Podcasts about Hobab

On Sunday, March 23, 2025, Mike Gowens began a mini-series of 3 messages on the subject of "Church Membership." This message, sermon #1 in the series, is based on Moses' conversation with his brother-in-law Hobab, in Numbers 10:29-32. Gowens invites believers to join with the church on its pilgrimage to their God-given inheritance.

Numbers 10: The Silver Trumpets and Israel's Journey from Sinai Numbers 10 marks a pivotal moment in Israel's journey from Mount Sinai, where they had received the Law, toward the Promised Land. The chapter is divided into two main sections: the instructions for the silver trumpets (verses 1-10) and the first movement of the Israelite camp (verses 11-36). 1. The Silver Trumpets (Numbers 10:1-10) God commands Moses to make two silver trumpets for use in leading the people. These trumpets serve several functions: A. Purposes of the Silver Trumpets Calling the congregation (v. 2) – When both trumpets are blown, the entire community gathers at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Signalling movement (v. 5-6) – Different trumpet blasts direct different groups to begin their journey. Sounding an alarm for war (v. 9) – When Israel goes to battle, the trumpets are sounded as a call for divine intervention. Announcing feasts and offerings (v. 10) – The trumpets are blown during appointed festivals and sacrifices as a reminder before God. B. Spiritual Significance The trumpets symbolize God's guidance and order in leading His people. They emphasize the need for clear communication among God's people. The sound of the trumpets is a reminder that God is with them in battle and worship. 2. The Israelites Depart from Sinai (Numbers 10:11-36) After nearly a year at Mount Sinai, the Israelites finally begin their journey toward the Promised Land. A. The Cloud Moves, and Israel Follows (v. 11-13) The cloud of God's presence lifts from above the Tabernacle and moves, signaling the people to break camp. This marks the first major journey since leaving Egypt. B. The Order of the March (v. 14-28) The tribes move in an orderly formation, as instructed in Numbers 2. The Ark of the Covenant goes ahead to guide them. The Levites carry and set up the Tabernacle before the rest of the people arrive. C. Moses and Hobab (v. 29-32) Moses invites Hobab, his Midianite brother-in-law, to join them, offering him a place among God's people. Hobab hesitates, but Moses encourages him, recognising his knowledge of the wilderness. This highlights the importance of wisdom and partnership in leadership. D. The Journey Begins (v. 33-36) They travel for three days with the Ark leading the way. Moses prays whenever they set out and whenever they stop: “Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered!” (v. 35) “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.” (v. 36) This shows that God's presence is central to their journey. Key Themes and Lessons from Numbers 10 1.God's Guidance is Clear and Orderly The use of trumpets and the movement of the cloud show that God provides direction in an organized way. In our lives, we should seek and recognize God's guidance. 2.The Role of Leadership in God's Plan Moses ensures that the Israelites march in order and seeks help from Hobab. Leadership involves wisdom, delegation, and seeking help when needed. 3.Faith and Dependence on God The people rely on the Ark and God's presence to lead them. Moses' prayer acknowledges that only God can protect and guide His people. Application for Today Listening for God's direction – Just as the Israelites responded to the trumpets, we should be attentive to God's voice through His Word and Spirit. Moving forward in faith – When God calls us to move, we should trust in His provision and guidance. Recognizing the power of prayer – Moses' prayers remind us to seek God's protection and presence in our daily lives. Numbers 10 is a turning point, showing Israel's first steps toward their divine destiny. It reminds us that God is faithful to guide His people when they trust and obey Him. Would you like to explore any specific part of this chapter in more depth?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

When I was a teenager, one day I was hanging out with my friends at the mall, and I was filling out this form to win a new car. (We've all done that before, right?) You know there's always those new cars at the mall, and you can win them for free — you just have to write down a lot of information. So that's what I was doing, and then suddenly this mall-walker approached me and he says, “Son, what are you doing?”I said, “I'm trying to win this car.”He said, “Well did you read the fine print?!”And I wasn't very smart, but I was respectful, so I said: “No sir, I did not.”And then, with a look of contempt on his face, he said, “And that is what is wrong with your generation!” And he turned around and mall-walked off.And I've never entered another sweepstakes in my life. True story. What the man said landed. I don't have time to read the fine print (who wants to do that?), but I also don't want to be what's wrong with my generation, so I just leave the whole thing alone. But that's not our approach to the Old Testament! Like the apostle Paul says, we believe that everything here has been written for our instruction, even the fine print, and that's what we're gonna look at today. And I'll go ahead and tell you it's not pretty. In just two chapters here, Chapters 11 and 12 — there are three different complaints; God's anger is mentioned four times; and people die with food in their mouths. The fine print is bad. It shows us a nation in decline, but that's not what it would seem like at the end of Chapter 10. There's a stark contrast in these chapters I want you to see: there's the shiny new car on one hand, then there's the fine print on the other hand, and then there's what it means for us. And that's the outline for this sermon. If you like outlines, I'm going to call these movements. There are three movements we're going to track in this story:See the shiny new carRead the fine printTake something homeFather, thank you for your Word and for this gathering. We ask now for you to bless the unfolding of your word. Let there be light! In Jesus's name, amen. 1. See the shiny new carSay you're strolling through the Old Testament, in the Book of Numbers, and you come upon the end of Chapter 10. In verse 11, we read that Israel is finally, actually leaving Mount Sinai. The first ten chapters have been preparing for this, but now it's happening. That cloud that is the manifestation of God's presence begins to move, and verse 13 says, “at the command of the Lord by Moses” the people follow. And they follow in a certain order. The tribe of Judah is first in line. Judah's ProminenceWe begin to see in Numbers the emerging prominence of Judah, and it's what we'd expect by now if we remember the Book of Genesis. If you remember, in Genesis 49, when Jacob blesses his 12 sons, he gives this amazing blessing to Judah. He says, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Genesis 49:10). Judah is special in God's plan. This is the tribe that King David will be from, and eventually this is the tribe Jesus is from. Jesus is the Lion from the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), and we see Judah's importance start to play out in Numbers. Judah is first.Abrahamic PromiseBut not only that, look at Hobab in verse 29. Hobab is Moses's brother-in-law, which means he was a Midianite (a Gentile). But look what Moses says to him in verse 29: “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.'”Bible quiz: Where did God first say he'd give this land to Israel? What book of the Bible?Answer: Genesis. This is God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:7. Abraham was in the land of Canaan and God said to him, “To your offspring I will give this land.” Moses makes a direct quote of that promise. He knows about it. He says, verse 29:“We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.”Moses says this again in verse 32:“And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.”So get this: Moses is expecting that the Lord will do them good, and he's saying to this Gentile that if he sticks with Israel, God's blessing on Israel will be a blessing to him. Moses seems to think that through Israel the Gentiles will be blessed.Bible quiz: Where does Moses get that idea? What book of the Bible?Answer: Genesis. Again, this is in God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12! God told Abraham that he would bless him and make him a blessing. All the families of the earth — Gentiles — would be blessed through him.And that is happening here! It's like Moses has taken Genesis as his script, and he's just checking off the boxes. The blessings are flowing. God is doing it! This is a shiny, new car, and nothing makes that more obvious than verses 35 and 36. The fulfillment has begun, and you can kind of hear a good movie theme song in the background.And whenever the ark set out, Moses said,“Arise, O Yahweh, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Yahweh, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”This is epic! Count me in! I'm ready to sign up and be part of this thing. Let's go!But wait a minute. There's some fine print. This is the second movement.2. Read the fine printAnd I want you to see that it really does function like fine print in the storyline. Look back at Chapter 10, verse 12. I want you to see this. Chapter 10, verse 12.Verse 12,“…and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.”This is their departure/arrival. They leave Sinai and settle in Paran. Got it? Now turn over a couple of pages to Chapter 12, verse 16. Chapter 12:16,“After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.”This is when they get to where we've already been told they end up. Chapter 12, verse 16 tells us the same thing that Chapter 10, verse 12 tells us. The people go from Sinai to Paran. From the high view, we already know this from Chapter 10; then Chapter 12 repeats it — so what's the point of Chapters 11 and 12 in-between? Well it's the fine print. The details. Three Complaints to ComeAnd this is how it starts, 11:1, “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes…”The Jurassic Park theme song is over and this is not good, but we need to pace ourselves here. This is the first of three complaints we read about in Chapters 11 and 12. For each complaint, God responds in anger, Moses prays, and the place where it happened is given a name. So we're gonna track these complaints by the names. If you like to think in order, think of it like this: Sinai is where they're starting from; Paran is where they arrive. And there are three stops in-between: Taberah, Kibroth-hattaavah, Hazeroth. (And those are all the Hebrew names transliterated in English, but for the meaning in English, these three places mean Burning, Craver's Graveyard, Separation — and I'm gonna talk about them like that.) First …Complaint #1 — Burning (11:1–3)We don't have too many details here, just that the people complained about their “misfortunes” — and that word for misfortunes is actually the Hebrew word that means “evil.” That's how the Israelites were thinking about their hardships. They complained about the evil they had experienced, and immediately, if we're reading carefully, we're supposed to pick up on a contrast. Because in the previous chapter, just a few verses earlier, we read the word “good” three times. Moses says Yahweh has promised good to Israel, and with whatever good Yahweh does to Israel, they'll do good to Hobab. It's all good according to Moses. That's God's heart. But then the people are complaining about evil. Hardship. Misfortune. And we don't know exactly how they were complaining — maybe they were commiserating in small groups, maybe a guy was having a private conversation with his wife, maybe they were alone in their car in traffic — we don't know, but however they did it, it was hatred of God. They considered their situation to be evil, and they blamed God for it. And God heard it. (Because, heads up, God hears everything.)And his fierce anger was kindled. In response, he sent fire among the people and burned up the outlying parts of the camp, which implies that if you were hanging out in the outlying parts of the camp, you were consumed by the fire. And this terrified the people. There's fire around them! Is it gonna stop? Is it coming in? So they cried to Moses; Moses prayed to the Lord; the fire died down; the place got its name. All of this happens in three verses. Pretty straightforward. There's not a lot of details on purpose. Because this first complaint is meant to be a kind of preview for what's to come. In case we got too excited about the end of Chapter 10 and we think we're gonna win a shiny new car — because it takes less than two weeks to get from Sinai to Canaan, we got this! — well Chapter 11 opens by thumping us between the eyes and says: Not two weeks, try 40 years. This is going to be bad, and the problem is not God; the problem is the people. That's what this place, the Burning, tells us. But now let's look at the second complaint.Complaint #2 — Craver's Graveyard (11:4–35)This is kind of a spoiler alert, but this place is called Craver's Graveyard. So good luck. There's a lot of fine print here. I'll be quick. It starts with “the rabble.” I want you to see that word in Chapter 11, verse 4. Find that for just a second. 11:4 — the word “rabble.”Verse 4,“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again …”One question we need to answer is, “Who is this rabble?” — and I want you to see that this verse tells us they are different from the people of Israel. The King James Version actually translated the word as “mixed multitude.” These people would have been non-Israelites who came with Israel when they left Egypt. Another good translation of this word is “riffraff” — this is a negative group. They've tagged along with Israel and now they're the ones who had the strong craving. But notice that it's the people of Israel who complain. So the riffraff at least influenced Israel, but it's Israel who is whining, and it's Israel who says, “Oh that we had meat to eat!” — And just a heads up, this gets really gross. The people say:“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”And it's fascinating in this story, because right away in verse 7, as an aside, we're told again what manna is. It's like the writer is saying: Let me remind you about the stuff they're complaining about.And it's all very positive. Manna's appearance is like a bdellium — that's a precious stone from the Garden of Eden; it's incredibly versatile in terms of what you can make with it; it tastes like cake; and it falls from heaven. Verse 7 defends manna and it's meant to be a correction to the complaint.Because, first off, there was no free lunch in Egypt. That's a lie. The only free food these people have ever experienced was the stuff that falls from heaven — and that's another difference. Look at the food mentioned from Egypt: fish, cucumber, melons, leeks, onions, garlic. One thing that all these food have in common is that they come from below. It's not a coincidence. This is grave food. So Yahweh has been providing heavenly food that literally costs nothing — it falls down from heaven — but they're craving grave food that will cost them their lives.And Moses was done. The people are weeping and whining, and verse 10 tells us that the “anger of the Lord blazed hotly.” And the ESV says Moses was “displeased.” And that's not as strong as the original word here. The word behind “displeased” is again the Hebrew word for “evil.” Literally, the verse says “it was evil in the eyes of Moses.”And Moses wants out, and he tells God starting in verse 11. And some readers take Moses's words here as another complaint, but I think we should tread carefully in how we view Moses. He knows more about what's going on here than we do. He's God's prophet, and God does not correct him here, but instead, God helps him. See, the reason Moses is dejected is because he knows how this is going to play out. He knows the people haven't learned anything. He knows they're too evil to make it to the Promised Land — even if God gives them what they want. Because God says he will. God says he'd send them meat, but down in verse 21, Moses knows that even with that provision, it won't be enough for the people. God could empty the ocean for these people and it still won't be enough. Their lust, like all lust, is insatiable. Always craving, never satisfied.So Moses responds the way he does here because it's certain he's going to see these people die, and frankly, he can't handle all that carnage by himself. He knows this thing is going down, and he just can't bear that burden alone, and God seems to understand. Because he tells Moses to choose 70 elders from the people; God will share his Spirit with them; and they'll be able bear the burden with Moses. (And there's a little story within the story that we're gonna come back to, but for now skip to verse 31.)God does indeed send meat — he dropped quail for them just outside the camp. And people who craved meat went out to get it, and as they were eating it, while the meat was still in their mouths, God's anger was kindled, and he struck them all down. And the rest of the people buried them there, and the place got its name: Craver's Graveyard.Then they left there and came to a new place — and a new place meant a new complaint — complaint #3.Complaint #3 — Separation (12:1–16)We're still in the fine print, and one detail to notice about the previous two complaints is that God's judgment took place just outside the camp — The burning was the outlying parts of the camp (11:1); the cravers gathered the quail outside the camp and were spread out (11:31-32). Remember how the camp was set up: the tabernacle, God's presence, was at the center; there was Moses and Aaron, and the priests, and then the Levites, and then the tribes of Israel, and then the outer camp.Well, all the mess was happening out here for the first two complaints, but look at Complaint #3, Chapter 12, verse 1:Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. [Because, again, heads up, the Lord hears everything.]And if we keep reading, we see that God defends Moses, and he says of Moses the most honoring, commending words that he's said about any man besides Jesus. Moses is the meekest man on the face of the earth; he's been faithful in all of God's house; God speaks with him face to face.We learn very quickly that Miriam and Aaron's complaint about Moses is unjustified; God's anger is kindled once again; Miriam is struck with leprosy; Moses prays; Miriam is separated from the people outside the camp; they waited for her seven days and after she was brought back in, they leave, and the place gets its name: Separation.There's a lot of details we could pursue in this complaint, but the main thing to see is where the complaint is coming from. This is not outside the camp, but this was about as close to the center as you can get. Aaron was the priest; Miriam, Moses's sister, was a prophetess (she was a singer, a female vocalist). These are two people upfront. They're leaders. And even they complain.This is the nail in the coffin about the condition of these people. From the outside even now to the inside, it's a mess. It's dysfunctional and toxic — as readers, our hope is all but lost.And there's a kind of whiplash. We go from the shiny new car and lots of hope, to suddenly we find ourselves in these details, bogged down into something we just want to get out of — like Moses did. Personally (and this was new for me — I've always been more of an Abraham-guy than a Moses-guy), but I felt sorry for Moses this past week. I felt heavy with him. I would not want his calling … and if y'all were like Israel here I wouldn't want my calling.But here's the thing: you're not. We are not like Israel. And this is what we take home from this story.3. Take Something Home Let's go back to Chapter 11 when Moses appoints the 70 elders. There's a mini-story in verses 24–30 that I want to show you. It's an amazing scene: God sends his Spirit on these elders and they start prophesying — and the prophesying here was word-ministry. They spoke words of guidance. They were confirming that they can help Moses instruct the people. And there are these two guys who apparently kept prophesying after the others had stopped. Their names were Eldad and Medad, but their names mean “God-Loved” and “Beloved.” Which, in light of what we've been seeing, these are positive names. It's a glimmer of something good. Well they're prophesying, and one guy hears them and runs to tell on them. And then, suddenly, there emerges a new character in Numbers, a man named Joshua. Joshua is Moses's assistant, his disciple, and he says, “Mr. Moses, stop these guys.”God-Loved and Beloved were doing word-ministry, and Joshua thought they were undermining Moses' authority, but actually they were serving it. Moses is not concerned. He says this is a good thing. Don't be jealous for me. He says, verse 29:“Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”All of sudden, piercing through this dark story there's light. And it leads us to imagine a different kind of people, under a different kind of leader, perhaps one whose name is Joshua.See, there's no doubt this little story is meant to be a marker of hope. It's a foreshadowing of the New Covenant community. Because what Moses wishes does happen. Even later in the Old Testament storyline, God speaks through the prophet Joel about this new covenant community, and he says, 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:28–29)So the Holy Spirit is not just for Moses, and just for the 70, but the Holy Spirit is in everyone who then has the ability to do word ministry. This is all true of us right now. Right now, every Christian — every member of this new covenant community — can take this Book in your hands and you can go to any other member in this community and you can open this Book and help them. You can encourage them with God's word. You can show them what God says. Get this: what we have church was a dream for Moses. We don't have to worry about God's anger toward us, or about him striking us down, because God has already done that. And I'm not talking about this place called the Burning, or the Craver's Graveyard, or Separation, but I'm talking about the Place of a Skull — Golgotha. At that place, God's anger burned hotly and he poured out fire, as it were, on our sin. On our complaining and craving, God poured out his judgment — but it wasn't judgment on us, it was judgment on Jesus as our substitute. We are not like faithless Israel because our sins have been atoned for, once and for all, by the death of Jesus Christ. And he has given us his Spirit to believe. He keeps us. Jesus is able to save us to the uttermost, the whole way — and this morning we rest in him. We worship him. We give him thanks. That's what we do at this Table.The TableAt this Table, we as Christians come here to remember what Jesus has done for us. Together, as a brothers and sisters in Christ, as members of the new covenant community, we say Jesus, thank you. Jesus, you are strong and kind and we trust you.

Jethro, continued: Other possible encounters Numbers 10:29 – Hobab Same as Jethro? Judges 4:11 – same Hobab? Same lineage? We know some of…

Just over a year after the Exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel leave Mount Sinai. They move into the wilderness of Paran, traveling according to the order the LORD had given them before leaving the mountain. The LORD leads them by His presence in the cloud, and the Levites carry His moveable dwelling in the midst of Israel. Moses employs his brother-in-law Hobab as a guide in the wilderness. Through these means, the LORD leads His people on a three-day journey from Sinai. The liturgical responses that accompanied the LORD's leading became important for the people of Israel in their worship life recorded in the Psalter.  Rev. Dr. Brian Kachelmeier, pastor at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Numbers 10:11-36.  "Wilderness Wanderings” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Numbers. After the LORD delivers His people from slavery in Egypt, He leads them toward the Promised Land. Although the first generation of Israelites proves faithless, the LORD remains faithful to His people and brings a new generation of Israelites to the plains of Moab. This strengthens us to listen to God's promises today and stay faithful to Him as He guides us toward resurrection life. 

Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.” He answered, “No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people. ” But Moses said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us” (Numbers 10: 29 – 32)Years ago, a friend of mine wrote a song for our church, based on this passage, called “Come with us and we will do you good”. I don't recall the tune or the rest of the lyrics, but I do remember that we sung it most weeks. The basic idea of the song was that as followers of Jesus, we are wonderfully caught up in God's plans for the world and motivated to share the good news of Christ's death, resurrection and new life through faith in Him. We, along with other believers around the world, were excited about our mission, we felt our lives had purpose and we wanted to invite all and anybody around us to join us in that journey. Come with us. God is with us. There are good things to come, and we want to share them with you. When Moses' brother-in-law (that is, Hobab) started to feel the draw to return to his home country, Moses effectively said three things to try to persuade him to stay with him and the travelling Israelites enroute to the Promised Land. First, you will be treated well, “for the Lord has promised good things to Israel”. Moses is not offering an easy life, he knows that the immediate future promises nothing but tough, wilderness living. But he can guarantee the faithfulness of God both now and in the Promised Land ahead. Second, he effectively says ‘we need you'. We need your eyes and experience to choose the best places to camp on the way. We are not asking you to join us to bolster numbers, we want you to play your unique part with the gifts and abilities the Lord has given you. And thirdly, Moses promises, that Hobab will share in all the good things that God gives the Israelite community. ‘Come with us, it may not be easy, but God is with us. There is a glorious future ahead and your gifts and abilities will help us to get there. You will share in the joys and blessings the Lord gives to us. Come with us and we will do you good.When we share our faith with those who don't yet know Jesus, we are giving the same invitation. Come with us, repent of your sin and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. The days in front of you may not always be easy, but Jesus promises to never leave you. And we will love and support each other along the way. There is a glorious future ahead, and your gifts and abilities are vital to God's great purposes. Come and share the joys of a new life in Jesus Christ. 

Hobab and the Ark of The Covenant. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maranatha-ministries/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maranatha-ministries/support

Send us a Text Message.This Podcast is Hosted at;https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.comEnjoy hours of exclusive content every month and help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free  for listeners everywhere at;patreon.com/JeremyMcCandlessSubscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.comEpisode Notes - "Helpful Hints for the Journey," The Israelites embark on their journey from Sinai towards the promised land. This passage not only narrates their physical journey but also provides valuable insights applicable to life's journey.The journey begins with the lifting of the cloud from above the Tabernacle, signaling the Israelites to set out from the Desert of Sinai towards the Desert of Paran. This simple command signifies the start of their movement after about a year of camping at Sinai.What follows is the detailed order of the march, delineating the sequence in which the tribes set out. This meticulous order reflects God's emphasis on organization and orderliness, reminiscent of Paul's advice for things to be done decently and in order.Amidst the march, Moses extends an invitation to his brother-in-law, Hobab (also known as Jethro), urging him to accompany them to the promised land. Moses recognizes Hobab's knowledge of the terrain and values his potential contribution to the journey. This episode prompts reflection on the balance between seeking divine guidance and utilizing human wisdom and discretion.Although Hobab initially declines the offer, the text implies that he eventually joins the journey, highlighting the significance of inviting others to join in life's journey and sharing the gospel with them.As the journey progresses, the cloud of the Lord guides the Israelites, providing both physical and spiritual direction. Moses offers prayers of protection and guidance, acknowledging the Lord's presence every step of the way.Drawing parallels to our own journey of life, the episode emphasizes three key elements: maintaining order and planning, inviting others to join the journey, and keeping the Lord at the center through prayer and reliance on His guidance.Ultimately, the core message underscores the importance of relationships—with God and with others—as the essence of life's journey. Just as Jesus emphasized loving God and loving one's neighbor, this passage underscores the centrality of relationships in navigating life's challenges and joys.Support the Show.Jeremy McCandless is creating podcasts and devotional resources | PatreonHelp us continue making great content for listeners everywhere.https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com

Verses 6 to 24 of Judges 4. One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.” “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord's victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him. Now Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Moses' brother-in-law Hobab, had moved away from the other members of his tribe and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh. When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, he called for all 900 of his iron chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched from Harosheth-haggoyim to the Kishon River. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle. When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot. Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera's warriors. Not a single one was left alive. Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber's family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor. Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. “Please give me some water,” he said. “I'm thirsty.” So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again. “Stand at the door of the tent,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.” But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died. When Barak came looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. She said, “Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he followed her into the tent and found Sisera lying there dead, with the tent peg through his temple. So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king. And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.

Verses 6 to 14 of Judges 4. One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.” “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord's victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him. Now Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Moses' brother-in-law Hobab, had moved away from the other members of his tribe and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh. When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, he called for all 900 of his iron chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched from Harosheth-haggoyim to the Kishon River. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.

Ever feel STUCK? Frozen? Trapped? You're not alone. This morning Sam shared with us about these things. This is the audio podcast.

Why does Moses ask his brother-in-law, Hobab, to act as Israel's guide when God provided guidance through the cloud and pillar of fire?

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 4:1–8 Song of Solomon 4:1–8 (Listen) Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;1  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart2 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. Footnotes [1] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [2] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 4 Judges 4 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 20 Jeremiah 20 (Listen) Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur 20 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.” 7   O LORD, you have deceived me,    and I was deceived;  you are stronger than I,    and you have prevailed.  I have become a laughingstock all the day;    everyone mocks me.8   For whenever I speak, I cry out,    I shout, “Violence and destruction!”  For the word of the LORD has become for me    a reproach and derision all day long.9   If I say, “I will not mention him,    or speak any more in his name,”  there is in my heart as it were a burning fire    shut up in my bones,  and I am weary with holding it in,    and I cannot.10   For I hear many whispering.    Terror is on every side!  “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”    say all my close friends,    watching for my fall.  “Perhaps he will be deceived;    then we can overcome him    and take our revenge on him.”11   But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior;    therefore my persecutors will stumble;    they will not overcome me.  They will be greatly shamed,    for they will not succeed.  Their eternal dishonor    will never be forgotten.12   O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,    who sees the heart and the mind,1  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 13   Sing to the LORD;    praise the LORD!  For he has delivered the life of the needy    from the hand of evildoers. 14   Cursed be the day    on which I was born!  The day when my mother bore me,    let it not be blessed!15   Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,  “A son is born to you,”    making him very glad.16   Let that man be like the cities    that the LORD overthrew without pity;  let him hear a cry in the morning    and an alarm at noon,17   because he did not kill me in the womb;    so my mother would have been my grave,    and her womb forever great.18   Why did I come out from the womb    to see toil and sorrow,    and spend my days in shame? Footnotes [1] 20:12 Hebrew kidneys (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 3:1–6 Hebrews 3:1–6 (Listen) Jesus Greater Than Moses 3 Therefore, holy brothers,1 you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's2 house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.3 Footnotes [1] 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12 [2] 3:2 Greek his; also verses 5, 6 [3] 3:6 Some manuscripts insert firm to the end (ESV)

With family: Judges 4; Acts 8 Judges 4 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV) Acts 8 (Listen) Saul Ravages the Church 8 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city1 of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. Simon the Magician Believes 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles2 performed, he was amazed. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall3 of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south4 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:   “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,    so he opens not his mouth.33   In his humiliation justice was denied him.    Who can describe his generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”5 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Footnotes [1] 8:5 Some manuscripts a city [2] 8:13 Greek works of power [3] 8:23 That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile [4] 8:26 Or go at about noon [5] 8:36 Some manuscripts add all or most of verse 37: And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 17; Mark 3 Jeremiah 17 (Listen) The Sin of Judah 17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” 5   Thus says the LORD:  “Cursed is the man who trusts in man    and makes flesh his strength,1    whose heart turns away from the LORD.6   He is like a shrub in the desert,    and shall not see any good come.  He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,    in an uninhabited salt land. 7   “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,    whose trust is the LORD.8   He is like a tree planted by water,    that sends out its roots by the stream,  and does not fear when heat comes,    for its leaves remain green,  and is not anxious in the year of drought,    for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9   The heart is deceitful above all things,    and desperately sick;    who can understand it?10   “I the LORD search the heart    and test the mind,2  to give every man according to his ways,    according to the fruit of his deeds.” 11   Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,    so is he who gets riches but not by justice;  in the midst of his days they will leave him,    and at his end he will be a fool. 12   A glorious throne set on high from the beginning    is the place of our sanctuary.13   O LORD, the hope of Israel,    all who forsake you shall be put to shame;  those who turn away from you3 shall be written in the earth,    for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance 14   Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;    save me, and I shall be saved,    for you are my praise.15   Behold, they say to me,    “Where is the word of the LORD?    Let it come!”16   I have not run away from being your shepherd,    nor have I desired the day of sickness.  You know what came out of my lips;    it was before your face.17   Be not a terror to me;    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.18   Let those be put to shame who persecute me,    but let me not be put to shame;  let them be dismayed,    but let me not be dismayed;  bring upon them the day of disaster;    destroy them with double destruction! Keep the Sabbath Holy 19 Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction. 24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.'” Footnotes [1] 17:5 Hebrew arm [2] 17:10 Hebrew kidneys [3] 17:13 Hebrew me (ESV) Mark 3 (Listen) A Man with a Withered Hand 3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus,1 to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. A Great Crowd Follows Jesus 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. The Twelve Apostles 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,2 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him 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 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers3 are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Footnotes [1] 3:2 Greek him [2] 3:18 Greek kananaios, meaning zealot [3] 3:32 Other manuscripts add and your sisters (ESV)

notes are here:https://esm.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07.08.23-Service-Notes-Cong-TM-1.pdf_______________________________________________________Numbers 25:6,7 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and broughtunto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sightof all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before thedoor of the tabernacle of the congregation. And when Phinehas, the son ofEleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among thecongregation, and took a javelin in his hand.Exodus 2:16,17 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and theycame and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. Theshepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them,and watered their flock.Exodus 2:18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, How is itthat you have come home so soon today Friend of GodEmbracerJudges 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab thefather in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitchedhis tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat B'ha'alot'kha [Numbers 8-12], the third parashah in Numbers, covers a lot of ground. To name just a few topics, there is the lighting of the menorah [Numbers 8:1-4]; the ritual purification of the Levites so they might perform their duties with the Tabernacle [Numbers 8:5-22]; the Second Passover [9:1-14], which allows those who are in a state of ritual impurity or too far from the Temple at the time of the First Passover to participate in this great national celebration; the guidance in the wilderness [Numbers 10:29-36] provided by Hobab, the name given here for the figure known elsewhere as Jethro (father-in-law of Moses), and the Ark, including the two verses separated by the inverted nuns [the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet], the complaints at Taberah [11:1-3] and Kibbroth-Hattaavah [4-35], which includes Moses complaining to God about his burden, God providing for 70 elders to assist Moses, and God providing a month's worth of quail to satisfy the people's demand for meat; and the passage about Aaron and Miriam challenging the authority of Moses [chapter 12]. Even though this list seems exhaustive, there are things left out! Our conversation is perhaps not so wide-ranging, but worth a listen nevertheless. Shabbat Shalom!

Bulletin for Wednesday, May 17, 2023Service Time: 2:00 p.m.Bible Study: 2:30 p.m.There is no evening service during the summerAll are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relativeVisit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”Archive of BULLETINSNumbers 10:11-36 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” Luke 16:19-31 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'” The Sacrament of Holy BaptismWhat benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God?Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 130 Psalm 130 (Listen) My Soul Waits for the Lord A Song of Ascents. 130   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!2     O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive    to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?4   But with you there is forgiveness,    that you may be feared. 5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,    and in his word I hope;6   my soul waits for the Lord    more than watchmen for the morning,    more than watchmen for the morning. 7   O Israel, hope in the LORD!    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,    and with him is plentiful redemption.8   And he will redeem Israel    from all his iniquities. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 10:11–36 Numbers 10:11–36 (Listen) Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 48–49 Isaiah 48–49 (Listen) Israel Refined for God's Glory 48   Hear this, O house of Jacob,    who are called by the name of Israel,    and who came from the waters of Judah,  who swear by the name of the LORD    and confess the God of Israel,    but not in truth or right.2   For they call themselves after the holy city,    and stay themselves on the God of Israel;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 3   “The former things I declared of old;    they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;    then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.4   Because I know that you are obstinate,    and your neck is an iron sinew    and your forehead brass,5   I declared them to you from of old,    before they came to pass I announced them to you,  lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,    my carved image and my metal image commanded them.' 6   “You have heard; now see all this;    and will you not declare it?  From this time forth I announce to you new things,    hidden things that you have not known.7   They are created now, not long ago;    before today you have never heard of them,    lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.'8   You have never heard, you have never known,    from of old your ear has not been opened.  For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,    and that from before birth you were called a rebel. 9   “For my name's sake I defer my anger;    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,    that I may not cut you off.10   Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;    I have tried1 you in the furnace of affliction.11   For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,    for how should my name2 be profaned?    My glory I will not give to another. The Lord's Call to Israel 12   “Listen to me, O Jacob,    and Israel, whom I called!  I am he; I am the first,    and I am the last.13   My hand laid the foundation of the earth,    and my right hand spread out the heavens;  when I call to them,    they stand forth together. 14   “Assemble, all of you, and listen!    Who among them has declared these things?  The LORD loves him;    he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,    and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.15   I, even I, have spoken and called him;    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.16   Draw near to me, hear this:    from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,    from the time it came to be I have been there.”  And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. 17   Thus says the LORD,    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God,    who teaches you to profit,    who leads you in the way you should go.18   Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!    Then your peace would have been like a river,    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;19   your offspring would have been like the sand,    and your descendants like its grains;  their name would never be cut off    or destroyed from before me.” 20   Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,    declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,  send it out to the end of the earth;    say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”21   They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;    he made water flow for them from the rock;    he split the rock and the water gushed out. 22   “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” The Servant of the Lord 49   Listen to me, O coastlands,    and give attention, you peoples from afar.  The LORD called me from the womb,    from the body of my mother he named my name.2   He made my mouth like a sharp sword;    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;  he made me a polished arrow;    in his quiver he hid me away.3   And he said to me, “You are my servant,    Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”34   But I said, “I have labored in vain;    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;  yet surely my right is with the LORD,    and my recompense with my God.” 5   And now the LORD says,    he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,  to bring Jacob back to him;    and that Israel might be gathered to him—  for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,    and my God has become my strength—6   he says:  “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant    to raise up the tribes of Jacob    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;  I will make you as a light for the nations,    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7   Thus says the LORD,    the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,  to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,    the servant of rulers:  “Kings shall see and arise;    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;  because of the LORD, who is faithful,    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” The Restoration of Israel 8   Thus says the LORD:  “In a time of favor I have answered you;    in a day of salvation I have helped you;  I will keep you and give you    as a covenant to the people,  to establish the land,    to apportion the desolate heritages,9   saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,'    to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.'  They shall feed along the ways;    on all bare heights shall be their pasture;10   they shall not hunger or thirst,    neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,  for he who has pity on them will lead them,    and by springs of water will guide them.11   And I will make all my mountains a road,    and my highways shall be raised up.12   Behold, these shall come from afar,    and behold, these from the north and from the west,4    and these from the land of Syene.”5 13   Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;    break forth, O mountains, into singing!  For the LORD has comforted his people    and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14   But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;    my Lord has forgotten me.” 15   “Can a woman forget her nursing child,    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget,    yet I will not forget you.16   Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;    your walls are continually before me.17   Your builders make haste;6    your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.18   Lift up your eyes around and see;    they all gather, they come to you.  As I live, declares the LORD,    you shall put them all on as an ornament;    you shall bind them on as a bride does. 19   “Surely your waste and your desolate places    and your devastated land—  surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,    and those who swallowed you up will be far away.20   The children of your bereavement    will yet say in your ears:  ‘The place is too narrow for me;    make room for me to dwell in.'21   Then you will say in your heart:    ‘Who has borne me these?  I was bereaved and barren,    exiled and put away,    but who has brought up these?  Behold, I was left alone;    from where have these come?'” 22   Thus says the Lord GOD:  “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,    and raise my signal to the peoples;  and they shall bring your sons in their arms,7    and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.23   Kings shall be your foster fathers,    and their queens your nursing mothers.  With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,    and lick the dust of your feet.  Then you will know that I am the LORD;    those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” 24   Can the prey be taken from the mighty,    or the captives of a tyrant8 be rescued?25   For thus says the LORD:  “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,    and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,  for I will contend with those who contend with you,    and I will save your children.26   I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,    and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.  Then all flesh shall know    that I am the LORD your Savior,    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Footnotes [1] 48:10 Or I have chosen [2] 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name [3] 49:3 Or I will display my beauty [4] 49:12 Hebrew from the sea [5] 49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim [6] 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste [7] 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom [8] 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Colossians 2:6–23 Colossians 2:6–23 (Listen) Alive in Christ 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits1 of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood agai

With family: Numbers 10; Psalms 46–47 Numbers 10 (Listen) The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) Psalms 46–47 (Listen) God Is Our Fortress To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.1 A Song. 46   God is our refuge and strength,    a very present2 help in trouble.2   Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,3   though its waters roar and foam,    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4   There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,    the holy habitation of the Most High.5   God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;    God will help her when morning dawns.6   The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;    he utters his voice, the earth melts.7   The LORD of hosts is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8   Come, behold the works of the LORD,    how he has brought desolations on the earth.9   He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;    he burns the chariots with fire.10   “Be still, and know that I am God.    I will be exalted among the nations,    I will be exalted in the earth!”11   The LORD of hosts is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah God Is King over All the Earth To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 47   Clap your hands, all peoples!    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!2   For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,    a great king over all the earth.3   He subdued peoples under us,    and nations under our feet.4   He chose our heritage for us,    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5   God has gone up with a shout,    the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.6   Sing praises to God, sing praises!    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!7   For God is the King of all the earth;    sing praises with a psalm!3 8   God reigns over the nations;    God sits on his holy throne.9   The princes of the peoples gather    as the people of the God of Abraham.  For the shields of the earth belong to God;    he is highly exalted! Footnotes [1] 46:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 46:1 Or well proved [3] 47:7 Hebrew maskil (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 8; Hebrews 8 Song of Solomon 8 (Listen) Longing for Her Beloved 8   Oh that you were like a brother to me    who nursed at my mother's breasts!  If I found you outside, I would kiss you,    and none would despise me.2   I would lead you and bring you    into the house of my mother—    she who used to teach me.  I would give you spiced wine to drink,    the juice of my pomegranate.3   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!4   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. 5   Who is that coming up from the wilderness,    leaning on her beloved?   Under the apple tree I awakened you.  There your mother was in labor with you;    there she who bore you was in labor. 6   Set me as a seal upon your heart,    as a seal upon your arm,  for love is strong as death,    jealousy1 is fierce as the grave.2  Its flashes are flashes of fire,    the very flame of the LORD.7   Many waters cannot quench love,    neither can floods drown it.  If a man offered for love    all the wealth of his house,    he3 would be utterly despised. Final Advice Others 8   We have a little sister,    and she has no breasts.  What shall we do for our sister    on the day when she is spoken for?9   If she is a wall,    we will build on her a battlement of silver,  but if she is a door,    we will enclose her with boards of cedar. She 10   I was a wall,    and my breasts were like towers;  then I was in his eyes    as one who finds4 peace. 11   Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;    he let out the vineyard to keepers;    each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.12   My vineyard, my very own, is before me;    you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,    and the keepers of the fruit two hundred. He 13   O you who dwell in the gardens,    with companions listening for your voice;    let me hear it. She 14   Make haste, my beloved,    and be like a gazelle  or a young stag    on the mountains of spices. Footnotes [1] 8:6 Or ardor [2] 8:6 Hebrew as Sheol [3] 8:7 Or it [4] 8:10 Or brings out (ESV) Hebrews 8 (Listen) Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant 8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent1 that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ2 has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he says:3   “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,    when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel    and with the house of Judah,9   not like the covenant that I made with their fathers    on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.  For they did not continue in my covenant,    and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.10   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel    after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws into their minds,    and write them on their hearts,  and I will be their God,    and they shall be my people.11   And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor    and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,'  for they shall all know me,    from the least of them to the greatest.12   For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,    and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Footnotes [1] 8:2 Or tabernacle; also verse 5 [2] 8:6 Greek he [3] 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 4–5 Judges 4–5 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,1 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets2    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians3 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,4    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's5 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [2] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [3] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [5] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:23–43 Psalm 107:23–43 (Listen) 23   Some went down to the sea in ships,    doing business on the great waters;24   they saw the deeds of the LORD,    his wondrous works in the deep.25   For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,    which lifted up the waves of the sea.26   They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;    their courage melted away in their evil plight;27   they reeled and staggered like drunken men    and were at their wits' end.128   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.29   He made the storm be still,    and the waves of the sea were hushed.30   Then they were glad that the waters2 were quiet,    and he brought them to their desired haven.31   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!32   Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,    and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33   He turns rivers into a desert,    springs of water into thirsty ground,34   a fruitful land into a salty waste,    because of the evil of its inhabitants.35   He turns a desert into pools of water,    a parched land into springs of water.36   And there he lets the hungry dwell,    and they establish a city to live in;37   they sow fields and plant vineyards    and get a fruitful yield.38   By his blessing they multiply greatly,    and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39   When they are diminished and brought low    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40   he pours contempt on princes    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41   but he raises up the needy out of affliction    and makes their families like flocks.42   The upright see it and are glad,    and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;    let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [2] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) New Testament: Romans 9–11 Romans 9–11 (Listen) God's Sovereign Choice 9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,1 my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,2 but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,   “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,'    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'”26   “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,'    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel3 be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,   “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,    we would have been like Sodom    and become like Gomorrah.” Israel's Unbelief 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness4 did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,   “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 10 Brothers,5 my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.6 The Message of Salvation to All 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom

Old Testament: Judges 4–5 Judges 4–5 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,1 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets2    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians3 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,4    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's5 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [2] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [3] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [5] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) New Testament: John 13:31–38 John 13:31–38 (Listen) A New Commandment 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:23–43 Psalm 107:23–43 (Listen) 23   Some went down to the sea in ships,    doing business on the great waters;24   they saw the deeds of the LORD,    his wondrous works in the deep.25   For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,    which lifted up the waves of the sea.26   They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;    their courage melted away in their evil plight;27   they reeled and staggered like drunken men    and were at their wits' end.128   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.29   He made the storm be still,    and the waves of the sea were hushed.30   Then they were glad that the waters2 were quiet,    and he brought them to their desired haven.31   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!32   Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,    and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33   He turns rivers into a desert,    springs of water into thirsty ground,34   a fruitful land into a salty waste,    because of the evil of its inhabitants.35   He turns a desert into pools of water,    a parched land into springs of water.36   And there he lets the hungry dwell,    and they establish a city to live in;37   they sow fields and plant vineyards    and get a fruitful yield.38   By his blessing they multiply greatly,    and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39   When they are diminished and brought low    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40   he pours contempt on princes    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41   but he raises up the needy out of affliction    and makes their families like flocks.42   The upright see it and are glad,    and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;    let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [2] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 14:32–33 Proverbs 14:32–33 (Listen) 32   The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,    but the righteous finds refuge in his death.33   Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,    but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.1 Footnotes [1] 14:33 Or Wisdom rests quietly in the heart of a man of understanding, but makes itself known in the midst of fools (ESV)

Morning: Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) Evening: Luke 7:31–50 Luke 7:31–50 (Listen) 31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,   “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” A Sinful Woman Forgiven 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among1 themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Footnotes [1] 7:49 Or to (ESV)

Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV)

Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV)

Old Testament: Numbers 10–11 Numbers 10–11 (Listen) The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” The People Complain 11 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah,1 because the fire of the LORD burned among them. 4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” 7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. 10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.' 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.” Elders Appointed to Aid Moses 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”'” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!' 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Quail and a Plague 31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits2 above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers.3 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,4 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Taberah means burning [2] 11:31 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 11:32 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [4] 11:34 Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 68:1–18 Psalm 68:1–18 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God!3   But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy! 4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;  his name is the LORD;    exult before him!5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.6   God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7   O God, when you went out before your people,    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,    before God, the One of Sinai,    before God,1 the God of Israel.9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;    you restored your inheritance as it languished;10   your flock2 found a dwelling in it;    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11   The Lord gives the word;    the women who announce the news are a great host:12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”  The women at home divide the spoil—13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—  the wings of a dove covered with silver,    its pinions with shimmering gold.14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,    let snow fall on Zalmon. 15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;    O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,    at the mount that God desired for his abode,    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,    thousands upon thousands;    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18   You ascended on high,    leading a host of captives in your train    and receiving gifts among men,  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 (ESV) New Testament: John 8 John 8 (Listen) 8 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] I Am the Light of the World 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father1 who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come'?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. The Truth Will Set You Free 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free'?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave2 to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” You Are of Your Father the Devil 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” Before Abraham Was, I Am 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.'3 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”4 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Footnotes [1] 8:16 Some manuscripts he [2] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35 [3] 8:54 Some manuscripts your God [4] 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you? (ESV)

Old Testament: Numbers 10–11 Numbers 10–11 (Listen) The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” The People Complain 11 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah,1 because the fire of the LORD burned among them. 4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” 7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. 10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.' 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.” Elders Appointed to Aid Moses 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”'” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!' 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Quail and a Plague 31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits2 above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers.3 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,4 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Taberah means burning [2] 11:31 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 11:32 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [4] 11:34 Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving (ESV) New Testament: Luke 7:36–8:3 Luke 7:36–8:3 (Listen) A Sinful Woman Forgiven 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among1 themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Women Accompanying Jesus 8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them2 out of their means. Footnotes [1] 7:49 Or to [2] 8:3 Some manuscripts him (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 68:1–18 Psalm 68:1–18 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God!3   But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy! 4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;  his name is the LORD;    exult before him!5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.6   God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7   O God, when you went out before your people,    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,    before God, the One of Sinai,    before God,1 the God of Israel.9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;    you restored your inheritance as it languished;10   your flock2 found a dwelling in it;    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11   The Lord gives the word;    the women who announce the news are a great host:12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”  The women at home divide the spoil—13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—  the wings of a dove covered with silver,    its pinions with shimmering gold.14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,    let snow fall on Zalmon. 15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;    O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,    at the mount that God desired for his abode,    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,    thousands upon thousands;    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18   You ascended on high,    leading a host of captives in your train    and receiving gifts among men,  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 12:1 Proverbs 12:1 (Listen) 12   Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,    but he who hates reproof is stupid. (ESV)

Morning: Numbers 8–10 Numbers 8–10 (Listen) The Seven Lamps 8 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” 3 And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses. 4 And this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. Cleansing of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the LORD. 14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.” 20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the LORD, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. Retirement of the Levites 23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they1 shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. 26 They minister2 to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” The Passover Celebrated 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the LORD's offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” 9 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the LORD's offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.” The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle 15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day3 and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” Footnotes [1] 8:24 Hebrew he; also verses 25, 26 [2] 8:26 Hebrew He ministers [3] 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day (ESV) Evening: Mark 5:1–20 Mark 5:1–20 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.1 2 And when Jesus2 had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. 14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed3 man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus4 to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. Footnotes [1] 5:1 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gadarenes [2] 5:2 Greek he; also verse 9 [3] 5:15 Greek daimonizomai (demonized); also verses 16, 18; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons [4] 5:17 Greek him (ESV)

Numbers 9–10 Numbers 9–10 (Listen) The Passover Celebrated 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the LORD's offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” 9 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the LORD's offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.” The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle 15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day1 and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” Footnotes [1] 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day (ESV)

Numbers 9–10 Numbers 9–10 (Listen) The Passover Celebrated 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. 6 And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the LORD's offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” 9 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the LORD's offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.” The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle 15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day1 and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” Footnotes [1] 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day (ESV)

Judges 4 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 After Ehud's death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord's sight. 2 So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. 3 Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. 4 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment. 6 One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. 7 And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” 8 Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.” 9 “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord's victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 At Kedesh, Barak called together the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 10,000 warriors went up with him. Deborah also went with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite, a descendant of Moses' brother-in-law[a] Hobab, had moved away from the other members of his tribe and pitched his tent by the oak of Zaanannim near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 he called for all 900 of his iron chariots and all of his warriors, and they marched from Harosheth-haggoyim to the Kishon River. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle. 15 When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot. 16 Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera's warriors. Not a single one was left alive. 17 Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber's family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 “Please give me some water,” he said. “I'm thirsty.” So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again. 20 “Stand at the door of the tent,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.” 21 But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died. [...]

Series: N/AService: Sun AMType: SermonSpeaker: Jarrod JacobsOur Sunday AM sermon on 10/30/22. Today, bro. Jarrod Jacobs preached a sermon entitled, "Moses and Hobab" from Numbers 10:29-32

Judges 4 English Standard Version 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.3 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.15 And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Proper 12 First Psalm: Psalms 70–71 Psalms 70–71 (Listen) O Lord, Do Not Delay To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering. 70   Make haste, O God, to deliver me!    O LORD, make haste to help me!2   Let them be put to shame and confusion    who seek my life!  Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor    who delight in my hurt!3   Let them turn back because of their shame    who say, “Aha, Aha!” 4   May all who seek you    rejoice and be glad in you!  May those who love your salvation    say evermore, “God is great!”5   But I am poor and needy;    hasten to me, O God!  You are my help and my deliverer;    O LORD, do not delay! Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent 71   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;    let me never be put to shame!2   In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;    incline your ear to me, and save me!3   Be to me a rock of refuge,    to which I may continually come;  you have given the command to save me,    for you are my rock and my fortress. 4   Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.5   For you, O Lord, are my hope,    my trust, O LORD, from my youth.6   Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;    you are he who took me from my mother's womb.  My praise is continually of you. 7   I have been as a portent to many,    but you are my strong refuge.8   My mouth is filled with your praise,    and with your glory all the day.9   Do not cast me off in the time of old age;    forsake me not when my strength is spent.10   For my enemies speak concerning me;    those who watch for my life consult together11   and say, “God has forsaken him;    pursue and seize him,    for there is none to deliver him.” 12   O God, be not far from me;    O my God, make haste to help me!13   May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;    with scorn and disgrace may they be covered    who seek my hurt.14   But I will hope continually    and will praise you yet more and more.15   My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,    of your deeds of salvation all the day,    for their number is past my knowledge.16   With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. 17   O God, from my youth you have taught me,    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.18   So even to old age and gray hairs,    O God, do not forsake me,  until I proclaim your might to another generation,    your power to all those to come.19   Your righteousness, O God,    reaches the high heavens.  You who have done great things,    O God, who is like you?20   You who have made me see many troubles and calamities    will revive me again;  from the depths of the earth    you will bring me up again.21   You will increase my greatness    and comfort me again. 22   I will also praise you with the harp    for your faithfulness, O my God;  I will sing praises to you with the lyre,    O Holy One of Israel.23   My lips will shout for joy,    when I sing praises to you;    my soul also, which you have redeemed.24   And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,  for they have been put to shame and disappointed    who sought to do me hurt. (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 74 Psalm 74 (Listen) Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause A Maskil1 of Asaph. 74   O God, why do you cast us off forever?    Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?2   Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,    which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!    Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.3   Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;    the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! 4   Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;    they set up their own signs for signs.5   They were like those who swing axes    in a forest of trees.26   And all its carved wood    they broke down with hatchets and hammers.7   They set your sanctuary on fire;    they profaned the dwelling place of your name,    bringing it down to the ground.8   They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;    they burned all the meeting places of God in the land. 9   We do not see our signs;    there is no longer any prophet,    and there is none among us who knows how long.10   How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?    Is the enemy to revile your name forever?11   Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?    Take it from the fold of your garment3 and destroy them! 12   Yet God my King is from of old,    working salvation in the midst of the earth.13   You divided the sea by your might;    you broke the heads of the sea monsters4 on the waters.14   You crushed the heads of Leviathan;    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.15   You split open springs and brooks;    you dried up ever-flowing streams.16   Yours is the day, yours also the night;    you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.17   You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;    you have made summer and winter. 18   Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,    and a foolish people reviles your name.19   Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;    do not forget the life of your poor forever. 20   Have regard for the covenant,    for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.21   Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;    let the poor and needy praise your name. 22   Arise, O God, defend your cause;    remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!23   Do not forget the clamor of your foes,    the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually! Footnotes [1] 74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 74:11 Hebrew from your bosom [4] 74:13 Or the great sea creatures (ESV) Old Testament: Judges 4:4–23 Judges 4:4–23 (Listen) 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. (ESV) New Testament: Acts 1:15–26 Acts 1:15–26 (Listen) 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong1 he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,   “‘May his camp become desolate,    and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and   “‘Let another take his office.' 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Footnotes [1] 1:18 Or swelling up (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 27:55–66 Matthew 27:55–66 (Listen) 55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Jesus Is Buried 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The Guard at the Tomb 62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.' 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard1 of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Footnotes [1] 27:65 Or Take a guard (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 4:1–8 Song of Solomon 4:1–8 (Listen) Solomon Admires His Bride's Beauty He 4   Behold, you are beautiful, my love,    behold, you are beautiful!  Your eyes are doves    behind your veil.  Your hair is like a flock of goats    leaping down the slopes of Gilead.2   Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes    that have come up from the washing,  all of which bear twins,    and not one among them has lost its young.3   Your lips are like a scarlet thread,    and your mouth is lovely.  Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate    behind your veil.4   Your neck is like the tower of David,    built in rows of stone;1  on it hang a thousand shields,    all of them shields of warriors.5   Your two breasts are like two fawns,    twins of a gazelle,    that graze among the lilies.6   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  I will go away to the mountain of myrrh    and the hill of frankincense.7   You are altogether beautiful, my love;    there is no flaw in you.8   Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;    come with me from Lebanon.  Depart2 from the peak of Amana,    from the peak of Senir and Hermon,  from the dens of lions,    from the mountains of leopards. Footnotes [1] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [2] 4:8 Or Look (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 4 Judges 4 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 20 Jeremiah 20 (Listen) Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur 20 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.” 7   O LORD, you have deceived me,    and I was deceived;  you are stronger than I,    and you have prevailed.  I have become a laughingstock all the day;    everyone mocks me.8   For whenever I speak, I cry out,    I shout, “Violence and destruction!”  For the word of the LORD has become for me    a reproach and derision all day long.9   If I say, “I will not mention him,    or speak any more in his name,”  there is in my heart as it were a burning fire    shut up in my bones,  and I am weary with holding it in,    and I cannot.10   For I hear many whispering.    Terror is on every side!  “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”    say all my close friends,    watching for my fall.  “Perhaps he will be deceived;    then we can overcome him    and take our revenge on him.”11   But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior;    therefore my persecutors will stumble;    they will not overcome me.  They will be greatly shamed,    for they will not succeed.  Their eternal dishonor    will never be forgotten.12   O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,    who sees the heart and the mind,1  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 13   Sing to the LORD;    praise the LORD!  For he has delivered the life of the needy    from the hand of evildoers. 14   Cursed be the day    on which I was born!  The day when my mother bore me,    let it not be blessed!15   Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,  “A son is born to you,”    making him very glad.16   Let that man be like the cities    that the LORD overthrew without pity;  let him hear a cry in the morning    and an alarm at noon,17   because he did not kill me in the womb;    so my mother would have been my grave,    and her womb forever great.18   Why did I come out from the womb    to see toil and sorrow,    and spend my days in shame? Footnotes [1] 20:12 Hebrew kidneys (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 3:1–6 Hebrews 3:1–6 (Listen) Jesus Greater Than Moses 3 Therefore, holy brothers,1 you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's2 house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.3 Footnotes [1] 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12 [2] 3:2 Greek his; also verses 5, 6 [3] 3:6 Some manuscripts insert firm to the end (ESV)

With family: Judges 4; Acts 8 Judges 4 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. (ESV) Acts 8 (Listen) Saul Ravages the Church 8 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city1 of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. Simon the Magician Believes 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles2 performed, he was amazed. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall3 of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south4 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:   “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,    so he opens not his mouth.33   In his humiliation justice was denied him.    Who can describe his generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”5 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Footnotes [1] 8:5 Some manuscripts a city [2] 8:13 Greek works of power [3] 8:23 That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile [4] 8:26 Or go at about noon [5] 8:36 Some manuscripts add all or most of verse 37: And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 17; Mark 3 Jeremiah 17 (Listen) The Sin of Judah 17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” 5   Thus says the LORD:  “Cursed is the man who trusts in man    and makes flesh his strength,1    whose heart turns away from the LORD.6   He is like a shrub in the desert,    and shall not see any good come.  He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,    in an uninhabited salt land. 7   “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,    whose trust is the LORD.8   He is like a tree planted by water,    that sends out its roots by the stream,  and does not fear when heat comes,    for its leaves remain green,  and is not anxious in the year of drought,    for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9   The heart is deceitful above all things,    and desperately sick;    who can understand it?10   “I the LORD search the heart    and test the mind,2  to give every man according to his ways,    according to the fruit of his deeds.” 11   Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,    so is he who gets riches but not by justice;  in the midst of his days they will leave him,    and at his end he will be a fool. 12   A glorious throne set on high from the beginning    is the place of our sanctuary.13   O LORD, the hope of Israel,    all who forsake you shall be put to shame;  those who turn away from you3 shall be written in the earth,    for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance 14   Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;    save me, and I shall be saved,    for you are my praise.15   Behold, they say to me,    “Where is the word of the LORD?    Let it come!”16   I have not run away from being your shepherd,    nor have I desired the day of sickness.  You know what came out of my lips;    it was before your face.17   Be not a terror to me;    you are my refuge in the day of disaster.18   Let those be put to shame who persecute me,    but let me not be put to shame;  let them be dismayed,    but let me not be dismayed;  bring upon them the day of disaster;    destroy them with double destruction! Keep the Sabbath Holy 19 Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction. 24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.'” Footnotes [1] 17:5 Hebrew arm [2] 17:10 Hebrew kidneys [3] 17:13 Hebrew me (ESV) Mark 3 (Listen) A Man with a Withered Hand 3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus,1 to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. A Great Crowd Follows Jesus 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. The Twelve Apostles 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,2 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him 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 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers3 are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Footnotes [1] 3:2 Greek him [2] 3:18 Greek kananaios, meaning zealot [3] 3:32 Other manuscripts add and your sisters (ESV)

- Scriptures tell us about the formation of the tribes as the Israelites are about to leave the area.  - Moses's brother-in-law Hobab agrees to travel with the Israel after he discovers he has a higher purpose as a worker.  - Jenn discusses the importance of doing a job that you were born to do.  Go to www.p40ministries.com for more information about this podcast or anything else that P40 Ministries does. 

Notas en Español e inglés

Proper 6 First Psalm: Psalm 80 Psalm 80 (Listen) Restore Us, O God To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm. 80   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,    you who lead Joseph like a flock.  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,  stir up your might    and come to save us! 3   Restore us,1 O God;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4   O LORD God of hosts,    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?5   You have fed them with the bread of tears    and given them tears to drink in full measure.6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,    and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7   Restore us, O God of hosts;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;    you drove out the nations and planted it.9   You cleared the ground for it;    it took deep root and filled the land.10   The mountains were covered with its shade,    the mighty cedars with its branches.11   It sent out its branches to the sea    and its shoots to the River.212   Why then have you broken down its walls,    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?13   The boar from the forest ravages it,    and all that move in the field feed on it. 14   Turn again, O God of hosts!    Look down from heaven, and see;  have regard for this vine,15     the stock that your right hand planted,    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!18   Then we shall not turn back from you;    give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!    Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Footnotes [1] 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19 [2] 80:11 That is, the Euphrates (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 77; Psalm 79 Psalm 77 (Listen) In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. 77   I cry aloud to God,    aloud to God, and he will hear me.2   In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;    my soul refuses to be comforted.3   When I remember God, I moan;    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4   You hold my eyelids open;    I am so troubled that I cannot speak.5   I consider the days of old,    the years long ago.6   I said,1 “Let me remember my song in the night;    let me meditate in my heart.”    Then my spirit made a diligent search:7   “Will the Lord spurn forever,    and never again be favorable?8   Has his steadfast love forever ceased?    Are his promises at an end for all time?9   Has God forgotten to be gracious?    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah 10   Then I said, “I will appeal to this,    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”2 11   I will remember the deeds of the LORD;    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.12   I will ponder all your work,    and meditate on your mighty deeds.13   Your way, O God, is holy.    What god is great like our God?14   You are the God who works wonders;    you have made known your might among the peoples.15   You with your arm redeemed your people,    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16   When the waters saw you, O God,    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;    indeed, the deep trembled.17   The clouds poured out water;    the skies gave forth thunder;    your arrows flashed on every side.18   The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;    your lightnings lighted up the world;    the earth trembled and shook.19   Your way was through the sea,    your path through the great waters;    yet your footprints were unseen.320   You led your people like a flock    by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Footnotes [1] 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said [2] 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed [3] 77:19 Hebrew unknown (ESV) Psalm 79 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? A Psalm of Asaph. 79   O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;    they have defiled your holy temple;    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.2   They have given the bodies of your servants    to the birds of the heavens for food,    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.3   They have poured out their blood like water    all around Jerusalem,    and there was no one to bury them.4   We have become a taunt to our neighbors,    mocked and derided by those around us. 5   How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?    Will your jealousy burn like fire?6   Pour out your anger 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 habitation. 8   Do not remember against us our former iniquities;1    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,    for we are brought very low.9   Help us, O God of our salvation,    for the glory of your name;  deliver us, and atone for our sins,    for your name's sake!10   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”  Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants    be known among the nations before our eyes! 11   Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!12   Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!13   But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,    will give thanks to you forever;    from generation to generation we will recount your praise. Footnotes [1] 79:8 Or the iniquities of former generations (ESV) Old Testament: Numbers 9:15–23; Numbers 10:29–36 Numbers 9:15–23 (Listen) The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle 15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day1 and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. Footnotes [1] 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day (ESV) Numbers 10:29–36 (Listen) 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) New Testament: Romans 1:1–15 Romans 1:1–15 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, a servant1 of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David2 according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Longing to Go to Rome 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,3 that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,4 both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Footnotes [1] 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [2] 1:3 Or who came from the offspring of David [3] 1:13 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [4] 1:14 That is, non-Greeks (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 17:14–20 Matthew 17:14–20 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon 14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon,1 and it2 came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.3 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”4 Footnotes [1] 17:18 Greek it [2] 17:18 Greek the demon [3] 17:18 Greek from that hour [4] 17:20 Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 130 Psalm 130 (Listen) My Soul Waits for the Lord A Song of Ascents. 130   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!2     O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive    to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?4   But with you there is forgiveness,    that you may be feared. 5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,    and in his word I hope;6   my soul waits for the Lord    more than watchmen for the morning,    more than watchmen for the morning. 7   O Israel, hope in the LORD!    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,    and with him is plentiful redemption.8   And he will redeem Israel    from all his iniquities. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 10:11–36 Numbers 10:11–36 (Listen) Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 48–49 Isaiah 48–49 (Listen) Israel Refined for God's Glory 48   Hear this, O house of Jacob,    who are called by the name of Israel,    and who came from the waters of Judah,  who swear by the name of the LORD    and confess the God of Israel,    but not in truth or right.2   For they call themselves after the holy city,    and stay themselves on the God of Israel;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 3   “The former things I declared of old;    they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;    then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.4   Because I know that you are obstinate,    and your neck is an iron sinew    and your forehead brass,5   I declared them to you from of old,    before they came to pass I announced them to you,  lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,    my carved image and my metal image commanded them.' 6   “You have heard; now see all this;    and will you not declare it?  From this time forth I announce to you new things,    hidden things that you have not known.7   They are created now, not long ago;    before today you have never heard of them,    lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.'8   You have never heard, you have never known,    from of old your ear has not been opened.  For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,    and that from before birth you were called a rebel. 9   “For my name's sake I defer my anger;    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,    that I may not cut you off.10   Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;    I have tried1 you in the furnace of affliction.11   For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,    for how should my name2 be profaned?    My glory I will not give to another. The Lord's Call to Israel 12   “Listen to me, O Jacob,    and Israel, whom I called!  I am he; I am the first,    and I am the last.13   My hand laid the foundation of the earth,    and my right hand spread out the heavens;  when I call to them,    they stand forth together. 14   “Assemble, all of you, and listen!    Who among them has declared these things?  The LORD loves him;    he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,    and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.15   I, even I, have spoken and called him;    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.16   Draw near to me, hear this:    from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,    from the time it came to be I have been there.”  And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. 17   Thus says the LORD,    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God,    who teaches you to profit,    who leads you in the way you should go.18   Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!    Then your peace would have been like a river,    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;19   your offspring would have been like the sand,    and your descendants like its grains;  their name would never be cut off    or destroyed from before me.” 20   Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,    declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,  send it out to the end of the earth;    say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”21   They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;    he made water flow for them from the rock;    he split the rock and the water gushed out. 22   “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” The Servant of the Lord 49   Listen to me, O coastlands,    and give attention, you peoples from afar.  The LORD called me from the womb,    from the body of my mother he named my name.2   He made my mouth like a sharp sword;    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;  he made me a polished arrow;    in his quiver he hid me away.3   And he said to me, “You are my servant,    Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”34   But I said, “I have labored in vain;    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;  yet surely my right is with the LORD,    and my recompense with my God.” 5   And now the LORD says,    he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,  to bring Jacob back to him;    and that Israel might be gathered to him—  for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,    and my God has become my strength—6   he says:  “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant    to raise up the tribes of Jacob    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;  I will make you as a light for the nations,    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7   Thus says the LORD,    the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,  to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,    the servant of rulers:  “Kings shall see and arise;    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;  because of the LORD, who is faithful,    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” The Restoration of Israel 8   Thus says the LORD:  “In a time of favor I have answered you;    in a day of salvation I have helped you;  I will keep you and give you    as a covenant to the people,  to establish the land,    to apportion the desolate heritages,9   saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,'    to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.'  They shall feed along the ways;    on all bare heights shall be their pasture;10   they shall not hunger or thirst,    neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,  for he who has pity on them will lead them,    and by springs of water will guide them.11   And I will make all my mountains a road,    and my highways shall be raised up.12   Behold, these shall come from afar,    and behold, these from the north and from the west,4    and these from the land of Syene.”5 13   Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;    break forth, O mountains, into singing!  For the LORD has comforted his people    and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14   But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;    my Lord has forgotten me.” 15   “Can a woman forget her nursing child,    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget,    yet I will not forget you.16   Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;    your walls are continually before me.17   Your builders make haste;6    your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.18   Lift up your eyes around and see;    they all gather, they come to you.  As I live, declares the LORD,    you shall put them all on as an ornament;    you shall bind them on as a bride does. 19   “Surely your waste and your desolate places    and your devastated land—  surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,    and those who swallowed you up will be far away.20   The children of your bereavement    will yet say in your ears:  ‘The place is too narrow for me;    make room for me to dwell in.'21   Then you will say in your heart:    ‘Who has borne me these?  I was bereaved and barren,    exiled and put away,    but who has brought up these?  Behold, I was left alone;    from where have these come?'” 22   Thus says the Lord GOD:  “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,    and raise my signal to the peoples;  and they shall bring your sons in their arms,7    and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.23   Kings shall be your foster fathers,    and their queens your nursing mothers.  With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,    and lick the dust of your feet.  Then you will know that I am the LORD;    those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” 24   Can the prey be taken from the mighty,    or the captives of a tyrant8 be rescued?25   For thus says the LORD:  “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,    and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,  for I will contend with those who contend with you,    and I will save your children.26   I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,    and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.  Then all flesh shall know    that I am the LORD your Savior,    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Footnotes [1] 48:10 Or I have chosen [2] 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name [3] 49:3 Or I will display my beauty [4] 49:12 Hebrew from the sea [5] 49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim [6] 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste [7] 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom [8] 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Colossians 2:6–23 Colossians 2:6–23 (Listen) Alive in Christ 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits1 of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its lega

With family: Numbers 10; Psalms 46–47 Numbers 10 (Listen) The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) Psalms 46–47 (Listen) God Is Our Fortress To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.1 A Song. 46   God is our refuge and strength,    a very present2 help in trouble.2   Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,3   though its waters roar and foam,    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4   There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,    the holy habitation of the Most High.5   God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;    God will help her when morning dawns.6   The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;    he utters his voice, the earth melts.7   The LORD of hosts is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8   Come, behold the works of the LORD,    how he has brought desolations on the earth.9   He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;    he burns the chariots with fire.10   “Be still, and know that I am God.    I will be exalted among the nations,    I will be exalted in the earth!”11   The LORD of hosts is with us;    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah God Is King over All the Earth To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 47   Clap your hands, all peoples!    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!2   For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,    a great king over all the earth.3   He subdued peoples under us,    and nations under our feet.4   He chose our heritage for us,    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5   God has gone up with a shout,    the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.6   Sing praises to God, sing praises!    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!7   For God is the King of all the earth;    sing praises with a psalm!3 8   God reigns over the nations;    God sits on his holy throne.9   The princes of the peoples gather    as the people of the God of Abraham.  For the shields of the earth belong to God;    he is highly exalted! Footnotes [1] 46:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 46:1 Or well proved [3] 47:7 Hebrew maskil (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 8; Hebrews 8 Song of Solomon 8 (Listen) Longing for Her Beloved 8   Oh that you were like a brother to me    who nursed at my mother's breasts!  If I found you outside, I would kiss you,    and none would despise me.2   I would lead you and bring you    into the house of my mother—    she who used to teach me.  I would give you spiced wine to drink,    the juice of my pomegranate.3   His left hand is under my head,    and his right hand embraces me!4   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,    that you not stir up or awaken love    until it pleases. 5   Who is that coming up from the wilderness,    leaning on her beloved?   Under the apple tree I awakened you.  There your mother was in labor with you;    there she who bore you was in labor. 6   Set me as a seal upon your heart,    as a seal upon your arm,  for love is strong as death,    jealousy1 is fierce as the grave.2  Its flashes are flashes of fire,    the very flame of the LORD.7   Many waters cannot quench love,    neither can floods drown it.  If a man offered for love    all the wealth of his house,    he3 would be utterly despised. Final Advice Others 8   We have a little sister,    and she has no breasts.  What shall we do for our sister    on the day when she is spoken for?9   If she is a wall,    we will build on her a battlement of silver,  but if she is a door,    we will enclose her with boards of cedar. She 10   I was a wall,    and my breasts were like towers;  then I was in his eyes    as one who finds4 peace. 11   Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;    he let out the vineyard to keepers;    each one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.12   My vineyard, my very own, is before me;    you, O Solomon, may have the thousand,    and the keepers of the fruit two hundred. He 13   O you who dwell in the gardens,    with companions listening for your voice;    let me hear it. She 14   Make haste, my beloved,    and be like a gazelle  or a young stag    on the mountains of spices. Footnotes [1] 8:6 Or ardor [2] 8:6 Hebrew as Sheol [3] 8:7 Or it [4] 8:10 Or brings out (ESV) Hebrews 8 (Listen) Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant 8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent1 that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ2 has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he says:3   “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,    when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel    and with the house of Judah,9   not like the covenant that I made with their fathers    on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.  For they did not continue in my covenant,    and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.10   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel    after those days, declares the Lord:  I will put my laws into their minds,    and write them on their hearts,  and I will be their God,    and they shall be my people.11   And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor    and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,'  for they shall all know me,    from the least of them to the greatest.12   For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,    and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Footnotes [1] 8:2 Or tabernacle; also verse 5 [2] 8:6 Greek he [3] 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 4–5 Judges 4–5 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,1 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets2    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians3 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,4    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's5 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [2] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [3] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [5] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:23–43 Psalm 107:23–43 (Listen) 23   Some went down to the sea in ships,    doing business on the great waters;24   they saw the deeds of the LORD,    his wondrous works in the deep.25   For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,    which lifted up the waves of the sea.26   They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;    their courage melted away in their evil plight;27   they reeled and staggered like drunken men    and were at their wits' end.128   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.29   He made the storm be still,    and the waves of the sea were hushed.30   Then they were glad that the waters2 were quiet,    and he brought them to their desired haven.31   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!32   Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,    and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33   He turns rivers into a desert,    springs of water into thirsty ground,34   a fruitful land into a salty waste,    because of the evil of its inhabitants.35   He turns a desert into pools of water,    a parched land into springs of water.36   And there he lets the hungry dwell,    and they establish a city to live in;37   they sow fields and plant vineyards    and get a fruitful yield.38   By his blessing they multiply greatly,    and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39   When they are diminished and brought low    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40   he pours contempt on princes    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41   but he raises up the needy out of affliction    and makes their families like flocks.42   The upright see it and are glad,    and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;    let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [2] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) New Testament: Romans 9–11 Romans 9–11 (Listen) God's Sovereign Choice 9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,1 my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,2 but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,   “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,'    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'”26   “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,'    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel3 be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,   “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,    we would have been like Sodom    and become like Gomorrah.” Israel's Unbelief 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness4 did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,   “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 10 Brothers,5 my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.6 The Message of Salvation to All 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom

Old Testament: Judges 4–5 Judges 4–5 (Listen) Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,1 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets2    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians3 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,4    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's5 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [2] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [3] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [5] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) New Testament: John 13:31–38 John 13:31–38 (Listen) A New Commandment 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:23–43 Psalm 107:23–43 (Listen) 23   Some went down to the sea in ships,    doing business on the great waters;24   they saw the deeds of the LORD,    his wondrous works in the deep.25   For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,    which lifted up the waves of the sea.26   They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;    their courage melted away in their evil plight;27   they reeled and staggered like drunken men    and were at their wits' end.128   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.29   He made the storm be still,    and the waves of the sea were hushed.30   Then they were glad that the waters2 were quiet,    and he brought them to their desired haven.31   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!32   Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,    and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33   He turns rivers into a desert,    springs of water into thirsty ground,34   a fruitful land into a salty waste,    because of the evil of its inhabitants.35   He turns a desert into pools of water,    a parched land into springs of water.36   And there he lets the hungry dwell,    and they establish a city to live in;37   they sow fields and plant vineyards    and get a fruitful yield.38   By his blessing they multiply greatly,    and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39   When they are diminished and brought low    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40   he pours contempt on princes    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41   but he raises up the needy out of affliction    and makes their families like flocks.42   The upright see it and are glad,    and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;    let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [2] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 14:32–33 Proverbs 14:32–33 (Listen) 32   The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,    but the righteous finds refuge in his death.33   Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,    but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.1 Footnotes [1] 14:33 Or Wisdom rests quietly in the heart of a man of understanding, but makes itself known in the midst of fools (ESV)

Morning: Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV) Evening: Luke 7:31–50 Luke 7:31–50 (Listen) 31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,   “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” A Sinful Woman Forgiven 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among1 themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Footnotes [1] 7:49 Or to (ESV)

Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV)

Judges 3–5 Judges 3–5 (Listen) 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Deborah and Barak 4 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging 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 up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?' say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah and Barak 5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: 2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,    that the people offered themselves willingly,    bless the LORD! 3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;    to the LORD I will sing;    I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4   “LORD, when you went out from Seir,    when you marched from the region of Edom,  the earth trembled    and the heavens dropped,    yes, the clouds dropped water.5   The mountains quaked before the LORD,    even Sinai before the LORD,3 the God of Israel. 6   “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned,    and travelers kept to the byways.7   The villagers ceased in Israel;    they ceased to be until I arose;    I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.8   When new gods were chosen,    then war was in the gates.  Was shield or spear to be seen    among forty thousand in Israel?9   My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel    who offered themselves willingly among the people.    Bless the LORD. 10   “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,    you who sit on rich carpets4    and you who walk by the way.11   To the sound of musicians5 at the watering places,    there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,    the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.   “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12   “Awake, awake, Deborah!    Awake, awake, break out in a song!  Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,    O son of Abinoam.13   Then down marched the remnant of the noble;    the people of the LORD marched down for me against the mighty.14   From Ephraim their root they marched down into the valley,6    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;  from Machir marched down the commanders,    and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant's7 staff;15   the princes of Issachar came with Deborah,    and Issachar faithful to Barak;    into the valley they rushed at his heels.  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.16   Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds,    to hear the whistling for the flocks?  Among the clans of Reuben    there were great searchings of heart.17   Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;    and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?  Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,    staying by his landings.18   Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death;    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field. 19   “The kings came, they fought;    then fought the kings of Canaan,  at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;    they got no spoils of silver.20   From heaven the stars fought,    from their courses they fought against Sisera.21   The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.    March on, my soul, with might! 22   “Then loud beat the horses' hoofs    with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23   “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD,    curse its inhabitants thoroughly,  because they did not come to the help of the LORD,    to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24   “Most blessed of women be Jael,    the wife of Heber the Kenite,    of tent-dwelling women most blessed.25   He asked for water and she gave him milk;    she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.26   She sent her hand to the tent peg    and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;  she struck Sisera;    she crushed his head;    she shattered and pierced his temple.27   Between her feet    he sank, he fell, he lay still;  between her feet    he sank, he fell;  where he sank,    there he fell—dead. 28   “Out of the window she peered,    the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice:  ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?    Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?'29   Her wisest princesses answer,    indeed, she answers herself,30   ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—    A womb or two for every man;  spoil of dyed materials for Sisera,    spoil of dyed materials embroidered,    two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?' 31   “So may all your enemies perish, O LORD!    But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years. Footnotes [1] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 5:5 Or before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord [4] 5:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it may connote saddle blankets [5] 5:11 Or archers; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [6] 5:14 Septuagint; Hebrew in Amalek [7] 5:14 Hebrew commander's (ESV)

Old Testament: Numbers 10–11 Numbers 10–11 (Listen) The Silver Trumpets 10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” The People Complain 11 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah,1 because the fire of the LORD burned among them. 4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” 7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. 10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,' to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.' 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.” Elders Appointed to Aid Moses 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”'” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!' 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Quail and a Plague 31 Then a wind from the LORD sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits2 above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers.3 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,4 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Taberah means burning [2] 11:31 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 11:32 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [4] 11:34 Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 68:1–18 Psalm 68:1–18 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God!3   But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy! 4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;  his name is the LORD;    exult before him!5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.6   God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7   O God, when you went out before your people,    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,    before God, the One of Sinai,    before God,1 the God of Israel.9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;    you restored your inheritance as it languished;10   your flock2 found a dwelling in it;    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11   The Lord gives the word;    the women who announce the news are a great host:12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”  The women at home divide the spoil—13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—  the wings of a dove covered with silver,    its pinions with shimmering gold.14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,    let snow fall on Zalmon. 15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;    O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,    at the mount that God desired for his abode,    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,    thousands upon thousands;    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18   You ascended on high,    leading a host of captives in your train    and receiving gifts among men,  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 (ESV) New Testament: John 8 John 8 (Listen) 8 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] I Am the Light of the World 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father1 who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come'?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. The Truth Will Set You Free 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free'?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave2 to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” You Are of Your Father the Devil 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” Before Abraham Was, I Am 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.'3 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”4 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Footnotes [1] 8:16 Some manuscripts he [2] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35 [3] 8:54 Some manuscripts your God [4] 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you? (ESV)