. Dismiss the crowds, so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves."

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, "They have no need to go away. You give them something to eat."

¹⁷ They said to him, "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish."

¹⁸ Jesus said, "Bring them to me."

¹⁹ Then Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. Looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd. ²⁰ They all ate and were filled. Then they took up what remained of the broken pieces of food—twelve baskets full. ²¹ Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent away the crowds. ²³ After he had sent away the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. ²⁴ But the boat was now a long way from land, being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was blowing against them.

²⁵ In the fourth watch of the night Jesus approached them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled and said, "It is a ghost," and they cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus spoke to them right away and said, "Be brave! It is I! Do not be afraid."

²⁸ Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

²⁹ Jesus said, "Come."

So Peter got out from the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus.

³⁰ But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became afraid. As he began to sink, he cried out and said, "Lord, save me!"

³¹ Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, took hold of Peter, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

³² Then when Jesus and Peter went into the boat, the wind ceased blowing. ³³ Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "Truly you are the Son of God."

³⁴ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the men in that place recognized Jesus, they sent messages everywhere into the surrounding area, and they brought to him everyone who was sick. ³⁶ They begged him that they might just touch the edge of his garment, and as many as touched it were healed.

Chapter 15

¹ Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They said, ² "Why do your disciples violate the traditions of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."

³ He answered and said to them, "Then why do you violate the commandment of God for the sake of your traditions?

⁴ For God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'He who speaks evil of his father or mother will surely die.' ⁵ But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is now a gift given to God," ⁶ that person does not need to honor his father.' In this way you have made void the word of God ¹ for the sake of your traditions.

⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said,

⁸ 'This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

⁹ They worship me in vain

because they teach as their doctrines the commandments of people.'"

¹⁰ Then he called the crowd to himself and said to them, "Listen and understand— ¹¹ Nothing that enters into the mouth defiles a person. Instead, what comes out of the mouth, this is what defiles a person."

¹² Then the disciples came and said to Jesus, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?"

¹³ Jesus answered and said, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides. If a blind person guides another blind person, both will fall into a pit."

¹⁵ Peter responded and said to Jesus, "Explain this parable to us."

¹⁶ Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then goes out into the latrine?

¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. They are the things that defile a person. ¹⁹ For from the heart proceed evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person."

²¹ Then Jesus went away from there and withdrew toward the regions of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. ²² Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region. She shouted out and said, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

²³ But Jesus answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is shouting after us."

²⁴ But Jesus answered and said, "I was not sent to anyone except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

²⁵ But she came and bowed down before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

²⁶ He answered and said, "It is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

²⁷ She said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat some of the crumbs that fall from their masters' tables."

²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to her, "Woman, great is your faith; let it be done for you just as you wish." Her daughter was healed from that hour.

²⁹ Jesus left that place and went near to the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a hill and sat there. ³⁰ Large crowds came to him. They brought with them lame, blind, mute, and crippled people, and many others who were sick. They presented them at Jesus' feet, and he healed them. ³¹ So the crowd marveled when they saw the mute persons speak, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. They glorified the God of Israel.

³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have stayed with me for three days already and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away without eating, or they may faint on the way."

³³ The disciples said to him, "Where can we get enough loaves of bread in such a deserted place to satisfy so large a crowd?"

³⁴ Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"

They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."

³⁵ Then Jesus commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground.

³⁶ He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave them to the crowd. ³⁷ The people all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ Then Jesus sent the crowds away and got into the boat and went into the region of Magadan.

¹The best ancient copies have the word of God ; some other ancient copies have the commandment. It is difficult to choose the better reading.

Chapter 16

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from the sky. ² But he answered and said to them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'

³ When it is morning, you say, 'It will be foul weather, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then Jesus left them and went away.

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

⁷ The disciples reasoned among themselves and said, "It is because we took no bread."

⁸ Jesus was aware of this and said, "You of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves and say that it is because you have taken no bread?

⁹ Do you not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered up? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

¹¹ How is it that you do not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? Watch out and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." ¹² Then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of yeast in bread, but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³ Now when Jesus came to the regions near Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

¹⁴ They said, "Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

¹⁵ He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

¹⁶ Answering, Simon Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. The gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

¹⁹ I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." ²⁰ Then Jesus commanded the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

²¹ From that time Jesus started to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised back to life on the third day.

²² Then Peter took him aside and rebuked him, saying, "May this be far from you, Lord! May this never happen to you!"

²³ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you do not think about the things of God, but about the things of people."

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what does it profit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? What can a person give in exchange for his life?

²⁷ For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels. Then he will reward every person according to his deeds. ²⁸ Truly I say to you, there are some of you standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Chapter 17

¹ Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up a high mountain by themselves. ² He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as brilliant as the light.

³ Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. ⁴ Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you desire, I will make here three shelters—one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, there was a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him."

⁶ When the disciples heard it, they fell facedown and were very afraid. ⁷ Then Jesus came and touched them and said, "Get up and do not be afraid." ⁸ Then they looked up but saw no one except Jesus only.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Report this vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

¹⁰ His disciples asked him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

¹¹ Jesus answered and said, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but they did not recognize him. Instead, they did whatever they wanted to him. In the same way, the Son of Man will also suffer at their hands." ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

¹⁴ When they had come to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, ¹⁵ "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers severely. For he often falls into the fire or the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said, "Unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I have to stay with you? How long must I bear with you? Bring him here to me." ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"

²⁰ Jesus said to them, "Because of your small faith. For I truly say to you, if you have faith even as small as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." ²¹ ¹

²² While they stayed in Galilee, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man will be given over into the hands of people, ²³ and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up." The disciples were deeply grieved.

²⁴ When they had come to Capernaum, the men who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the two-drachma tax?"

²⁵ He said, "Yes."

When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first and said, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or taxes? From their sons or from others?"

²⁶ "From others," Peter answered.

"Then the sons are free," Jesus said.

²⁷ "But so that we do not cause the tax collectors to stumble, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and draw in the fish that comes up first. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to the tax collectors for me and you."

¹The best ancient copies do not have v. 21, But this kind of demon does not go out except with prayer and fasting .

Chapter 18

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

² Jesus called to himself a little child, set him among them, ³ and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will in no way enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name receives me. ⁶ But whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a large millstone should be hung about his neck, and that he should be sunk into the depths of the sea.

⁷ "Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is necessary that those stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom those stumbling blocks come! ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than to be thrown into the eternal fire having two hands or two feet.

⁹ If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to be thrown into the fiery hell having both eyes.

¹⁰ See that you do not despise any of these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven their angels always look on the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ ¹

¹² What do you think? If anyone has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go off seeking the one that went astray? ¹³ If he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵ "If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you will have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others along with you so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be confirmed.

¹⁷ And if he refuses to listen to them, tell the matter to the church. If he also refuses to listen to the church, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.

¹⁸ I tell you truly, whatever things you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I tell you truly, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst."

²¹ Then Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?"

²² Jesus said to him, "I do not tell you seven times, but until seventy times seven.

²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is similar to a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settling, one servant was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded him to be sold, together with his wife and children and everything that he had, and payment to be made.

²⁶ So the servant fell down, bowed down before him, and said, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' ²⁷ So the master of that servant, since he was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii. He took hold of him, began to choke him, and said, 'Pay me what you owe.'

²⁹ "But his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will repay you.'

³⁰ But the first servant refused. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he should pay him what he owed. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved. They came and told their master everything that had happened.

³² "Then that servant's master called him and said to him, 'You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?'

³⁴ His master was angry and handed him over to the torturers until he would pay all that was owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

¹The best ancient Greek copies do not have the sentence that some translations include, For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost .

Chapter 19

¹ It came about that when Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea that is beyond the Jordan River. ² Great crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Pharisees came to him, testing him, saying to him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

⁴ Jesus answered and said, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female?

⁵ He who made them also said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one tear apart."

⁷ They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of divorce and then to send her away?"

⁸ He said to them, "For your hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not that way. ⁹ I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." ¹

¹⁰ The disciples said to Jesus, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is not good to marry."

¹¹ But Jesus said to them, "Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it is given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this teaching, let him accept it."

¹³ Then some little children were brought to him so that he would lay his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, "Permit the little children, and do not forbid them to come to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such ones." ¹⁵ He placed his hands on the children, and then he went away from there.

¹⁶ Behold, a man came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good thing must I do that I may have eternal life?"

¹⁷ Jesus said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? Only one is good, but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

¹⁸ The man said to him, "Which commandments?"

Jesus said, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,

¹⁹ honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

²⁰ The young man said to him, "All these things I have obeyed. What do I still need?"

²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." ²² But when the young man heard what Jesus said, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

²⁵ When the disciples heard it, they were very astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

²⁷ Then Peter answered and said to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?"

²⁸ Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, in the new age when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ Every one who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or land for my name's sake will receive one hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

¹The best ancient copies do not have and the man who marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery .

Chapter 20

¹ "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After he had agreed with the laborers for one denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³ He went out again about the third hour and saw other laborers standing idle in the marketplace. ⁴ To them he said, 'You also, go into the vineyard, and I will give you what is right.' So they went to work.

⁵ Again he went out about the sixth hour and again the ninth hour, and did the same. ⁶ Once more about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all the day long?'

⁷ "They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.'

"He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'

⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.'

⁹ "When the laborers who had been hired at the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ When the first laborers came, they thought that they would receive more, but they also received one denarius each.

¹¹ When they received their wages, they complained about the landowner. ¹² They said, 'These last laborers have spent only one hour in work, but you have made them equal to us, we who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.'

¹³ "But the owner answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go your way. I choose to give to these last hired laborers just the same as to you.

¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do as I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am good?' ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last." ¹

¹⁷ As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will deliver him to the Gentiles for them to mock, to flog, and to crucify him. But on the third day he will be raised up."

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed down before him and asked for something from him.

²¹ Jesus said to her, "What do you wish?"

She said to him, "Command that these my two sons may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left hand, in your kingdom."

²² But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?"

They said to him, "We are able."

²³ He said to them, "My cup you will indeed drink. But to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." ²⁴ When the other ten disciples heard this, they were very angry with the two brothers.

²⁵ But Jesus called them to himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their important men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ But it must not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant, ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

²⁹ As they went out from Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us." ³¹ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be quiet, but they cried out even more loudly, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us."

³² Then Jesus stood still and called to them and said, "What do you wish me to do for you?"

³³ They said to him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." ³⁴ Then Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

¹The best ancient copies do not have Many are called, but few are chosen .

Chapter 21

¹ As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, "Go into the next village, and you will immediately find a donkey tied up there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you about that, you will say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and that person will immediately send them with you."

⁴ Now all this happened to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,

⁵ "Tell the daughter of Zion,

'See, your King is coming to you,

Humble and riding on a donkey—

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

⁶ Then the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat upon the cloaks. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches off the trees and spread them in the road.

⁹ Then the crowds that went before Jesus and those that followed him were shouting,

"Hosanna to the son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

¹⁰ When Jesus had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred and said, "Who is this?"

¹¹ The crowds answered, "This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

¹² Then Jesus entered the temple. He cast out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and turned over the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ He said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."

¹⁴ Then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.

¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the marvelous things that he did, and when they heard the children shouting in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became very angry.

¹⁶ They said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?"

Jesus said to them, "Yes! But have you never read,

'Out of the mouths of little children and nursing infants

you have prepared praise'?"

¹⁷ Then Jesus left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

¹⁸ Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree along the roadside, he went to it and found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, "May there be no fruit from you ever again," and immediately the fig tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled and said, "How did the fig tree immediately wither away?"

²¹ Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to this fig tree, but you will even say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and it will be done. ²² Whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive."

²³ When Jesus had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, "By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this authority?"

²⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question. If you tell me, I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁵ The baptism of John—from where did it come? From heaven or from men?"

They discussed among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the crowd, because they all view John as a prophet." ²⁷ Then they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."

He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸ But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go labor today in the vineyard.'

²⁹ "The son answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ "Then the man went to the second son and said the same thing. He answered and said, 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go.

³¹ Which of the two sons did his father's will?"

They said, "The first one."

Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do.

³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. But you, even when you saw this, you did not repent afterward and believe him.

³³ "Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner. He planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a winepress in it, built a watchtower, and rented it out to vine growers. Then he went into another country. ³⁴ When the time of the fruit harvest approached, he sent some servants to the vine growers to collect his fruit.

³⁵ But the vine growers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned still another. ³⁶ Again, the owner sent other servants, more than the first, but the vine growers treated them in the same way. ³⁷ After that, the owner sent his own son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

³⁸ "But when the vine growers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take over the inheritance.' ³⁹ So they took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine growers?"

⁴¹ They said to him, "He will violently destroy those wicked people, and he will then rent out the vineyard to other vine growers, men who will give him his share of crops at the harvest time."

⁴² Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures,

'The stone which the builders rejected

has been made the cornerstone.

This was from the Lord,

and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation that produces its fruits. ⁴⁴ Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ Seeking to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowd, because the people regarded him as a prophet.

Chapter 22

¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a marriage feast for his son. ³ He sent out his servants to call those who had been invited to come to the marriage feast, but they would not come.

⁴ Again the king sent other servants, saying, 'Tell them who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast."'

⁵ But they paid no attention and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The others seized the king's servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his soldiers and they destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ Therefore go to the highway crossings and invite as many people to the marriage feast as you can find.' ¹⁰ The servants went out to the highways and gathered together all the people they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² The king said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' But the man was speechless.

¹³ Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind this man hand and foot, and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and the grinding of teeth.' ¹⁴ For many people are called, but few are chosen."

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and planned how they might entrap Jesus in his own talk. ¹⁶ Then they sent to him their disciples, together with the Herodians. They said to Jesus, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and that you teach God's way in truth. You care for no one's opinion, and you do not show partiality between people. ¹⁷ So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

¹⁸ But Jesus understood their wickedness and said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax." Then they brought a denarius to him.

²⁰ Jesus said to them, "Whose image and name are these?"

²¹ They said to him, "Caesar's."

Then Jesus said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

²² When they heard it, they marveled. Then they left him and went away.

²³ On that day some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, ²⁴ saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies, having no children, his brother must marry his wife and raise children for his brother.'

²⁵ There were seven brothers. The first married and then died. Having left no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ Then the second brother did the same thing, then the third, all the way to the seventh brother. ²⁷ After them all, the woman died. ²⁸ Now in the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven brothers? For they all had married her."

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. Instead, they are like angels in heaven.

³¹ But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ³² '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 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question, testing him— ³⁶ "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"

³⁷ Jesus said to him, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment.

³⁹ And a second commandment is like it—'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets."

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were still gathered together, Jesus asked them a question. ⁴² He said, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?"

They said to him, "The son of David."

⁴³ Jesus said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴ 'The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool"'?

⁴⁵ If David then calls the Christ 'Lord,' how is he David's son?" ⁴⁶ No one was able to answer him a word, and no man dared ask him any more questions from that day on.

Chapter 23

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. ² He said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. ³ Therefore whatever they command you to do, do these things and observe them. But do not imitate their deeds, for they say things but then do not do them.

⁴ Yes, they bind heavy burdens that are difficult to carry, and then they put them on people's shoulders. But they themselves will not move a finger to carry them. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by people. For they make their phylacteries wide, and they enlarge the edges of their garments.

⁶ They love the places of honor at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and special greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi' by people.

⁸ But you must not be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. ⁹ And call no man on earth your father, for you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither must you be called 'teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Christ.

¹¹ But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven against people. For you do not enter it yourselves, and neither do you allow those about to enter to do so. ¹⁴ ¹ ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you go over sea and land to make one convert, and when he has become one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you.

¹⁶ "Woe to you, you blind guides, you who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound to his oath.' ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy?

¹⁸ And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing. But whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is bound to his oath.' ¹⁹ You blind people! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?

²⁰ Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ The one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who lives in it. ²² And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.

²³ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, but you have left undone the weightier matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness. But these you ought to have done and not to have left the other undone. ²⁴ You blind guides, you who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! Clean first the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become clean also.

²⁷ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the righteous. ³⁰ You say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' ³¹ Therefore you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

³² You also fill up the measure of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell?

³⁴ Therefore, see, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some you will whip in your synagogues and chase from city to city. ³⁵ The result is that upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁷ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often did I long to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I say to you, you will not see me from now on until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

¹The best ancient copies do not have verse 14 (some copies add the verse after verse 12). Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, while you make a show of long prayers. You will therefore receive greater condemnation .

Chapter 24

¹ Jesus went out from the temple and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered and said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left on another that will not be torn down."

³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, "Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name. They will say, 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray.

⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for these things must happen; but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ But all these things are only the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. You will be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ Then many will stumble, and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will rise up and lead many astray.

¹² Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ "Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ "let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁷ let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house, ¹⁸ and let him who is in the field not return to take his cloak.

¹⁹ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be again. ²² Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

²³ Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There is the Christ!' do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶ Therefore, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out to the wilderness. Or, 'See, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning shines out from the east and flashes all the way to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever a dead animal is, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ "But immediately after the tribulation of those days

the sun will be darkened,

the moon will not give its light,

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ He will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

³² "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as the branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you should know that he is near, at the very gates.

³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all of these things will have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and the earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁶ But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³⁷ As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

⁴⁰ Then two men will be in a field—one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a mill—one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴² Therefore be on your guard, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been on guard and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour that you do not expect.

⁴⁵ "So who is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household in order to give them their food at the right time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing that when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that the master will set him over all his possessions.

⁴⁸ But if an evil servant says in his heart, 'My master has been delayed,' ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ then the master of that servant will come on a day that the servant does not expect and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹ His master will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

Chapter 25

¹ "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish virgins took their lamps, they did not take any oil with them. ⁴ But the wise virgins took containers of oil along with their lamps.

⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all got sleepy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, 'Look, the bridegroom! Go out and meet him.'

⁷ Then all those virgins rose up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.'

⁹ "But the wise answered and said, 'Since there will not be enough for us and you, go instead to those who sell and buy some for yourselves.'

¹⁰ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

¹¹ "Afterward the other virgins also came and said, 'Master, master, open for us.'

¹² "But he answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' ¹³ Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour.

¹⁴ "For it is like when a man was about to go into another country. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one of them he gave five talents, to another he gave two, and to yet another he gave one talent. Each one received an amount according to his own ability, and that man went on his journey. ¹⁶ The one who received the five talents went at once and worked with them and gained another five talents.

¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had received two talents gained another two. ¹⁸ But the servant who had received one talent went away, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.

¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The servant who had received the five talents came and brought another five talents. He said, 'Master, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five talents more.'

²¹ "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things. I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'

²² "The servant who had received two talents came and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have gained two more talents.'

²³ "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things. I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'

²⁴ "Then the servant who had received one talent came and said, 'Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap where you did not sow, and you harvest where you did not scatter. ²⁵ I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have here what belongs to you.'

²⁶ "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sowed and harvest where I have not scattered. ²⁷ Therefore you should have given my money to the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.

²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the servant who has ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who possesses more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from anyone who does not possess anything, even what he does have will be taken away. ³⁰ Throw the worthless servant out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'

³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you cared for me; I was in prison and you came to me.'

³⁷ "Then the righteous will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and take you in? Or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?'

⁴⁰ "Then the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, what you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.'

⁴¹ Then he will say to those on his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels, ⁴² because I was hungry, but you did not give me food; I was thirsty, but you did not give me a drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, but you did not take me in; naked, but you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, but you did not care for me.'

⁴⁴ "Then they will also answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve you?'

⁴⁵ "Then he will answer them and say, 'Truly I say to you, what you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' ⁴⁶ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Chapter 26

¹ It came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples, ² "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be given over to be crucified."

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴ They plotted together to arrest Jesus stealthily and kill him. ⁵ For they were saying, "Not during the festival, so that a riot does not arise among the people."

⁶ Now while Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ as he was reclining at table, a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it upon his head. ⁸ But when his disciples saw it, they became angry and said, "What is the reason for this waste? ⁹ This could have been sold for a large amount and given to the poor."

¹⁰ But Jesus, knowing this, said to them, "Why are you causing trouble for this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing for me. ¹¹ You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

¹² For when she poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. ¹³ Truly I say to you, wherever this good news is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, who was named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, "What are you willing to give me to turn him over to you?" They weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. ¹⁶ From that moment he sought an opportunity to turn him over to them.

¹⁷ Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?"

¹⁸ He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples."'" ¹⁹ The disciples did as Jesus directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

²⁰ When evening came, he sat down to eat with the twelve disciples. ²¹ As they were eating, he said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me."

²² They were very sorrowful, and each one began to ask him, "Surely not I, Lord?"

²³ He answered, "The one who dips his hand with me in the dish is the one who will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will go, just as it is written about him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born."

²⁵ Judas, who would betray him said, "Is it I, Rabbi?"

He said to him, "You have said it yourself."

²⁶ As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it. He gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat. This is my body."

²⁷ He took a cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them and said, "Drink it, all of you. ²⁸ For this is my blood of the covenant that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

³⁰ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will fall away tonight because of me, for it is written,

'I will strike the shepherd

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

³² But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

³³ But Peter said to him, "Even if all fall away because of you, I will never fall away."

³⁴ Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."

³⁵ Peter said to him, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." All the other disciples said the same thing.

³⁶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him and began to become sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me."

³⁹ He went a little farther, fell on his face, and prayed. He said, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will." ⁴⁰ He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "What, could you not watch with me for one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed. He said, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done." ⁴³ He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So leaving them again, he went away and prayed a third time, saying the same words.

⁴⁵ Then Jesus came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Look, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Arise, let us go. Look, the one who is betraying me is near."

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came. A large crowd came with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. They came with swords and clubs. ⁴⁸ Now the man who was going to betray Jesus had given them a signal, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Seize him."

⁴⁹ Immediately he came up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and he kissed him.

⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come to do." Then they came, laid hands on Jesus, and seized him.

⁵¹ Behold, one of those who was with Jesus stretched out his hand, drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. ⁵² Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its place, for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³ Do you think that I could not call upon my Father, and he would send me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, that this must happen?"

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to seize me like a robber? Every day I sat teaching in the temple, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶ But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples abandoned him and fled.

⁵⁷ Those who had seized Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered together. ⁵⁸ But Peter followed him from a distance to the courtyard of the high priest. He went inside and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.

⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later two came forward ⁶¹ and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"

⁶² The high priest stood up and said to him, "Do you have no answer? What is it that they are testifying against you?" ⁶³ But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, "I command you by the living God, tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."

⁶⁴ Jesus replied to him, "You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we still need witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What do you think?"

They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."

⁶⁷ Then they spit in his face and beat him with their fists, while some slapped him ⁶⁸ and said, "Prophesy to us, you Christ. Who is it that struck you?"

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him and said, "You were also with Jesus of Galilee."

⁷⁰ But he denied it in front of them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about."

⁷¹ When he went out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to those there, "This man was also with Jesus of Nazareth."

⁷² He again denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!"

⁷³ After a little while those who were standing by came and said to Peter, "Surely you are also one of them, for the way you speak gives you away."

⁷⁴ Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man," and immediately a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵ Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said, "Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times." Then he went outside and wept bitterly.

Chapter 27

¹ Now when morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death. ² They bound him, led him away, and delivered him to Pilate the governor.

³ Then when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he repented and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ and said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood."

But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself."

⁵ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went out and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put this into the treasury because it is the price of blood." ⁷ They discussed the matter together, and they bought with the money the potter's field in which to bury strangers. ⁸ For this reason that field has been called, "The Field of Blood" to this day.

⁹ Then that which had been spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave it for the potter's field, as the Lord had directed me."

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered him, "You say so."

¹² But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they accuse you of?" ¹⁴ But he did not answer even one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵ Now at the festival it was the custom of the governor to set free one prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a notorious prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. ¹

¹⁷ So when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Who do you want me to set free for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" ¹⁸ He knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because of envy.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him and said, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man. For I have suffered much today because of a dream I had about him."

²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to set free for you?"

They said, "Barabbas."

²² Pilate said to them, "What should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"

They all answered, "Crucify him."

²³ Then he said, "Why, what evil has he done?"

But they cried out even louder, "Crucify him."

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but instead a riot was starting, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this man. You see to it."

²⁵ All the people said, "May his blood be on us and our children." ²⁶ Then he set Barabbas free for them, but he scourged Jesus and handed him over to be crucified.

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the government headquarters and they gathered the whole company of soldiers. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. ²⁹ They made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. They knelt down before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

³⁰ They spat on him, and they took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ When they had mocked him, they took the robe off him and put his own garments on him, and led him away to crucify him.

³² As they came out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to go with them so that he might carry his cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha, which means "The Place of a Skull." ³⁴ They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he would not drink.

³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his garments by casting lots, ³⁶ and they sat and kept guard over him. ³⁷ Above his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the king of the Jews."

³⁸ Two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right of him and one on the left. ³⁹ Those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, "You who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"

⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests were mocking him, along with the scribes and elders, and said, ⁴² "He saved others, but he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel. Let him come down off the cross, and then we will believe in him.

⁴³ He trusts in God, let God rescue him now, if God consents to release him. For he even said, 'I am the Son of God.'" ⁴⁴ In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also insulted him.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice and said, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

⁴⁷ When some of those who were standing there heard it, they said, "He is calling for Elijah."

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed staff, and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest of them said, "Leave him alone. Let us see whether Elijah comes to save him." ⁵⁰ Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ Behold, the curtain of the temple was split in two from the top to the bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks split apart. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and the bodies of the holy people who had fallen asleep were raised. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.

⁵⁴ Now when the centurion and those who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they became very afraid and said, "Truly this was the Son of God." ⁵⁵ Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to attend to his needs were there watching from a distance. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² The next day, which was the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together with Pilate. ⁶³ They said, "Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was alive, he said, 'After three days will I rise again.' ⁶⁴ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, otherwise his disciples may come and steal him and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first."

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, "Take a guard. Go and make it as secure as you know how." ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and placing the guard.

¹Many ancient copies do not have Jesus .

Chapter 28

¹ Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and rolled away the stone, and sat on it.

³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook with fear and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel addressed the women and said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, but is risen, just as he said. Come see the place where the Lord was lying. ⁷ Go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has risen from the dead. See, he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him.' See, I have told you."

⁸ The women quickly left the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" The women came, took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee. There they will see me."

¹¹ Now while the women were going, behold, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹² When the priests had met with the elders and discussed the matter with them, they gave a large amount of money to the soldiers ¹³ and told them, "Say to others, 'The disciples of Jesus came by night and stole his body while we were sleeping.'

¹⁴ If this report reaches the governor, we will persuade him and take any worries away from you." ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they had been instructed. This report spread widely among the Jews and continues even today.

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.

¹⁸ Jesus came to them and spoke to them and said, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Teach them to obey all the things that I have commanded you. See, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Mark

Chapter 1

¹ This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

"Look, I am sending my messenger before your face,

the one who will prepare your way.

³ The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

'Make ready the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.'"

⁴ John came, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John wore a coat of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷ He was preaching, saying, "One will come after me who is more powerful than I; the strap of his sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

⁹ It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice came out of the heavens: "You are my beloved Son. I am very pleased with you."

¹² Then the Spirit compelled him to go out into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels served him.

¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. ¹⁵ He said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel."

¹⁶ When he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." ¹⁸ Then immediately they left the nets and followed him.

¹⁹ As Jesus was walking on a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and John his brother; they were in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and they followed him.

²¹ Then they came into Capernaum, and on the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as someone who has authority and not as the scribes.

²³ Just then a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit cried out, ²⁴ saying, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!"

²⁵ Jesus rebuked the demon and said, "Be quiet and come out of him!" ²⁶ The unclean spirit threw him into convulsions and went out from him while crying out with a loud voice.

²⁷ All the people were amazed, so they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him!" ²⁸ The news about him went out everywhere into the whole region of Galilee.

²⁹ After coming out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹ So he came, took her by the hand, and raised her up; the fever left her, and she started serving them.

³² That evening after the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons. ³³ The whole city gathered together at the door. ³⁴ He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, but he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

³⁵ He got up very early, while it was still dark; he left and went out into a solitary place and there he prayed. ³⁶ Simon and those who were with him searched for him. ³⁷ They found him and they said to him, "Everyone is looking for you."

³⁸ He said, "Let us go elsewhere, out into the surrounding towns, so that I may preach there also. That is why I came out here." ³⁹ He went throughout all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰ A leper came to him. He was begging him; he knelt down and said to him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying to him, "I am willing. Be clean." ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

⁴³ Jesus strictly warned him and sent him away. ⁴⁴ He said to him, "Be sure to say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

⁴⁵ But he went out and began to declare it freely and spread the word, so much so that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but he stayed out in remote places. Yet people were still coming to him from everywhere.

Chapter 2

¹ When Jesus came back to Capernaum after a few days, it was heard that he was at home. ² So many gathered there that there was no more space, not even at the door, and he spoke the word to them.

³ Then some men came to him who were bringing a paralyzed man; four people were carrying him. ⁴ When they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof that was above Jesus, and after they made an opening, they lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.

⁵ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, and they reasoned in their hearts, ⁷ "How can this man speak this way? He blasphemes! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking within themselves. He said to them, "Why are you thinking this in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take up your mat and walk'?

¹⁰ But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he said to the paralytic, ¹¹ "I say to you, get up, take up your mat, and go to your house."

¹² He got up and immediately took up the mat, and went out of the house in front of everyone, so that they were all amazed and they gave glory to God, and they said, "We never saw anything like this."

¹³ He went out again by the lake, and all the crowd came to him, and he taught them. ¹⁴ As he passed by, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's tent and he said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him.

¹⁵ Jesus was having a meal in Levi's house and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with him and his disciples, for there were many and they followed him. ¹⁶ When the scribes, who were Pharisees, saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "People who are strong in body do not need a physician; only people who are sick need one. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

¹⁸ Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁹ Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and in those days, they will fast. ²¹ No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and there is a worse tear.

²² No one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the wineskins are lost. Instead, new wine is put into fresh wineskins."

²³ On the Sabbath day Jesus went through some grainfields, and his disciples began picking heads of grain as they made their way. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing something that is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"

²⁵ He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry—he and the men who were with him— ²⁶ how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is unlawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he even gave some to those who were with him?"

²⁷ Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for mankind, not mankind for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath."

Chapter 3

¹ Again Jesus walked into the synagogue, and there was a man with a withered hand. ² Some people watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they could accuse him.

³ Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand here in the middle of everyone." ⁴ Then he said to the people, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day or to do harm; to save a life or to kill?" But they were silent.

⁵ He looked around at them with anger, and he was grieved by their hardness of heart, and he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately began to plot with the Herodians as to how they might put him to death.

⁷ Then Jesus, with his disciples, went to the sea, and a great crowd of people followed from Galilee and from Judea ⁸ and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and beyond the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. When they heard about the things he was doing, a great crowd came to him.

⁹ He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press against him. ¹⁰ For he healed many, so that everyone who had afflictions eagerly approached him in order to touch him.

¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, and they said, "You are the Son of God." ¹² He strictly ordered them not to make him known.

¹³ He went up on the mountain, and he called for those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed the twelve (whom he named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them to proclaim the message, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

¹⁷ James son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; ¹⁸ and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who would betray him.

²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat bread. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they went out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

²² The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul" and "By the ruler of the demons he drives out demons."

²³ Jesus called them to himself and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

²⁶ If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand, but has come to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter into the house of a strong man and steal his belongings without tying up the strong man first, and then he will plunder his house.

²⁸ Truly I say to you, all sins of the sons of men will be forgiven, even all the blasphemies which they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."

³⁰ Jesus said this because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹ Then his mother and his brothers came and stood outside. They sent for him, summoning him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside, and they are looking for you."

³³ He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" ³⁴ He looked around at those who were sitting in a circle around him and said, "See, here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, that person is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Chapter 4

¹ Again he began to teach beside the sea, and a large crowd gathered around him. He stepped into a boat that was on the sea, and he sat down in it. The whole crowd was on the shore beside the sea. ² He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching, this is what he said to them.

³ "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he sowed, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured it. ⁵ Other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. Immediately it sprang up, because it did not have deep soil.

⁶ But when the sun rose, the plants were scorched, and because they had no root, they dried up. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorn plants. The thorn plants grew up and choked it, and it did not produce a crop.

⁸ Other seed fell into good soil, and it produced a crop growing up and increasing and yielding thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times." ⁹ Then he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!"

¹⁰ When Jesus was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside everything is in parables,

¹² so that when they look,

yes they look,

but do not see,

and so that when they hear,

yes they hear,

but do not understand,

or else they would turn

and God would forgive them."

¹³ He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones beside the road, where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

¹⁶ And these are the seed sown on the rocky ground; who, when they hear the word immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they do not have root in themselves, but they endure for a while. Afterward when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, they immediately fall away.

¹⁸ Still others are the ones sown among the thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, and it is unproductive. ²⁰ Those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word, accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much."

²¹ Jesus said to them, "Do you bring a lamp inside the house to put it under a basket or under the bed? You bring it in and you put it on a lampstand. ²² For nothing is hidden that will not be known, and nothing is secret that will not come out into the open. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

²⁴ He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear, for the measure you use will be measured to you, and more will be added to you. ²⁵ Because whoever has, to him will be given more, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken."

²⁶ He also said, "The kingdom of God is like a man who sows his seed on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth bears grain by itself: First the blade, then the ear, then the mature grain in the ear. ²⁹ When the crop is ripe, he immediately sends in the sickle because the harvest has come."

³⁰ Again he said, "To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to explain it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. ³² Yet, when it is sown, it grows and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and it forms large branches, so that the birds of heaven can make their nests in its shade."

³³ With many parables like this he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to understand, ³⁴ and he did not speak to them without a parable. But when he was alone, he explained everything to his own disciples.

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." ³⁶ So they left the crowd, taking Jesus with them, just as he was, in the boat. There were other boats going along with him. ³⁷ Just then a violent windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was almost full of water.

³⁸ But Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him up, saying, "Teacher, do you not care that we are about to die?"

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰ Then he said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still not have faith?"

⁴¹ They were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, because even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Chapter 5

¹ They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. ² When Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came up to him out of the tombs.

³ The man lived in the tombs. No one could restrain him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ He had been bound many times with shackles and with chains. He tore the chains apart and his shackles were shattered. No one had the strength to subdue him.

⁵ Every night and day in the tombs and in the mountains, he cried out and cut himself with sharp stones. ⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran to him and bowed down before him.

⁷ He cried out with a loud voice, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you by God himself, do not torment me." ⁸ For he had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit."

⁹ He asked him, "What is your name?"

He answered him, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

¹⁰ He begged him again and again not to send them out of the region.

¹¹ Now a great herd of pigs was there feeding on the hill, ¹² and they begged him, saying, "Send us into the pigs; let us enter into them." ¹³ So he allowed them; the unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep hill into the sea, and about two thousand pigs drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Then those who were feeding the pigs ran away and reported what had happened in the city and in the countryside, and so people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ Then they came to Jesus and they saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

¹⁶ Those who had seen what happened to the demon-possessed man told them about it in detail, and they also told them about the pigs. ¹⁷ Then they started to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸ When he was getting into the boat, the demon-possessed man begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go to your house and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, and how he has shown you mercy." ²⁰ So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis the great things that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

²¹ Now when Jesus had crossed over again to the other side in the boat, a great crowd gathered around him, as he was beside the sea. ²² Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came, and when he saw him, fell at his feet. ²³ He begged again and again, saying, "My little daughter is near death. I beg you, come and lay your hands on her that she may be made well and live." ²⁴ So he went with him, and a great crowd followed him and pressed close around him.

²⁵ Now a woman was there who had a flow of blood for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered much from many doctors and had spent everything that she had, but instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she had heard the reports about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

²⁸ For she said, "If I touch just his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹ When she touched him, the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her affliction.

³⁰ Jesus immediately realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹ His disciples said to him, "You see this crowd pressed around you, and you say, 'Who touched me?'"

³² But Jesus looked around to see who had done it.

³³ The woman, knowing what had happened to her, feared and trembled. She came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction."

³⁵ While he was speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader's house, saying, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any longer?"

³⁶ But when Jesus overheard the message that was spoken, he said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid. Just believe." ³⁷ He did not permit anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the leader of the synagogue and he saw there people making a lot of noise; they were weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹ When he entered the house, he said to them, "Why are you upset and why do you weep? The child is not dead but sleeps." ⁴⁰ They began to mock him. But he put them all outside and took the father of the child and the mother and those who were with him, and he went in where the child was.

⁴¹ He took the hand of the child and said to her, "Talitha, koum!" which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, get up." ⁴² Immediately the child got up and walked (for she was twelve years of age). They were immediately astonished with overwhelming amazement. ⁴³ He strictly ordered them that no one should know about this. Then he told them to give her something to eat.

Chapter 6

¹ He went out from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² When the Sabbath came, he taught in the synagogue. Many people heard him and they were amazed. They said, "Where did he get these teachings?" "What is this wisdom that has been given to him?" "What are these miracles that he does with his hands?" ³ "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are his sisters not here with us?" They were offended by Jesus. ¹

⁴ Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." ⁵ He could not do any mighty work, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching.

⁷ Then he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits, ⁸ and instructed them to take nothing for their journey, except a staff—no bread, no bag, and no money in their belts— ⁹ but to wear sandals, and not to wear two tunics.

¹⁰ He said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, remain until you go away from there. ¹¹ If any town will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave that place, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony to them."

¹² They went out and proclaimed that people should repent. ¹³ They cast out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

¹⁴ King Herod heard this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." ¹⁵ Some others said, "He is Elijah." Still others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets in ancient times."

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

¹⁷ For Herod sent to have John arrested and he had him bound in prison on account of Herodias (his brother Philip's wife), because he had married her.

¹⁸ For John told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." ¹⁹ But Herodias held on to anger against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not, ²⁰ for Herod feared John; he knew that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. Listening to him made him greatly perplexed, yet he heard him gladly.

²¹ Then an opportunity came when Herod had his birthday and he made a dinner for his officials and for the commanders and leaders of Galilee. ²² The daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced for them, and she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you."

²³ He swore to her saying, "Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom."

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask him for?"

She said, "The head of John the Baptist."

²⁵ She immediately hurried back to the king, and she asked, saying, "I want you to give me, right now, the head of John the Baptist on a wooden platter."

²⁶ Though this deeply grieved the king, he could not refuse her request because of the oath he had made and because of his dinner guests. ²⁷ So the king sent a soldier from his guard and commanded him to bring him John's head. The guard went and beheaded him in the prison. ²⁸ He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

³⁰ The apostles came together with Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ Then he said to them, "Come away by yourselves into a deserted place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³² So they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

³³ But they saw them leaving and many recognized them, and they ran there together on foot from all the towns, and they arrived there before them. ³⁴ When they came ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ When the hour was late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. ³⁶ Send them away so that they may go into the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat for themselves."

³⁷ But he answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."

They said to him, "Can we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

³⁸ He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."

When they found out, they said, "Five loaves and two fish."

³⁹ He commanded all the people to sit down in groups upon the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

⁴² They all ate until they were satisfied. ⁴³ They took up broken pieces of bread, twelve baskets full, and also pieces of the fish. ⁴⁴ There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After taking leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ Evening came, and the boat was now in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on land.

⁴⁸ He saw that they were straining against the oars, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea, and he wanted to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought he was a ghost and cried out, ⁵⁰ because they saw him and were troubled. Immediately he spoke to them and said to them, "Be courageous! It is I! Do not be afraid!"

⁵¹ He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased blowing. They were completely amazed. ⁵² For they had not understood what the loaves meant. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored the boat. ⁵⁴ When they came out of the boat, the people recognized him immediately, ⁵⁵ and they ran throughout the whole region and began to bring the sick on their mats to wherever they heard he was.

⁵⁶ Wherever he entered into villages, or cities, or into the country, they would put the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his garment, and as many as touched him were healed.

¹The man called Joses here is called Joseph in Matthew 27:56. The name Joseph represents how the name was spelled in Hebrew, and the name Joses represents how his name was spelled in Greek.

Chapter 7

¹ The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him.

² They saw that some of his disciples ate bread with hands that were unclean, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands carefully, because they hold to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When the Pharisees come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they bathe themselves, and they hold to many other things they have received, such as the washing of cups, pots, copper vessels, and the couches upon which they eat.)

⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?"

⁶ But he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied well about you hypocrites. As it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

⁷ In vain they worship me,

teaching the commands of men as their doctrines.'

⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold on to the tradition of men." ⁹ He also said to them, "How well you reject the commandment of God so you may keep your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of his father or mother will surely be put to death.'

¹¹ But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is Corban"' (that is to say, 'a Gift'), ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother. ¹³ You are making the word of God void by your tradition which you have handed down. And many similar things you do."

¹⁴ He called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵ There is nothing from outside of a person that can defile him when it enters into him. It is what comes out of the person that defiles him." ¹⁶ ¹

¹⁷ Now when Jesus left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not know that whatever enters into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it cannot go into his heart, but it goes into his stomach and then passes out into the latrine?" With this statement Jesus declared all foods clean.

²⁰ He said, "It is that which comes out of the person that defiles him. ²¹ For from within a person, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³ All these evils come from within, and they are what defile a person."

²⁴ He got up from there and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. There he went into a house, and he wanted no one to know where he was, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately ² a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell down at his feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by descent. She begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

²⁷ He said to her, "Let the children first be fed. For it is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

²⁸ But she answered and said to him, "Yes, Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹ He said to her, "Because of what you have said, you are free to go. The demon has gone out of your daughter." ³⁰ She went back to her house and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

³¹ Then he went out again from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee up into the region of the Decapolis. ³² They brought to him someone who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

³³ Then taking him aside away from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and then he spit and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is to say, "Open!" ³⁵ At once his ears were opened, the bond of his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶ Jesus ordered them to tell no one. But the more he ordered them, the more abundantly they proclaimed it. ³⁷ They were extremely astonished, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

¹The best ancient copies do not have verse 16. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear .

²Some ancient copies do not have the words, But immediately .

Chapter 8

¹ In those days, there was again a great crowd, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ² "I have compassion on the crowd because they continue to be with me already for three days and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them away to their home without eating, they may faint on the way. Some of them have come a long way."

⁴ His disciples answered him, "Where can we get enough loaves of bread in such a deserted place to satisfy these people?"

⁵ He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"

They said, "Seven."

⁶ He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, and broke them. He gave them to his disciples to set before them, and they set them before the crowd.

⁷ They also had a few small fish, and after he gave thanks for them, he commanded the disciples to serve these as well. ⁸ They ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the remaining broken pieces, seven large baskets. ⁹ There were about four thousand people. Then he sent them away. ¹⁰ Immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and they went into the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹ Then the Pharisees came out and began to argue with him. They sought from him a sign from heaven, to test him. ¹² He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." ¹³ Then he left them, got into a boat again, and went away to the other side.

¹⁴ Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. They had no more than one loaf of bread in the boat. ¹⁵ He instructed them, saying, "Keep watch and be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

¹⁶ The disciples were arguing with one another about having no bread.

¹⁷ When he understood this, he asked them, "Why are you arguing about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have hardened hearts?

¹⁸ You have eyes; do you not see? You have ears; do you not hear? Do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces of bread did you take up?"

They said to him, "Twelve."

²⁰ "When I broke the seven loaves among the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces of bread did you take up?"

They said to him, "Seven."

²¹ He said, "Do you not yet understand?"

²² They came to Bethsaida. The people there brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ Jesus took hold of the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?"

²⁴ He looked up, and said, "I see men who look like walking trees."

²⁵ Then he again laid his hands upon his eyes, and the man opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw all things clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him away to his home and said, "Do not enter the village."

²⁷ Jesus went out with his disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do the people say that I am?"

²⁸ They answered him and said, "John the Baptist. Others say, 'Elijah,' and others, 'One of the prophets.'"

²⁹ He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Peter said to him, "You are the Christ."

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹ He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and would be killed, and after three days rise up. ³² He spoke that message openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of people." ³⁴ Then he called the crowd and his disciples together, and he said to them, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and then forfeit his life? ³⁷ What can a person give in exchange for his life?

³⁸ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Chapter 9

¹ He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of you who are standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

² Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James and John with him up a high mountain, alone by themselves. Then he was transfigured before them. ³ His garments became radiantly brilliant, extremely white, whiter than any bleacher on earth could bleach them.

⁴ Then Elijah with Moses appeared to them, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁶ (For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.)

⁷ A cloud came and overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." ⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them, but only Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he commanded them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, but they discussed among themselves what "rising from the dead" could mean.

¹¹ They asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

¹² He said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they wanted to him, just as it is written about him."

¹⁴ When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes were arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as they saw Jesus, the whole crowd was amazed, and as they ran up to him, they greeted him. ¹⁶ He asked his disciples, "What are you arguing with them about?"

¹⁷ Someone in the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak. ¹⁸ It seizes him and it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out of him, but they could not."

¹⁹ He answered them, "Unbelieving generation, how long will I have to stay with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him to me."

²⁰ They brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw him into a convulsion. The boy fell on the ground and foamed at the mouth. ²¹ Jesus asked his father, "For how much time has he been like this?"

The father said, "Since childhood.

²² It has often thrown him into the fire or into the waters and tried to destroy him. If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us."

²³ Jesus said to him, "'If you are able'? All things are possible for the one who believes."

²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe! Help my unbelief!"

²⁵ When Jesus saw the crowd running to them, he rebuked the unclean spirit and said, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter into him again."

²⁶ It cried out and convulsed the boy greatly and then came out. The boy looked like one who was dead, so that many said, "He is dead." ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and the boy stood up.

²⁸ When Jesus came into the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"

²⁹ He said to them, "This kind cannot be cast out except by prayer."

³⁰ They went out from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man will be given over into the hands of men, and they will put him to death. When he has been put to death, after three days he will rise again." ³² But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³ Then they came to Capernaum. After he entered the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" ³⁴ But they were silent. For they had been arguing with one another on the way about who was the greatest. ³⁵ Sitting down, he called the twelve together and he said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

³⁶ He took a little child and placed him in their midst. He took him in his arms and said to them, ³⁷ "Whoever receives such a child in my name receives me; whoever receives me does not receive me but the one who sent me."

³⁸ John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we stopped him, because he does not follow us."

³⁹ But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name and can soon afterwards say anything bad about me.

⁴⁰ Whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴² Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than to have two hands and to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. ⁴⁴ ¹

⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame than to have your two feet and be thrown into hell. ⁴⁶ ²

⁴⁷ If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out. It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.

⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

¹The best ancient copies do not have this phrase, and verse 44 is not included in the ULB, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out. This phrase does appear in verse 48.

²The best ancient copies do not have this phrase, and verse 46 is not included in the ULB, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out. This phrase does appear in verse 48.

Chapter 10

¹ Jesus left that place and went to the region of Judea and to the area beyond the Jordan River, and the crowds came to him again. He was teaching them again, as he was accustomed to do. ² Then Pharisees came to him to test him and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"

³ He answered, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴ They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and then to send her away."

⁵ "It was because of your hard hearts that he wrote you this law," Jesus said to them. ⁶ "But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'

⁷ 'For this reason

a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife,

⁸ and the two will become one flesh.'

So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no man tear apart."

¹⁰ When they were in the house, the disciples asked him again about this. ¹¹ He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² If she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

¹³ Then they brought their little children to him so that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus noticed it, he was angry and said to them, "Permit the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them.

¹⁵ Truly I say to you, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will definitely not enter it." ¹⁶ Then he took the children into his arms and blessed them as he placed his hands on them.

¹⁷ When he began his journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁸ Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not testify falsely, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰ The man said, "Teacher, all these things I have obeyed from the time I was a youth."

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. He said to him, "One thing you lack. You must sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." ²² But because of this statement he looked very sad and he went away sorrowful, because he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!" ²⁴ The disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁶ They were greatly astonished and said to each other, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

²⁸ Peter began to speak to him: "Look, we have left everything and have followed you."

²⁹ Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come, eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

³² They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, and those who were following behind were afraid. Then Jesus took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what would soon happen to him. ³³ "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and give him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ They will mock him, spit on him, whip him, and put him to death. But after three days he will rise."

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you."

³⁶ He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³⁷ They said, "Allow us to sit with you in your glory, one at your right hand and the other at your left."

³⁸ But Jesus replied to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I will drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I will be baptized?"

³⁹ They said to him, "We are able."

Jesus said to them, "The cup that I will drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you also will be baptized.

⁴⁰ But who is to sit at my right hand or at my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

⁴¹ When the other ten disciples heard about this, they began to be very angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them to himself and said, "You know those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

⁴³ But it is not this way among you. Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho. As he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, sat by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout and to say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸ Many rebuked the blind man, telling him to be quiet. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and commanded him to be called. They called the blind man, saying, "Be brave! Get up! He is calling for you." ⁵⁰ He threw aside his coat, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ Jesus answered him and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man said, "Rabboni, I want to receive my sight."

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, "Go. Your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see again, and he followed him on the road.

Chapter 11

¹ Now as they came to Jerusalem, they were close to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, and Jesus sent out two of his disciples ² and said to them, "Go into the village opposite us. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. ³ If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you should say, 'The Lord has need of it and will immediately send it back here.'"

⁴ They went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. ⁵ Some people were standing there and said to them, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" ⁶ They spoke to them as Jesus told them, and the people let them go their way.

⁷ They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their garments on the road, and others spread branches they had cut from the fields. ⁹ Those who went before him and those who followed shouted,

"Hosanna! Blessed is the one

who comes in the name of the Lord.

¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

Hosanna in the highest!"

¹¹ Then Jesus entered into Jerusalem and went into the temple and looked around at everything. Now the time being late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. ¹² The next day while they were going out from Bethany, he was hungry.

¹³ Seeing from far away a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ He said to it, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

¹⁵ They came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to cast out the sellers and the buyers in the temple. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶ He did not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple that could be sold.

¹⁷ He taught them and said, "Is it not written,

'My house will be called

a house of prayer for all the nations'?

But you have made it a den of robbers."

¹⁸ The chief priests and the scribes heard what he had said, and they looked for a way to destroy him. For they feared him because the entire crowd was amazed at his teaching. ¹⁹ When evening came, they left the city.

²⁰ As they walked by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered away."

²² Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. ²³ Truly I say to you that if anyone says to this mountain, 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and if he does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he said will happen, that is what God will do.

²⁴ Therefore I say to you: Everything you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ When you stand and pray, you must forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your trespasses." ²⁶ ¹

²⁷ They came to Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him. ²⁸ They said to him, "By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you the authority to do them?"

²⁹ Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question. Tell me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me."

³¹ They discussed between themselves and argued and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' ³² But if we say, 'From men,' ... ." They were afraid of the people, for everyone was convinced that John was a prophet. ³³ Then they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."

Then Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

¹The best ancient copies of Mark do not have this sentence: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses .

Chapter 12

¹ Then Jesus began to teach them in parables. He said, "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, and dug a pit for a winepress. He built a watchtower and then leased the vineyard to vine growers. Then he went away on a journey. ² At the right time, he sent a servant to the vine growers to receive from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴ Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ He sent yet another, and this one they killed. They treated many others in the same way, beating some and killing others.

⁶ He had still one more person to send, a beloved son. He was the last one he sent to them. He said, 'They will respect my son.'

⁷ "But the vine growers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

⁸ They seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine growers and will give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture?

'The stone which the builders rejected

has been made the cornerstone.

¹¹ This was from the Lord,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.'"

¹² After this the Jewish leaders sought a way to arrest Jesus because they understood that he spoke the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and went away.

¹³ Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him to trap him with words. ¹⁴ When they came, they said to him, "Teacher, what people think is not a concern to you because you do not show partiality to anyone. You truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or not?"

¹⁵ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy and said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it."

¹⁶ They brought one to Jesus. He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"

They said, "Caesar's."

¹⁷ Jesus said, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They marveled at him.

¹⁸ Then Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, saying, ¹⁹ "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If a man's brother dies and leaves a wife behind him, but had no child, the man should take the brother's wife, and raise up children for his brother.'

²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife and then died, having no children. ²¹ Then the second took her and died, leaving no child, and the third in the same way. ²² The seven left no children. Last of all, the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven brothers had her as their wife."

²⁴ Jesus said, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, because you do not know the scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.

²⁶ But concerning the dead that are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the bush, how God spoke to him and said, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite mistaken."

²⁸ One of the scribes came and heard their discussion; he saw that Jesus answered them well. He asked him, "What commandment is the most important of all?"

²⁹ Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' ³¹ The second commandment is this, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other greater commandment than these."

³² The scribe said, "Good, Teacher! You have truly said that God is one, and that there is no other besides him. ³³ To love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is even more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had given a wise answer, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, "How is it that the scribes say the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, in the Holy Spirit, said,

'The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies under your feet."'

³⁷ David himself calls him 'Lord,' so how can the Christ be David's son?" The large crowd gladly listened to him.

³⁸ In his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts. ⁴⁰ They also devour widows' houses, and they pray long prayers for people to see. These men will receive greater condemnation."

⁴¹ Then Jesus sat down across from an offering box in the temple area; he was watching people as they dropped their money into the box. Many rich people put in large amounts of money. ⁴² Then a poor widow came and put in two mites, worth about a penny.

⁴³ He called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them who contributed to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For all of them gave out of their abundance. But this widow, out of her poverty, put in all of the money which she had to live on."

Chapter 13

¹ As Jesus was walking away from the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, look at the wonderful stones and wonderful buildings!"

² Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be torn down."

³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ "Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign when all these things are about to happen?"

⁵ Jesus began to say to them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he,' and they will lead many astray.

⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; these things must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many places, and famines. These are the beginnings of birth pains.

⁹ "Be on your guard. They will give you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before both governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them. ¹⁰ But the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations.

¹¹ When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry about what you should say. For in that hour, what you should say will be given to you; it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But whoever endures to the end, that person will be saved.

¹⁴ "When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be standing" (let the reader understand), "let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁵ let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house or take anything out of it, ¹⁶ and let him who is in the field not return to take his cloak.

¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it might not occur in the winter. ¹⁹ For those will be days of great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of creation, which God created, until now, no, nor ever will be again. ²⁰ Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those whom he chose, he cut short the days.

²¹ Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. ²² For false Christs and false prophets will appear and will give signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ Be on guard! I have told you all these things ahead of time.

²⁴ "But after the tribulation of those days,

'the sun will be darkened,

the moon will not give its light,

²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers that are in the heavens

will be shaken.'

²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send his angels and he will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.

²⁸ "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as the branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near, close to the gates.

³⁰ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all of these things occur. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³² But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.

³³ "Be alert! Watch, because you do not know what time it is. ¹ ³⁴ It is like a man who goes on a journey—he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge of the house, each one with his work, and he commands the doorkeeper to stay alert.

³⁵ Therefore stay alert because you do not know when the master of the house will come home; it could be in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you I say to everyone: Watch!"

¹Some ancient copies of the Greek text read: Be alert! Watch and pray .

Chapter 14

¹ It was now two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking ways to stealthily arrest Jesus and then kill him. ² For they were saying, "Not during the festival, so that a riot does not arise among the people."

³ While Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which was pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the nard on his head. ⁴ But there were some who were angry. They spoke among themselves and said, "What is the reason for the waste of this perfume? ⁵ This perfume could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." Then they scolded her.

⁶ But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ⁷ You always have the poor with you, and whenever you desire you can do good to them, but you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could. She has anointed my body for burial. ⁹ Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be spoken of, in memory of her."

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests so that he might give him over to them. ¹¹ When the chief priests heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. He began looking for an opportunity to give him over to them.

¹² On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go to prepare, so you may eat the Passover meal?"

¹³ He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man bearing a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. ¹⁴ Where he enters a house, follow him in and say to the owner of that house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I will eat the Passover with my disciples?"'

¹⁵ He will show you a large furnished upper room that is ready. Make the preparations for us there." ¹⁶ The disciples left and went to the city. They found everything as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷ When it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ As they were lying down at the table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, one of you eating with me will betray me."

¹⁹ They were all very sorrowful, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

²⁰ Jesus answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, the one now dipping bread with me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man will go as it is written about him. But woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born."

²² As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it. He gave it to them and said, "Take this. This is my body." ²³ He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, the blood that is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

²⁶ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ Jesus said to them, "All of you will fall away, for it is written,

'I will strike the shepherd

and the sheep will be scattered.'

²⁸ But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

²⁹ Peter said to him, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

³⁰ Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, today—yes, this very night—before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times."

³¹ But Peter said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." They all made the same promise.

³² They came to the place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." ³³ He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to be distressed and deeply troubled. ³⁴ He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and watch."

³⁵ Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible with you. Remove this cup from me. But not my will, but yours."

³⁷ He came back and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch for one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." ³⁹ Again he went away and prayed, and he used the same words.

⁴⁰ When he came back again, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him. ⁴¹ He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come. Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up; let us go. Look, the one who is betraying me is near."

⁴³ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and a large crowd was with him with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." ⁴⁵ When Judas arrived, immediately he came up to Jesus and said, "Rabbi," and he kissed him. ⁴⁶ Then they laid hands on him and seized him.

⁴⁷ But one of them who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to them, "Do you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to arrest me? ⁴⁹ When I was daily with you and I was teaching in the temple, you did not arrest me. But this was done that the scriptures might be fulfilled." ⁵⁰ All those with Jesus left him and ran away.

⁵¹ A young man, wearing only a linen garment that was wrapped around him, was following Jesus. When the men seized him, ⁵² he left the linen garment and ran away naked.

⁵³ They led Jesus to the high priest. There were gathered with him all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. ⁵⁴ Now Peter followed him from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest. He sat among the officers, warming himself near the fire.

⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire Jewish council were seeking testimony against Jesus so they might put him to death. But they did not find any. ⁵⁶ For many brought false testimony against him, but even their testimony did not agree.

⁵⁷ Some stood up and brought false testimony against him; they said, ⁵⁸ "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" ⁵⁹ Yet even their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰ The high priest stood up among them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it these men testify against you?" ⁶¹ But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest questioned him and said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

⁶² Jesus said, "I am;

and you will see the Son of Man

when he sits at the right hand of power

and comes with the clouds of heaven."

⁶³ The high priest tore his garments and said, "Do we still need witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?" They all condemned him as one who deserved death.

⁶⁵ Some began to spit on him and to cover his face and strike him with their fists and say to him, "Prophesy!" The officers took him and beat him.

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came to him. ⁶⁷ She saw Peter warming himself, and she looked closely at him and said, "You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus."

⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." Then he went out into the gateway. And the rooster crowed. ¹

⁶⁹ But the servant girl saw him and began to say again to those who stood there, "This man is one of them!"

⁷⁰ But he denied it again. After a little while, those who stood there were saying to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you also are a Galilean."

⁷¹ But he began to put himself under curses and to swear, "I do not know this man you are talking about."

⁷² The rooster immediately crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said to him: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times," and he broke down and wept.

¹Some ancient copies do not have, And the rooster crowed .

Chapter 15

¹ Early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the entire Jewish council, consulted together. Then they bound Jesus and led him away. They handed him over to Pilate. ² Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

He answered him, "You say so."

³ The chief priests were accusing him of many things.

⁴ Pilate again asked him, "Do you give no answer? See how many things they are accusing you of!" ⁵ But Jesus no longer answered Pilate, and that amazed him.

⁶ Now at the time of the festival, Pilate usually released to them one prisoner, a prisoner they requested. ⁷ There was a man called Barabbas in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion. ⁸ The crowd came to Pilate and began to ask him to do for them as he had done in the past.

⁹ Pilate answered them and said, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" ¹⁰ For he knew that it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to cry out that Barabbas should be released instead.

¹² Pilate answered them again and said, "What then should I do with the King of the Jews?"

¹³ They shouted again, "Crucify him!"

¹⁴ Pilate said to them, "What evil has he done?"

But they shouted more and more, "Crucify him."

¹⁵ Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. He scourged Jesus and then handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶ The soldiers led him inside the courtyard (which is the government headquarters), and they called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on Jesus, and they twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on him. ¹⁸ They began to salute him and say, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

¹⁹ They were striking his head with a reed staff and spitting on him. They went to their knees and they bowed down before him. ²⁰ When they had mocked him, they took off of him the purple robe and put his own garments on him, and then led him out to crucify him. ²¹ A certain man, Simon of Cyrene, was coming in from the country (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus), and they forced him to carry his cross.

²² The soldiers brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which is translated "Place of a Skull"). ²³ They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not drink it. ²⁴ They crucified him and divided up his garments by casting lots to determine what piece each soldier would take.

²⁵ It was the third hour when they crucified him. ²⁶ On a sign they wrote the charge against him, "The king of the Jews." ²⁷ With him they crucified two robbers, one on the right of him and one on his left. ²⁸ ¹

²⁹ Those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself and come down from the cross!"

³¹ In the same way the chief priests were mocking him with each other, along with the scribes, and said, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.

³³ At the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" ³⁵ Some of those standing by heard his words and said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah."

³⁶ Someone ran, put sour wine on a sponge, put it on a reed staff, and gave it to him to drink. The man said, "Let us see if Elijah comes to take him down." ³⁷ Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and died.

³⁸ The curtain of the temple was split in two from the top to the bottom.

³⁹ When the centurion who stood and faced Jesus saw that he had died in this way, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." ⁴⁰ There were also women who looked on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joses), ² and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they followed him and served him. Many other women also came up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴² When evening had come, because it was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came there. He was a respected member of the council who was waiting for the kingdom of God. He boldly went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was amazed that Jesus was already dead; he called the centurion and asked him if Jesus was dead.

⁴⁵ When Pilate learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Joseph had bought a linen cloth. He took him down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of a rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was buried.

¹The best ancient copies do not have Mark 15:28, The scripture was fulfilled that says, 'He was counted with the lawless ones.'

²The man called Joses here is called Joseph in Mark 6:3. The name Joseph represents how the name was spelled in Hebrew, and the name Joses represents how his name was spelled in Greek.

Chapter 16

¹ When the Sabbath day was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Jesus' body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb when the sun had come up.

³ They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" ⁴ When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very large.

⁵ They entered the tomb and saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ He said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. Look at the place where they had laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"

⁸ They went out and ran from the tomb; they were trembling and amazed. They said nothing to anyone because they were so afraid.

⁹ ¹ [Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ They heard that he was alive and that he had been seen by her, but they did not believe.

¹² After these things he appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking out into the country. ¹³ They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

¹⁴ Jesus later appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at the table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw him after he rose from the dead. ¹⁵ He said to them, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to the entire creation. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved, and he who does not believe will be condemned.

¹⁷ These signs will go with those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons. They will speak in new languages. ¹⁸ They will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well."

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ The disciples left and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that went with them.] ²

¹The best ancient copies do not have Mark 16:9-20.

²See the note on Mark 16:9.

¹Some ancient Greek copies have different spellings that suggest two possible meanings of the last phrase of verse 14, the second being preferred. The suggestions are: good will toward people or among people with whom he (God) is pleased .

²Some copies of the ancient Greek text have his father's name, Joseph .

³Some scholars translate "about my Father's business" as in my Father's house.

Formatted for Translators

Genesis

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Matthew

Mark

Luke