Israelites in the Bible

Exact Match

Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the wilderness of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites departed from the land of Egypt. He said:

Verse ConceptsTent Of MeetingTentsMonth 2

"{Take a census of} the entire community of the {Israelites} according to their clans and {their families}, according to [the] number of names, every male individually

Verse ConceptsMoses, Life OfCensus

So all those who were counted from the {Israelites} according to {their families}, from {those twenty years old} and above, everyone in Israel who [is able] to go to war.

Verse ConceptsMilitary ServiceMiddle Agearmy

"You will not muster the tribe of Levi, and you will not {take a census of} them in the midst of the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsCounting Levites

The {Israelites} will encamp, each in their own camp, and each by their own banner according to their divisions.

Verse ConceptsBanners, Literal UseCamp, Of IsraelFlagsCamping During The Exodus

But the Levites will encamp around the tabernacle of the testimony, and there will not be wrath on the community of the {Israelites}; and the Levites will keep the requirements of the tabernacle of the testimony."

Verse ConceptsCamping During The ExodusAction Lest God Be Angry

And the {Israelites} did thus; they did everything that Yahweh commanded Moses.

"The {Israelites} will encamp each with his standard, with a banner according to {their families}; they will encamp around the tent of assembly.

Verse ConceptsBanners, Literal UseWeights And Measures, DistancesFlags

These [were] the ones counted of the {Israelites} according to {their families}; all those counted from the camps according to their divisions [were] six hundred and three thousand five hundred.

Verse ConceptsThree To Nine Hundred Thousand

The Levites were not counted in the midst of the {Israelites}, just as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Verse ConceptsCounting Levites

And the {Israelites} did everything that Yahweh commanded Moses. They encamped according to their standards, and they set out each one according to their clans among {their families}.

Verse ConceptsFlagsCamping During The Exodus

And they will keep all the vessels of the tent of assembly and the responsibilities of the {Israelites}, to do the work of the tabernacle.

You will give the Levites to Aaron and to his descendants; they [are] surely assigned to him from among the {Israelites}.

"I [myself] receive the Levites from the midst of the {Israelites} in the place of all [the] firstborn of [the] offspring of the womb from the {Israelites}. The Levites will be mine

Verse ConceptsCovenant, God's with Israel's priestsVicarious Substitution

Those encamped before the tabernacle to the east--before the tent of assembly to the east--[were] Moses and Aaron and his sons; they will keep the responsibility of the sanctuary {for the Israelites}; and the stranger who approaches will be put to death.

Verse ConceptsHigh Priest, In OtExclusionDeath Due To God's PresenceCamping During The ExodusDanger When God Is Near

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Muster every firstborn male from the {Israelites} from {one month} and above and {count} their names.

Verse ConceptsCensus

And you will receive the Levites for me--I [am] Yahweh--in the place of all [the] firstborn among the {Israelites}, and the animals of the Levites in the place of all [the] firstborn among the animals among the {Israelites}."

Verse ConceptsI Am The Lord

So Moses mustered all the firstborn among the {Israelites} just as Yahweh commanded him.

"Receive the Levites in the place of all [the] firstborn among the {Israelites}, and the animals of the Levites in the place of their animals; the Levites will be mine. I [am] Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsLivestockI Am The LordPeople Belong To God

And the ransom of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the {Israelites} who are excessive over the Levites,

Verse ConceptsTwo Hundred And Some

Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

Verse ConceptsGiving, Of Possessions

From the firstborn of the {Israelites} he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, in the sanctuary shekel.

Verse ConceptsValuation Of PeopleRight Measures

"Command the {Israelites}: they must send everyone from the camp who is afflicted with a rash, everyone with a fluid discharge, and everyone unclean through [contact with] a corpse.

Verse ConceptsHealingLeprosyQuarantiningQuarantineDischarges

So the {Israelites} did so. They sent them away {outside the camp}; just as Yahweh spoke to Moses, so did the {Israelites}.

"Speak to the {Israelites}: 'When a man or woman {commits} any of the sins of humankind by acting unfaithfully, [it is] a sin against Yahweh, and that person will be guilty;

Verse ConceptsMan And Woman

And every contribution of all the holy objects of the {Israelites} that they bring to the priest for him will be his.

Verse ConceptsGiving, Of PossessionsAnimal Sacrifices, Heave Offering

"Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and acts unfaithfully to him,

"Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'When a man or a woman takes a special vow, a vow of a {Nazirite}, to keep separate for Yahweh,

Verse ConceptsBaldness, Unnatural

"Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'You will bless the {Israelites}: You will say to them:

Verse ConceptsBlessingSons Being A Blessing

And they will put my name on the {Israelites}, and I will bless them."

Verse ConceptsSpiritual AdoptionCalled By God's Name

"Take the Levites from the midst of the {Israelites} and purify them.

Verse ConceptsPollutions

You will bring the Levites {before} the tent of assembly, and you will summon the entire community of the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsCongregationAssembling Israel

And you will bring the Levites {before Yahweh}, and the {Israelites} will lay their hands on the Levites,

Verse ConceptsLaying On Of HandsLaying On Hands To Commission

and {Aaron will offer} the Levites [as] a wave offering {before Yahweh} from the {Israelites}, and they will do the work of Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsReadinessWave OfferingsSwinging

"And you will separate the Levites from the midst of the {Israelites}, and the Levites will be for me.

Verse ConceptsSeparationSeparation From Evil PeoplePeople Belong To God

For they [are] given to me exclusively from the midst of the {Israelites}. I have taken them for myself in place of [the] firstborn of every womb, every firstborn from the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsPeople Belong To God

For every firstborn among the {Israelites} [is] mine, both humankind and animal. On the day I destroyed every firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them to me,

Verse ConceptsDeath Of The Firstborn

and I have taken the Levites in the place of every firstborn among the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsSubstitution

And I have given the Levites; they are given to Aaron and his sons from the midst of the {Israelites} to do the work of the {Israelites} in the tent of the assembly and to make atonement for the {Israelites}, so a plague will not be among the {Israelites} when the {Israelites} come near the sanctuary."

Verse ConceptsLevitesSanctuaryDeath Due To God's PresenceDanger When God Is NearPriests Atoning

And Moses and Aaron and the entire community of the {Israelites} did to the Levites; everything that Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the {Israelites} did to them.

So Moses spoke to the {Israelites} to observe the Passover.

And they observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month {at twilight} in the desert of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, thus the {Israelites} did.

Verse ConceptsTwilight

And those men said to him, "[Although] we [are] unclean {by a dead person}, why are we hindered from presenting the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time in the midst of the {Israelites}?"

Verse ConceptsRules About Corpses

"Speak to the {Israelites}, saying, 'Each man that is unclean {by a dead person} or [is] on a far journey, you or your {descendants}, he will observe the Passover of Yahweh.

Verse ConceptsJourneyRules About Corpses

[Whenever] the cloud lifted up from on the tent, after that the {Israelites} would set out, and in the place where the cloud dwelled, there the {Israelites} camped.

Verse ConceptsDivine ManifestationsSetting OutCamping During The ExodusMoving OnMoving To A New Placeuncertaintycloudsmovement

On the {command of Yahweh} the {Israelites} would set out, and on the {command of Yahweh} they encamped; all the days that the cloud dwelled on the tabernacle they encamped.

Verse ConceptsSetting OutCamping During The ExodusGod's Orders

And when the cloud prolonged on the tabernacle many days the {Israelites} kept the kept requirement of Yahweh and did not set out.

Verse ConceptsStaying A Long Time

When [it was] two days, a month, {or a year} that the cloud prolonged to dwell on the tabernacle, the {Israelites} encamped, and they did not set out; when it lifted up they set out.

Verse ConceptsTwo DaysOne MonthSetting Out

And the {Israelites} set out for their journey from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud dwelled in the desert of Paran.

Verse ConceptsParticular Journeys

These [were] the departures of the {Israelites} according to their divisions; and so they set out.

Verse ConceptsOrder Of Marchorganization

The riff-raff that [were] in their midst {had a strong desire}; and the {Israelites} turned back and also wept, and they said, "Who will feed us meat?

Verse ConceptsMixed MultitudeWhat Foreigners DoMourning In RegretGreedComplaining

"Send for yourself men, and let them explore the land of Canaan, which I [am about] to give to the {Israelites}; {from each tribe of his father send one man}, everyone a leader among them."

Verse ConceptsSpyingTwelve Tribesexploring

So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran on the command of Yahweh; all of the men [were] {leaders} of the {Israelites}.

That place he called the valley of Eshcol on account of the cluster of grapes that the {Israelites} cut off from there.

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to the entire community of the {Israelites} in the desert of Paran at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and [to] all the community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.

And they presented the report of the land that they explored to the {Israelites}, saying, "The land that we went through to explore [is] a land that eats its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in its midst [are] {men of great size}.

Verse ConceptsBad Newsdoubt, results ofGiantsexploring

And all the {Israelites} grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert!

Verse ConceptsAaron, Life EventsFaultsMurmuringDiscontentDying In The WildernessDesire For DeathGrumbling At PeopleDying In The Desert Complainingwandering

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces {before} the assembly of the community of the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsReverence, And Obedience

And they said to all the community of the {Israelites}, "The land that we went through to explore [is] an {exceptionally good land}.

And all the community said to stone them with stones, but the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of assembly among the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsGlory, Revelation OfAppearances Of God In OtStoningTheophanyFear Of Stoning

"How long [will I bear] this evil community who are grumbling against me? I have heard the grumbling of the {Israelites} which {they are making} against me.

Verse ConceptsFaultsGod, Patience OfHearingRejection Of GodGod, All knowingGrumblingBefore God ActsComplaining

And Moses spoke words to all the {Israelites}, and the people mourned greatly.

Verse ConceptsUnhappinessAngst

Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and struck the Israelites and scattered them as far as Hormah.

Verse ConceptsDefeat Of God's People

"Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'When you come into the land of your dwellings that I [am about] to give to you,

All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord.

Verse ConceptsClosing UpRefreshing God

"Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'When you come into the land to which I [am about] to bring you,

The priest will make atonement for all of the community of the {Israelites}, and {they will be forgiven} because it [was] unintentional; they will bring their offering, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, their sin offering {before Yahweh} for their unintentional sin.

Verse ConceptsPriests AtoningMaking Mistakes

All of the community of the {Israelites} will be forgiven, as well as the alien that dwells in their midst, because the whole community [was involved] in the unintentional wrong.

Verse ConceptsForeigners Included In The Law

[For] the native among the {Israelites} and the alien that dwells in their midst, there will be one law for anyone who commits an unintentional wrong.

Verse ConceptsClosing UpForeigners Included In The LawUnintentionalStrangers in israel

When the {Israelites} were in the desert, they found a man who was gathering wood on the day of the Sabbath.

Verse ConceptsSabbath, In OtIsrael In The WildernessFirewoodSabbath Violated

"Speak to the {Israelites}, and tell them to make for themselves tassels on the hems of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the tassel of the hem.

Verse ConceptsClothGenerationsTasselsFringe Of ClothesBlue CordsGarmentsColorbordersknots

took two hundred and fifty men from the {Israelites}, leaders of the community summoned from the assembly, {renowned men}, and {they confronted} Moses.

Verse ConceptsTwo Hundred And SomeRosesrebellion

All the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "What if the earth swallows us too?"

Verse ConceptsShoutingSwallowingIsrael Fleeing

The censers of these {who have sinned} at the cost of their lives, let them be made into gilded leafing plating for the altar; because they presented them {before Yahweh}, they are holy; and they will be a sign for the {Israelites}.'"

Verse ConceptsSetting Up The Bronze AltarThings As Signs

[it was] a memorial for the {Israelites}, so that {no strange man} who is not from {the offspring} of Aaron should approach the presence [of] Yahweh to burn a smoke offering; he will not be like Korah and his company, just as Yahweh had spoken to him by the hand of Moses.

Verse ConceptsPriests, Institution In Ot TimesStrangersExclusion

The next day all the community of the {Israelites} grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of Yahweh!"

Verse ConceptsDiscontentGrumbling At PeopleJudged As MurderersComplaining

"Speak to the {Israelites}, and take from among them twelve staffs, {a staff from each family} from among all their leaders according to their families' households. Write the name of each man on his staff,

Verse ConceptsAlmondsThe Number TwelveTwelve Things

And it will happen, the man whom I will choose, his staff will blossom, and so I will rid from upon myself the grumblings of the {Israelites}, who [are] grumbling against you."

Verse ConceptsBlossomResentment, Against GodSprouting PlantsSproutingGrumbling At People

Moses spoke to the {Israelites}, and all their leaders gave him a staff for each leader, one from {each of their families}, twelve staffs, and the staff of Aaron [was] in the midst of their tribes.

Verse ConceptsTwelve Things

Then Moses brought out to all the {Israelites} all the staffs before the presence of Yahweh, and they saw, and each man took his staff.

And the {Israelites} said to Moses, saying, "Look! We will die! We will be destroyed! All of us will perish!

You will keep the responsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, and there will no longer be wrath on the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsSanctuaryAction Lest God Be AngryResponsibility

Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the Lord to work at the tent of meeting.

Verse ConceptsDedication In Ot

Yahweh spoke to Aaron, "Behold, I myself have given to you the responsibility of my contributions for all the holy objects of the {Israelites}; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons as an eternal decree.

Verse ConceptsAaron, Priestly ResponsibilitiesDividing Food

“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites’ presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.

Verse ConceptsdaughtersWave OfferingsPerpetual StatutesAnimal Sacrifices, Wave OfferingPermitted To Eat Offerings

I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits.

Verse ConceptsAlcoholFirst fruits

All the contributions of holiness that the {Israelites} offer to Yahweh I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you as an eternal decree; it [is] an eternal covenant of salt {before} Yahweh to you and your offspring with you."

Verse ConceptsCovenant, God's with Israel's priestsGod, The EternalOffspringThe Eternal CovenantFood For Priests DefinedSournessTerms Of The Covenant At SinaiGod’s Covenant With The Levites

Then Yahweh said to Aaron, "You will not receive an inheritance in their land, and there will not be a plot of ground for you in the midst of the {Israelites}.

Verse ConceptsPriests, Function In Ot TimesGod Is My PortionNo Earthly Inheritance

The {Israelites} will not come near again to the tent of assembly, or {they will bear sin} and die.

Verse ConceptsExclusionDeath Due To God's PresenceDanger When God Is Near

The Levites will perform the service of the tent of assembly, and they will bear their guilt, an eternal decree for all your generations. But they will not receive an inheritance in the midst of the {Israelites}

Verse ConceptsIncurring GuiltOffenceOrdinancesNo Earthly Inheritance

because the tithes of the {Israelites} that are {offered} to Yahweh as a contribution, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I said to them, 'They will not receive an inheritance in the midst of the {Israelites}.'"

Verse ConceptsAnimal Sacrifices, Heave OfferingFood For Priests DefinedNo Earthly InheritanceThe Tithe For LevitesTithes And Offering

"You will speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you receive the tithe from the {Israelites} that I have given to you from them for your inheritance, {you will present} a contribution from it to Yahweh, a tithe from a tithe.

Verse ConceptsTithesTithes And Offering

So {you will present} your own contribution to Yahweh from all your tithes that you receive from the {Israelites}; from it you will give the contribution of Yahweh to Aaron the priest.

Verse ConceptsAaron, As High PriestTithes And Offering

You will not bear any sin because {you have presented} its fat; you will not defile the holy objects of the {Israelites}, or you will die.'"

Verse ConceptsSacrilegeDeath Due To God's PresenceNot Guilty

"This [is] the decree of the law that Yahweh has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the {Israelites} and let them take to you a red heifer without a physical defect, on which a yoke {has not been placed}.

Verse ConceptsOrdinancesPerfection, DivineYokesAnimals, Types OfColors, ScarletHeifersRed AnimalsPerfect SacrificesUnused

A clean man will gather the ashes of the heifer, and he will put [them] in a clean {place outside the camp}; it will be for the community of the {Israelites} as a requirement for waters of impurity; it [is] a purification [offering].

Verse ConceptsHoliness, Believers' Growth InAnimal Sacrifices, BurntOutside The CampMeans Of PurifyingClean ObjectsBeing Cleansed From Sin

The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his garments; he will be unclean until evening. It will be an eternal decree for the {Israelites} and for one who dwells as an alien in their midst.

Verse ConceptsAshesRitual WashingStrangersClean ClothesPeople Being PollutedUnclean Until EveningForeigners Included In The Law

Then the entire community of the {Israelites} came [to] the desert of Zin on the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; Miriam died and was buried there.

Verse ConceptsBurials, Places OfAaron, Sins OfWilderness Of ZinMonth 1

But Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not trusted in me, to regard me as holy {in the sight of} the {Israelites}, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them."

Verse Conceptsdoubt, results ofHonorMoses, Life OfTrust, Lack OfUnbelief, Examples OfSkepticismDoubting GodDishonoring GodUnbelief Toward God

Thematic Bible



When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” Therefore the place is named Abel-mizraim. It is across the Jordan.


Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

“Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.


Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to play.

Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, resulting in weakness before their enemies.

because they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken a lie in My name, which I did not command them. I am He who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who [live] in you eat at the mountain [shrines]; they commit immoral acts within you. Men within you have sexual intercourse with [their] father's wife, and violate women during their menstrual impurity. One man within you commits an abomination with his neighbor's wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and [yet] another violates his sister, his father's daughter.

You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then receive possession of the land?

All of them commit adultery;
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.


After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy people has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"



When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground.

The house of Israel named the substance manna. It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.

The manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. The people walked around and gathered [it]. They ground [it] on a pair of grinding stones or crushed [it] in a mortar, then boiled [it] in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

You provided bread from heaven for their hunger;
You brought them water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
You had sworn to give them.

He gave a command to the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. He rained manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.


Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water out of this rock for you?" Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord's command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So the people complained to Moses: "Give us water to drink." "Why are you complaining to me?" Moses replied to them. "Why are you testing the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water, and grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" read more.
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!" The Lord answered Moses, "Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the rod you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink." Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths. He brought streams out of the stone and made water flow down like rivers. But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. read more.
They deliberately tested God, demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, "Is God able to provide food in the wilderness? Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out; torrents overflowed. But can He also provide bread or furnish meat for His people?"

He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a stream in the desert.


They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with bread from heaven.

A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped [them] at the camp all around, three feet off the ground, about a day's journey in every direction. The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail-the one who took the least gathered 33 bushels-and they spread them out all around the camp. While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.

He gave a command to the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. He rained manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven. People ate the bread of angels. He sent them an abundant supply of food. read more.
He made the east wind blow in the skies and drove the south wind by His might. He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the seas. He made [them] fall in His camp, all around His tent. They ate and were completely satisfied, for He gave them what they craved. Before they had satisfied their desire, while the food was still in their mouths,



This is a permanent statute throughout your generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood.”

“Anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who live among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people.

Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no foreigner who lives among you may eat blood.


On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees-palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook-and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. You are to live in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, read more.
so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."

So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and [other] leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written." The people went out, brought back [branches], and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops, and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, and the square by the Gate of Ephraim.


“Tell them this: This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.


When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did.

They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’”

Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.

So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

When Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he abandoned the law of the Lord—he and all Israel with him.


But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching past. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the desert.

They answered Joshua, "Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!"

All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.

David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. Each of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.

“You must not go!” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”

All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.


But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift, but Saul said nothing.

When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him: What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Israel, return to your tents; David, now look after your own house! So Israel went to their tents, but Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to get into the chariot and flee to Jerusalem. read more.
Israel is in rebellion against the house of David until today.


Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants. They exchanged wheat from Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm, for your goods.

King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon's servants. They went to Ophir and acquired gold there-16 tons-and delivered it to Solomon.

Next to him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room of the corner. The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate.


They will ask about Zion,
turning their faces to this road.
They will come and join themselves to the Lord
in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.


"But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed. read more.
Your descendants will be cursed, and your soil's produce, the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send against you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning Me. The Lord will make pestilence cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess. The Lord will afflict you with wasting disease, fever, inflammation, burning heat, drought, blight, and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. The sky above you will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your land into falling dust; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land, and no one will scare them away. "The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and mental confusion, so that at noon you will grope as a blind man gropes in the dark. You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help [you]. You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you. Your sons and daughters will be given to another people, while your eyes grow weary looking for them every day. But you will be powerless to do anything. A people you don't know will eat your soil's produce and everything you have labored for. You will only be oppressed and crushed continually. You will be driven mad by what you see. The Lord will afflict you on your knees and thighs with painful and incurable boils from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. "The Lord will bring you and your king that you have appointed to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone. You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you. "You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant and cultivate vineyards but not drink the wine or gather [the grapes], because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with oil, because your olives will drop off. You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner. Whirring insects will take possession of all your trees and your land's produce. The foreign resident among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you won't lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail. "All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the Lord your God and keep the commands and statutes He gave you. These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever. Because you didn't serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though [you had] an abundance of everything, you will serve your enemies the Lord will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you don't understand, a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young. They will eat the offspring of your livestock and your soil's produce until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, oil, young of your herds, or newborn of your flocks until they cause you to perish. They will besiege you within all your gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your gates throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. "You will eat your children, the flesh of your sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you. The most sensitive and refined man among you will look grudgingly at his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children, refusing to share with any of them his children's flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns. The most sensitive and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her refinement and sensitivity, will begrudge the husband she embraces, her son, and her daughter, the afterbirth that comes out from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything [else] during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you within your gates. "If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awesome name-Yahweh, your God- He will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses. He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The Lord will also inflict you with every sickness and plague not recorded in the book of this law, until you are destroyed. Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey the Lord your God. Just as the Lord was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so He will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be deported from the land you are entering to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit. Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be in dread night and day, never certain of survival. In the morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' and in the evening you will say, 'If only it were morning!'-because of the dread you will have in your heart and because of what you will see. The Lord will take you back in ships to Egypt by a route that I said you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy [you]."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: "How long [must I endure] this evil community that keeps complaining about Me? I have heard the Israelites' complaints that they make against Me. Tell them: As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. read more.
Your corpses will fall in this wilderness-all of you who were registered [in the census], the entire number of you 20 years old or more-because you have complained about Me. I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie [scattered] in the wilderness. You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know My displeasure. I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against Me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die." So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a bad report about the land- those men who spread the report about the land were struck down by the Lord. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land. When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief. They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Let's go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong." But Moses responded, "Why are you going against the Lord's command? It won't succeed. Don't go, because the Lord is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies. The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The Lord won't be with you, since you have turned from following Him." But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord's covenant and Moses did not leave the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that [part of the] hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

“But the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them: Don’t go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from being defeated by your enemies.’

My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide My face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, 'Haven't these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?' I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.


Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.


Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.


and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done.”


But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching past. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the desert.

They answered Joshua, "Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!"

All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.

David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. Each of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.

“You must not go!” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”

All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.


All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the Lord at Mizpah. The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God's people: 400,000 armed foot soldiers. The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked, "Tell us, how did this outrage occur?"


King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

Shaharaim had sons in the country of Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara.

Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years,


The Lord said to me, ‘Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’”

to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.


Never seek their peace or prosperity as long as you live.


While Israel was staying in Acacia Grove, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab. The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods. So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the Lord's anger burned against Israel.


Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites' cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. read more.
Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."


The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!”

The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!" Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.

While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.

The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!"

So the people complained to Moses: "Give us water to drink." "Why are you complaining to me?" Moses replied to them. "Why are you testing the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water, and grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

“May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”

There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord. Why have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? read more.
Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It's not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!"

They said to Moses: "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn't this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter-that is why it was named Marah. The people grumbled to Moses, "What are we going to drink?"

Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, His anger burned, and the fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. So that place was named Taberah, because the Lord's fire had blazed among them. read more.
Contemptible people among them had a strong craving [for other food]. The Israelites cried again and said, "Who will feed us meat? We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there's nothing to look at but this manna!" The manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. The people walked around and gathered [it]. They ground [it] on a pair of grinding stones or crushed [it] in a mortar, then boiled [it] in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it. Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry; Moses was also provoked.

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You grumbled in your tents and said, 'The Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites so they would destroy us, because He hated us. Where can we go? Our brothers have discouraged us, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.'


none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me,


They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.

They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.

He burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom and burned his children in the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.

but walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even made his son pass through the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.

They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

"You even took your sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them to these images as food. Wasn't your prostitution enough? You slaughtered My children and gave them up when you passed them through [the fire] to the images.

On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, that is what they did inside My house.

who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?

When they made every firstborn pass through the fire, I defiled them through their gifts in order to devastate them so they would know that I am Yahweh.

He defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Hinnom, so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fire to Molech.

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When you offer your gifts, making your children pass through the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“I will not be consulted by you!

For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. They have even made the children they bore to Me pass through the fire as food for the idols.


The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested.


May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised
from everlasting to everlasting.”


Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”


So Moses asked the Lord, "Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, 'Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,' to the land that You swore to [give] their fathers? Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: 'Give us meat to eat!' read more.
"I can't carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now. If You are pleased with me, don't let me see my misery [any more]." The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. "Tell the people: Purify yourselves [in readiness] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: 'Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.' The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you-because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?' " But Moses replied, "I'm in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, yet You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.' If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?" The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you." Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel. A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped [them] at the camp all around, three feet off the ground, about a day's journey in every direction. The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail-the one who took the least gathered 33 bushels-and they spread them out all around the camp. While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved [the meat]. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth and remained there.


After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp.


When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, 'Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him. You have been rebelling against the Lord ever since I have known you.


Then the Israelites heard [it] said, "Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side." When the Israelites heard [this], the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them. The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead. read more.
[They sent] 10 leaders with him-one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their families among the clans of Israel. They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them, "This is what the Lord's entire community says: 'What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the Lord today? Wasn't the sin of Peor, which brought a plague on the Lord's community, enough for us, so that we have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day, and now, you would turn away from the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the entire community of Israel. But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the Lord possesses where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take possession [of it] among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. Wasn't Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his sin.' "


Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship Him. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites. They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for 18 years [they did the same to] all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead. read more.
The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed, so they cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned against You. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals." The Lord said to the Israelites, "When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to Me, did I not deliver you from their power? But you have abandoned Me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your oppression." But the Israelites said, "We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today!" So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, but He became weary of Israel's misery.

Samuel told them, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the Lord, and worship only Him. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines." So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths and only worshiped the Lord. Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf." read more.
When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord's presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel [began to lead] the Israelites at Mizpah as [their] judge.


But the Israelites said, "We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today!" So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, but He became weary of Israel's misery.


"Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. Isn't the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord's sight by requesting a king for yourselves." Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. read more.
They pleaded with Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so we won't die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves." Samuel replied, "Don't be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart.


The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law, read more.
but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them. In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. But as for you, be strong; don't be discouraged, for your work has a reward." When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of [Azariah son of] Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the Lord's [temple]. Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from [the tribes of] Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought. Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart. Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman. They took an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams' horns. All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.


A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, "Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of His wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven. Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? Listen to me and return the captives you took from your brothers, for the Lord's fierce wrath is on you." read more.
So some men who were leaders of the Ephraimites-Azariah son of Johanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai-stood in opposition to those coming from the war. They said to them, "You must not bring the captives here, for you plan to bring guilt on us from the Lord to add to our sins and our guilt. For we have much guilt, and fierce wrath is on Israel." The army left the captives and the plunder in the presence of the officers and the congregation. Then the men who were designated by name took charge of the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.


But some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.


[Go up] to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way." When the people heard this bad news, they mourned and didn't put on their jewelry.


Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!" Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. read more.
The people then came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that He will take the snakes away from us." And Moses interceded for the people.


The Angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. You are not to make a covenant with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thornsin your sides, and their gods will be a trap to you." read more.
When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.


But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today!”


But Ephraim says:
“How rich I have become;
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any crime in me
that I can be punished for!”


be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply [further], and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country." So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. read more.
They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar, and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them. Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it's a daughter, she may live." The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife can get to them." So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous. Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families. Pharaoh then commanded all his people: "You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live."

"Don't continue to supply the people with straw for making bricks, as before. They must go and gather straw for themselves. But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers-that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words." read more.
So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I am not giving you straw. Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.' " So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The overseers insisted, "Finish your assigned work each day, just as [you did] when straw was [provided]." Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, "Why haven't you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as [you did] before?"

tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.


But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?


But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?


When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was severe-30,000 of the Israelite foot soldiers fell. The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.


When Joab and all his army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”


Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.
They do not look to the Holy One of Israel
and they do not seek the Lord’s help.


But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.

When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you’; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.


When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you’; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.


you did not eat bread or drink wine or beer—so that you might know that I am Yahweh your God.


They deliberately tested God,
demanding the food they craved.

While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved [the meat].

They ate and were completely satisfied, for He gave them what they craved. Before they had satisfied their desire, while the food was still in their mouths, God's anger flared up against them, and He killed some of their best men. He struck down Israel's choice young men.


References

American

Watsons

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.