WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

Judges 10:6 – 11:28 (EHV)

6 Once again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtartes, [1] the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. In this way they forsook the Lord and did not serve him.

7 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8 who shattered and crushed the people of Israel that year.

For the next eighteen years, the Ammonites oppressed all the people of Israel who were in the territory east of the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 When the Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to wage war against Judah and Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, Israel suffered great distress.

10 Finally the people of Israel called out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, for we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.”

11 At this, the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, from the Amorites, from the Ammonites, and from the Philistines? 12 When the Sidonians and Amalek and Maon [2] oppressed you, and you called out to me, I delivered you from their hands. 13 It is you who have forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore, I will no longer deliver you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen! Let them deliver you in the time of your distress!”

15 But the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever seems good in your eyes, but please save us today.” 16 When they removed the foreign gods from their midst and served the Lord, he could no longer refrain from relieving [3] the misery of Israel.

17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms and set up camp in Gilead. The people of Israel also gathered and camped at Mizpah. 18 The army and the officers of Gilead said to each other, “Who is the man who will begin to wage war against the Ammonites? He will become head of all those who live in Gilead.”

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a powerful warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore sons for him, and when the wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away. They said to him, “You will not share the inheritance with our father’s household, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers. He lived in the Land of Tob, and a gang of worthless men gathered around him, and they went out on raids with him.

4 Sometime later, the people of Ammon waged war against Israel. 5 No sooner did the Ammonites wage war against the Israelites than the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from Tob. 6 They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief, and we will wage war against the Ammonites.”

7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me out of the house of my father? So why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?”

8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is true, but now we have returned to you. Go with us and wage war against the Ammonites, and you will be the head over us and over everyone who lives in Gilead.”

9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to wage war against the Ammonites, and if the Lord hands them over to me, will I really become your head?”

10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “May the Lord be a witness between us if we do not do just as you have said.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people appointed him head and chief over them. Jephthah repeated all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. They said, “What is the problem between me and you? Why have you come against me to wage war against my land?”

13 The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “The problem is that Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, my land between the Arnon and the Jabbok and extending to the Jordan. So now return the land peacefully.”

14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. 15 This is what he said to the king:

This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of Ammon. 16 Instead, when they came up from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and they came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please, let me cross over your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. In the same way Israel sent messengers to the king of Moab, but the king of Moab also was not willing, so Israel returned to Kadesh.

18 Then Israel made their way through the wilderness on a route that circled around the outside of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. After they had traveled along the eastern side of the land of Moab, they camped on the north side of the Arnon. So they did not cross the border of Moab, for the Arnon forms the border of Moab.

19 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, “Please let us cross over your land to our destination.” 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross his territory. Instead, Sihon gathered all his troops, and they camped at Jahaz and waged war against Israel.

21 Then the Lord God of Israel gave Sihon and his whole army into the hand of Israel, and Israel struck Sihon down. Israel took possession of the land of the Amorites who had been living in that land. 22 In this way Israel took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.

23 The Lord, the God of Israel, has taken possession of the land of the Amorites for the sake of his people Israel—and now you want to take possession of it! 24 Shouldn’t you possess whatever Chemosh your god gives to you, but we should possess everything that the Lord our God takes for us to possess? 25 Also now, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he have a valid quarrel with Israel? Did he have a reason to wage war against them? [4] 26 When Israel was living in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years, why didn’t you take the land back at that time? 27 As for me, I have not sinned against you. You are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, render a verdict today between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.

28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the message that Jephthah sent him.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 9:1 – 10:5 (EHV)

1 Abimelek son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to visit his mother’s brothers. He spoke to them and to the entire clan of his mother’s household, saying, 2 “Please announce this in the hearing of all the citizens [1] of Shechem: What is better for you? If seventy men—all of the sons of Jerubbaal—rule over you, or if one man rules over you? Also remember this—I am your own flesh and blood.”

3 His mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem. So their hearts were inclined toward Abimelek, because they said, “He is our brother.”

4 They gave him seventy pieces [2] of silver from the house of Baal of the Covenant. With the money, Abimelek hired worthless, reckless men, who traveled with him. 5 He came to his father’s household at Ophrah, and he murdered his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal—seventy men slaughtered on one stone. Only one remained alive, Jotham son of Jerubbaal, the youngest, for he had hidden himself. 6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered together, and they went and crowned Abimelek as king by the oak tree next to the memorial pillar that was in Shechem.

7 When Jotham was told, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and called out with a loud voice, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, and God will listen to you.”

8 One day the trees went to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, “Be king over us.” 9 But the olive tree said to them, “Should I stop producing my rich oil, with which both God and men are honored, to go and sway over the other trees?”

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, “Come, you be king over us.” 11 But the fig tree said to them, “Should I stop producing my sweetness and my good fruit to go and sway over the other trees?”

12 Then the trees said to the grape vine, “Come, you be king over us.” 13 But the vine said to them, “Should I stop producing my new wine, which gladdens both God and men, to go and sway over the other trees?”

14 Finally all the trees said to the bramble, “Come, you be king over us.”

15 So the bramble said to the trees, “If you are sincere about anointing me to be king over you, come, seek refuge in my shade. But if you are not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

16 Jotham said, “So now, if you acted in truth and integrity when you made Abimelek king, and if you have treated Jerubbaal and his household well, and if you have dealt with him as his hands dealt with you— 17 My father waged war for you and put his life at grave risk and delivered you from the hand of Midian. 18 Yet you have risen up against the house of my father today, and you have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have crowned Abimelek, son of his concubine, as king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your relative. 19 If you have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his household this day, rejoice in Abimelek, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, may fire come out from Abimelek and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and may fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelek.”

21 With that, Jotham fled and escaped to Be’er, [3] where he remained because of Abimelek his brother.

22 After Abimelek ruled over Israel three years, 23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelek, 24 so that the violence perpetrated against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal would come back on Abimelek, and their blood would be charged to their brother Abimelek, who killed them, and to the citizens of Shechem, who supported him when he killed his brothers.

25 In opposition to Abimelek, the citizens of Shechem set up ambushes on the mountains, and they robbed everyone who went by along the road. This was reported to Abimelek.

26 At this time Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers had come to Shechem and settled there, and the citizens of Shechem put their trust in him.

27 The people of Shechem went out into the fields and gathered grapes from their vineyards. They trod the grapes into wine and held a thanksgiving festival. They went to the house of their god and ate and drank, and they cursed Abimelek.

28 Ga’al son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelek? Why should the city of Shechem serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his representative? Serve the descendants of Hamor, the founding father of Shechem, but why should we serve Abimelek? 29 If only someone would give this people into my hand! I would remove Abimelek!”

So he said to Abimelek, “Get a bigger army and come out!”

30 When Zebul, ruler of the city, heard the words of Ga’al son of Ebed, he was hot with anger. 31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, “Look, Ga’al son of Ebed and his brothers have been coming to Shechem, and now they are stirring up the city against you. 32 So now, get up tonight, you and the troops who are with you, and hide yourselves in the countryside. 33 When morning comes, at sunrise, get up early and make an attack on the city. Then when Ga’al and the people with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”

34 So Abimelek and all the troops who were with him set out in the middle of the night and set an ambush for Shechem, in four units.

35 Ga’al son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city gate. Then Abimelek and the troops with him rose up from their hiding places.

36 When Ga’al saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look! People are coming down from the mountains.”

But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing shadows on the mountains and mistaking them for men.”

37 But Ga’al spoke up again. He said, “No, look! There are people coming down from the navel of the land, [4] and one unit is coming from the direction of the Oak of the Fortune Tellers.”

38 Zebul said to him, “Where is your big mouth now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelek that we should serve him?’ Aren’t these the people you despised? Go out now, and fight against him!”

39 So Ga’al went out in front of the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelek. 40 Abimelek pursued him, and Ga’al fled from him. Many fell wounded all the way up to the entrance to the city’s gatehouse. 41 Abimelek remained in Arumah, but Zebul drove out Ga’al and his brothers, so that they could not stay in Shechem.

42 The next day, when the people went out into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelek. 43 He took his people and divided them into three units and set up an ambush in the countryside.

As he kept watch, he saw people coming out of the city. He rose up against them and struck them down. 44 Abimelek and the unit that was with him rushed forward and took a position in front of the entrance to the city’s gatehouse. The other two units attacked everyone who was still out in the open country and struck them down. 45 Abimelek fought against the city all that day and captured it. He killed the people who were in it, and he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

46 When all the citizens defending the citadel of Shechem realized what was happening, they went into the vault [5] of the temple of El [6] of the Covenant. 47 When it was reported to Abimelek that all the citizens were gathered together in the citadel of Shechem, 48 Abimelek went up to Mount Zalmon—he and all the people who were with him. Abimelek took an ax in his hand and cut brushwood. He picked up the brush and placed it on his shoulder. He told the people who were with him, “Quickly do exactly what you saw me do.” 49 All the people, each man, also cut brushwood and followed Abimelek. They placed the branches against the vault and with the branches they set the vault on fire, and all the people in the citadel of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

50 Abimelek then went to Thebez, besieged it, and captured it. 51 There was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women and all the rulers of the city fled there. They shut it up tight behind them and went up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelek came up to the tower and attacked it. He approached the entrance of the tower to burn it down.

53 A certain woman threw down an upper millstone onto the head of Abimelek, and she fractured his skull. 54 He called quickly to the young man who carried his gear and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they do not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So this young man ran him through with his sword, and Abimelek died. 55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelek was dead, they all went back, each to his place.

56 In this way God avenged the evil that Abimelek had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 God also returned all the evil done by the men of Shechem onto their own heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

1 After Abimelek, Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man from Issachar, arose to deliver [7] Israel. He lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

3 After him Jair from Gilead arose. He judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys, and he also had thirty villages in the land of Gilead. People call them the Villages of Jair to this very day. 5 Jair also died and was buried in Kamon.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 7:24 – 8:35 (EHV)

24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the entire hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Go down to confront Midian. Seize the waters [1] before them, all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan.” So all the Ephraimites who were called out seized the waters as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 They also captured Oreb and Ze’eb, [2] the two generals of Midian. They killed Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and Ze’eb at the Winepress of Ze’eb. Then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Ze’eb to Gideon by the crossing of the Jordan.

1 The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “What kind of thing was that which you did to us by not inviting us when you went to fight against Midian?” They contended with him vigorously.

2 Gideon said to them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the whole grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 It was into your hands that God delivered Oreb and Ze’eb, the leaders of Midian. So what have I been able to accomplish compared to you?” Their anger against him died down when he said this.

4 Gideon then went to the Jordan and crossed over with the three hundred men who were with him. They were exhausted but kept pursuing the enemy.

5 Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the troops who are following right behind me, because they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

6 But the leaders of Succoth said, “Are the cut-off hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands? Why then would we give bread to your army?”

7 Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with thorns from the wilderness and with briars.”

8 Then Gideon went up from there to Penuel [3] and made the same request, and the men of Penuel gave him the same answer that the men of Succoth had. 9 So Gideon said to the men of Penuel, “When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower.”

10 In the meantime Zebah and Zalmunna had arrived in Karkor. Their armies were with them, but only about fifteen thousand men were left from all the forces of the peoples from the East. One hundred twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.

11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads who live in tents east of Nobah and Jogbehah. He struck the camp when it was not on alert. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon pursued them and captured Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian. This made the entire army tremble.

13 When Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres, 14 he captured a young man from Succoth. Gideon questioned the young man, who wrote down for him the names of the leaders of Succoth and of the town’s elders, seventy-seven men in all.

15 Gideon then went to the men of Succoth and said, “Look! Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands? Why then would we give bread to your exhausted men?’”

16 Then Gideon took the elders of the town, and he taught the men of Succoth a lesson with thorns from the wilderness and with briars. 17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about [4] the men you killed at Tabor?”

They said, “They were just like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”

19 “They were my brothers,” Gideon answered, “the sons of my mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

20 Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them right now.” But the young man did not draw his sword because he was afraid, because he was still just a youth.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You get up and strike us down yourself, for a man’s strength shows what kind of man he is.” Gideon stepped up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he collected the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and also your grandson—because you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.”

23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. Only the Lord will rule over you.” 24 But Gideon also said to them, “Let me ask you for one thing: that each man give me an earring from his plunder.” (The enemy wore gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

25 They answered, “All right, we will give them to you.” Then they spread out a garment, and each man among them threw in an earring from his plunder. 26 The weight of the gold earrings that he had requested was seventeen hundred shekels. [5] This was in addition to the crescents, the pendants, and the purple clothing that had been worn by the kings of Midian, and the ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made the gold into a sacred breastplate. [6] He set it up in his town of Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

28 In this way Midian was humbled before the people of Israel, and they did not raise their heads again.

The land was quiet for forty years during the days of Gideon.

29 Jerubbaal son of Joash returned and lived in his own house. 30 Gideon had seventy sons, who were his direct descendants from his own body, because he had many wives. 31 Also his concubine at Shechem bore him a son, and he named him Abimelek. [7]

32 Finally Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 After Gideon died, the people of Israel again prostituted themselves to the Baals, and they set up Baal of the Covenant as their god. 34 The people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who saved them from the hand of all their enemies around them. 35 They were not loyal to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 7:1-23 (EHV)

1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him set out and camped by the Spring of Harod. The Midianite camp was north of him, in the valley below the Hill of Moreh.

2 The Lord said to Gideon, “There are too many people with you for me to give Midian into your hands. If I did that, Israel would glorify itself at my expense and say, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ 3 So then, make an announcement for the people to hear: ‘Whoever is trembling with fear can return home and fly away from Mount Gilead.’” [1] Twenty-two thousand people turned and left. Only ten thousand remained.

4 The Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Lead them down to the water, and there I will refine them further for you. If I tell you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he may go with you, but if I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ he must not go.”

5 So Gideon led the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, “Place everyone who laps water with his tongue, as a dog would lap, to one side. Place everyone who kneels down to drink on the other side.” 6 The number of those who lapped—those who put their hands to their mouths [2]—was three hundred men, while all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped, I will deliver you, and I will give Midian into your hand. As for all the other people, let each man go back to his place.”

8 The men who had been chosen took provisions in hand, along with their ram’s horns, but Gideon sent every other Israelite man back to his own tent. He kept only the three hundred men. The camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the Midianite camp, for I have given them into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down to attack them, then go down to the camp with your young attendant Purah. 11 Listen to what they say. After that your hands will be strengthened to go down to attack the camp.”

So Gideon and his young attendant Purah went down to the sentry posts at the edge of the camp.

12 Meanwhile, the Midianites and Amalekites and the whole army of the eastern peoples were spread out in the valley, thick as locusts, and their camels were more than could be counted, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

13 When Gideon went down, he arrived just as a man was telling his fellow soldier about a dream. He said, “Listen! I had a dream. I dreamed that a round loaf of barley bread came tumbling over and over into the Midianite camp. It crashed into a tent and struck it so that the tent fell down. It overturned the tent, and the tent collapsed!”

14 His companion responded, “What can that be but the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the man of Israel. God has given Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”

15 So when Gideon heard the retelling of the dream and its meaning, he bowed down in worship and returned to the camp of Israel. He said, “Get up, because the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 He divided the three hundred men into three groups. He placed a ram’s horn into the hand of each one of them, as well as empty jars with torches inside them. 17 Then he said to them, “Watch me and do whatever I do. When you see me arrive at the edge of the camp, do whatever I do. 18 When I and all the men who are with me blow our ram’s horns, the rest of you, who are around the whole camp, also blow your ram’s horns and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

19 Gideon and the one hundred men with him went to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the Midianites had posted the guards. Gideon and his men blew their ram’s horns and shattered the jars that were in their hands. 20 All three groups blew their ram’s horns and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands they held the ram’s horns that they were to blow. They shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stood at his station around the camp. The whole Midianite camp started running, raised the alarm, and fled. [3]

22 When the Israelites blew the three hundred ram’s horns, [4] the Lord turned the sword of each Midianite against the person next to him throughout the whole camp.

The Midianite army fled up to Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, up to the border of Abel Meholah, as far as Tabbath.

23 Then all the men of Israel were summoned, from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 6 (EHV)

1 Again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. 2 The hand of Midian was heavy upon Israel. Because of Midian, the people of Israel made hidden shelters [1] for themselves, in the mountains, in caves, and other hideouts. 3 Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian and Amalek and the people of the East [2] would go up against Israel. 4 They would set up camp against them and ruin the crops all the way to Gaza, so there was no source of livelihood left in Israel—not even a sheep, an ox, or a donkey. 5 When the Midianites would invade with their herds of cattle and their tents, they were as numerous as locusts, so it was impossible to count them and their camels. This is how they came up against the land to ruin it. 6 So Israel was laid low because of Midian, and the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.

7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a man, a prophet, to the people of Israel. The prophet said this to them:

This is what the Lord God of Israel says: It was I who brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you out from the house of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors, and I drove them out before you, and I gave you their land. 10 I said to Israel, “I am the Lord your God. Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live,” but you did not listen to my voice.

11 The Angel of the Lord [3] came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

13 Gideon said to him, “Please tell me this, my lord: If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonderful acts our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Is it not the Lord who brought us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us, and he has given us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go forward in this strength that is now yours, and you will deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

15 He said to the Angel, “Pardon me, my lord, [4] but how can I deliver Israel? Look! My clan is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I—I am the least in my father’s house.”

16 But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you will strike down Midian as one man.”

17 Gideon said to him, “If I have now found grace in your eyes, offer me a sign that it is you who are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this spot until I come back to you. I will bring my gift and set it before you.”

He said, “I will sit here until you return.”

19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat, and he made unleavened bread from a half bushel [5] of flour. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot. He then brought them out to the Angel under the oak, where he presented them.

20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and set them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” So that is what he did. 21 The Angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread, and fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

22 Gideon realized that this was the Angel of the Lord, and he said, “Oh, no! It is the Lord God! Yes, I have seen the Angel of the Lord face-to-face!”

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will not die.”

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, and he named it “The Lord Is Peace.” To this day it stands at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 On that same night the Lord said to him, “Take a bull from your father’s herd of cattle, the second bull, the one that is seven years old. [6] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal. Then cut down the Asherah pole that is next to it. 26 In its place, build an altar to the Lord your God in the proper way, on top of this stronghold. [7] Then take the second bull and send up a burnt offering using the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and carried out the word of the Lord. Yet because he was too afraid of the household of his father and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, they were surprised to see that the altar of Baal had been thrown down, the Asherah pole next to it had been cut down, and the second bull was being offered up as a sacrifice upon the altar that had been built there.

29 The people were asking each other, “Who did this?” They searched and investigated until they concluded, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”

30 So the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he broke down the altar of Baal and because he cut down the Asherah pole next to it.”

31 But Joash said to all those who opposed him, “Will you contend for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself if someone broke down his altar.” 32 From that day on they called Gideon “Jerubbaal,” [8] saying, “Let Baal contend with him, if he broke down his altar.”

33 Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the people of the East gathered together. They crossed over to Israelite territory and set up camp in the Valley of Jezre’el. 34 The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. He blew the ram’s horn, and the clan of Abiezer was called out to follow him. 35 Gideon also sent messengers into all Manasseh, so Manasseh assembled behind Gideon. He also sent messengers into Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet the others.

36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have said, 37 look here, I am placing a woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew is found only on the fleece, but all the ground around it is dry, then I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.”

38 And that is exactly what happened! Gideon got up early in the morning and squeezed the fleece and wrung out dew from it—a bowlful of water!

39 But again Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more. Please let me conduct just one more test with the fleece: This time let the fleece be dry, but let there be dew on the ground all around.” 40 That night God did that very thing! Only the fleece was dry, and there was dew on the ground all around.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 5 (EHV)

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

2 When leaders take the lead in Israel, [2]

4 Lord, when you went out from Seir,

6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

7 Life in the unwalled towns came to a halt.

8 When Israel chose new gods, [5] there was war at the gates.

9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,

10 Riders on tan donkey mares, you who sit on saddle blankets,

11 Listen to the voices of those who divide flocks [6] between water holes,

12 Wake, awake, Deborah!

13 Then a survivor subdued the mighty ones. [8]

14 Some came from Ephraim—their root is in Amalek. [9]

15 The officers of Issachar are with Deborah.

16 Why did you linger among the sheepfolds

17 Gilead remained beyond the Jordan,

18 Zebulun is a people who scorned death and risked their lives,

19 Kings came; they waged war.

20 From the heavens the stars waged war.

21 The torrent Kishon swept them away,

22 Then the horses’ hoofs thundered,

23 “Curse Meroz!” says the Angel of the Lord.

24 Most blessed among women is Jael,

25 He asked for water, but she gave him milk.

26 Her hand reached for the tent stake,

27 Between her feet he knelt, he fell, he lay there.

28 Out the window she peers.

29 The wise women among her ladies answer,

30 “Aren’t they just finding and dividing the plunder?

31 Thus may all your enemies perish, Lord.

Then the land was quiet for forty years.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 4 (EHV)

1 After Ehud died, once again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Again the people of Israel called out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots. He brutally oppressed the people of Israel for twenty years.

4 Deborah, a woman, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, [1] was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would come to her for judgment.

6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I will lure Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin, to you at the stream Kishon along with his chariots and his horde, and I will give him into your hand.’”

8 But Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go, but if you do not go with me, I will not go.”

9 She answered, “All right. I will go with you, but because of the way you are going about it, the honor will not be yours. The Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 Barak called up the forces of Zebulun and Naphtali to meet at Kedesh. Ten thousand men went up on foot, and Deborah also went up with him.

11 It happened that Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the other Kenites, who were the descendants of Hobab, the brother-in-law [2] of Moses, and he had set up his tent out by the oak tree in Za’anannim [3] near Kedesh.

12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera led out all his chariots (nine hundred iron chariots) and all the people who were with him from Harosheth Haggoyim, and they came to the stream Kishon. [4]

14 Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! Today is the day that the Lord has given Sisera into your hands! Is not the Lord going ahead of you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men followed him.

15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his chariots, and all his troops into confusion with the edge [5] of the sword of Barak. So Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the troops as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army fell by the edge of the sword. Not a single man was left.

17 Sisera meanwhile fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the household of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “This way, my lord. Come here to me! Do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her, went into her tent, and she hid him with a covering.

19 He said to her, “Give me something to drink, please—just a little water, because I am thirsty.” She opened a skin of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up.

20 After that, he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”

21 But then Jael wife of Heber took a tent stake, and gripping a hammer in her hand, she came to Sisera quietly and drove the stake through his temple, right through into the ground. Sisera had been fast asleep, exhausted—now he was dead!

22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael came out to meet him. She said to him, “Come in, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went with her, and there he was. Sisera was lying there dead, with the tent stake through his temple.

23 So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the people of Israel, 24 and the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan, until they cut down Jabin king of Canaan.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 3:7-31 (EHV)

7 Then the people of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. [1] 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim, who was the king of Aram Naharaim. [2] The Israelites served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years. 9 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for the Israelites, who saved them.

The deliverer was Othniel, son of Kenaz, the youngest brother of Caleb. [3] 10 The Spirit of the Lord was upon him. He served as Israel’s judge. When he went out to wage war, the Lord gave Cushan Rishathaim, the king of Aram, into his hand, and his hand was strong against Cushan Rishathaim. 11 Then the land was quiet for forty years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

12 Again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel because they had committed evil in the eyes of the Lord.

13 Eglon took Ammonites and Amalekites along with him. He advanced and attacked Israel and took possession of the City of Palms. 14 So the people of Israel served Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

15 Again the people of Israel called out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them. The deliverer was Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite, who was left-handed. [4]

The Israelites sent him with a tribute payment for Eglon king of Moab. 16 Ehud made a double-edged sword for himself, about eighteen inches long, [5] and he strapped it under his clothing on his right thigh.

17 Ehud presented the tribute payment to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute payment, he sent the men who had delivered the tribute on their way. 19 But after he himself had passed the carved images that were at Gilgal, Ehud turned back and told the king, “I have a secret for you, O king!”

The king said, “Quiet, everyone,” so all his attendants left the room.

20 Ehud approached Eglon as Eglon was sitting in the cool upper chamber, all alone. Ehud said, “I have something from God for you.” So Eglon stood up from the throne. 21 Ehud reached out his left hand and took the sword that was on his right thigh and drove it into Eglon’s belly. 22 As the hilt went in after the blade, Eglon’s fat closed behind the blade. Ehud did not draw the sword out from Eglon’s belly, and the contents of his bowels came out. 23 Ehud then went out to the vestibule, [6] shut the doors of the upper chamber behind him, and locked them. 24 Then off he went!

When Eglon’s servants came back, they were surprised to see that the doors of the upper chamber were locked. They said, “He must be using the toilet.” [7] 25 They waited until the delay became embarrassing, but no one opened the doors to the upper chamber. Finally they took the key and opened the door. And there he was. Their master was lying on the ground—dead!

26 While they delayed, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the carved images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, ram’s horns were sounded throughout the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites marched down from the hill country with Ehud leading the way. 28 He said to them, “Follow me, because the Lord has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.” So they pursued them, captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and let no one cross. 29 At this time they struck down about ten thousand men of Moab, every one robust, each one a powerful warrior. Not one escaped. 30 This is how Moab was humbled on that day under the hand of Israel, and the land was quiet for eighty years.

31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. He struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. He too delivered Israel.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 2:6 – 3:6 (EHV)

6 When Joshua dismissed the people, each of the descendants of Israel went to his own inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, those who had seen all the great deeds that the Lord had done for Israel.

8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten years. 9 They buried him within the borders of his inheritance, in Timnath Heres, [1] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Ga’ash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them, who did not know the Lord or the deeds that he had done for Israel. 11 The people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, 12 and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them. They bowed down to them, and they angered the Lord. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtartes. [2]

14 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of raiders, who plundered them. He sold them into the hand of their enemies around them, and they were not able to stand up in the face of their enemies. 15 Whenever the men of Israel went out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring disaster on them, just as the Lord had said to them and just as the Lord had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, [3] who saved them from the hand of those who plundered them, 17 but they did not listen even to the judges! Instead, they prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way in which their fathers, who had obeyed the commands of the Lord, had once walked. This generation did not act the same way their fathers had acted.

18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, the Lord was with that judge and saved them from their enemies during all the days of that judge, because the Lord had compassion when he heard their groaning under their tormenters and oppressors.

19 But then, after the death of the judge, Israel would turn back and become more corrupt than their fathers by going after other gods, by serving them, and by worshipping them. They refused to let go of their practices and their shameless ways.

20 So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. He said, “Because this nation has violated my covenant, which I commanded to their fathers, and because they did not obey my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from among them a single one of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22 I will do this in order to test Israel by means of them. Will Israel keep the way of the Lord and walk upon it as their fathers kept it, or not?” 23 So the Lord gave those nations a reprieve, and he did not drive them out quickly. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

1 The following are the nations that the Lord left in place in order to test all the Israelites who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 (This was done so that the generations of Israelites who did not know war would learn how to wage war.) 3 Those who remained were the five serens [4] of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwell in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. [5] 4 They remained there to test Israel, in order to know whether or not they would obey the commands of the Lord, which he commanded to their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 The people of Israel lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 They took the daughters of these peoples as wives for themselves, and they gave their own daughters to the other peoples’ sons. They also served their gods.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Judges 1:1 – 2:5 (EHV)

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Who should go up against the Canaanites for us? Who of us should be the first to wage war against them?”

2 The Lord said, “Judah should go up. I have handed over the land to them.”

3 So the tribe of Judah said to the tribe of Simeon, their brothers, “Go up with us to the territory that has been allotted to us, and together we will wage war against the Canaanites. We also will come with you into your allotment.” So Simeon went with Judah.

4 When Judah went up, the Lord delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hand. At Bezek the Israelites struck down ten thousand men. 5 They encountered Adoni-Bezek at Bezek, and they waged war against him and struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 So Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their big toes cut off, had to scrounge for scraps of food under my table. God has repaid me with exactly what I did to them.” Israel brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 The men of Judah waged war against Jerusalem and captured it. They struck the city with the edge [1] of the sword and set it on fire.

9 After that, the men of Judah went down to wage war against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the Shephelah. [2] 10 Judah went up against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron before this was Kiriath Arba). There they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 From there they went up against those who lived at Debir (the name of Debir before this was Kiriath Sepher). 12 Then Caleb said, “To the one who attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give my daughter Aksah as his wife.”

13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, [3] captured it. So Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him as his wife.

14 She came to Othniel and pressured him to ask her father for pastureland. [4] As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me this blessing: Since you gave me land in the dry Negev, give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 The descendants of the Kenite father-in-law of Moses went up with the people of Judah from the City of Palms [5] to the part of the Wilderness of Judah that was in the Negev near Arad. They went and lived there among the people.

17 The tribe of Judah went along with the tribe of Simeon, its brother tribe. Together they struck down the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They devoted the city to destruction and named the city Hormah. [6] 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its border region, Ashkelon with its border region, and Ekron with its border region.

19 The Lord was with Judah, and Judah took possession of the hill country, but Judah could not take possession of the land belonging to the people who lived in the valleys and lowlands, because they had iron chariots. [7]

20 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had commanded, and he took possession of the land of the three sons of Anak.

21 But the men of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live among the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph likewise went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent spies to scout Bethel (the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us a way into the city, and we will grant you mercy.” 25 The man showed them a way into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and his whole family go. 26 The man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and named it Luz. That is its name to this day.

27 But the tribe of Manasseh did not take possession of Beth Shan and its towns or Ta’anach and its towns. They did not drive out the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, so the Canaanites were determined to keep living in this land. 28 Whenever Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites perform forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

29 In the same way, Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living at Gezer. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live among them at Gezer.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live among them. Zebulun did subject them to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, the inhabitants of Sidon, or those in Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. 32 Instead, the people of Asher lived among the Canaanites, who continued to live in the land because the Asherites did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath. Instead, they continued to live among the Canaanites, who continued to live in the land, but the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath did perform forced labor for Naphtali.

34 The Amorites forced the men of Dan back into the hill country. They did not allow them to come down to the lowlands. 35 The Amorites were determined to continue living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Sha’albim, but the hand of the house of Joseph grew heavy on them, and they were put to forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites stretched from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and beyond.

1 The Angel of the Lord [8] went up from Gilgal to Bokim, and he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt, and I brought you to the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will not break my covenant with you, forever. 2 As for you, do not make a covenant with the people living in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you did not listen to my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So I say, ‘I will not drive them out before you, but they will be traps for you, and their gods will be a snare to you.’”

4 When the Angel of the Lord spoke these things to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept loudly. 5 They named that place Bokim, [9] and they sacrificed to the Lord there.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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