“But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your vow offerings and go to the place the Lord chooses.

Gather whatever you've taken as spoils at the public square of the town, then burn the town, along with whatever you've taken, as an offering to the LORD your God. It will remain a permanent mound of ruins, never to be rebuilt again.

{Take care} so that there will not be {a thought of wickedness} in your heart, {saying}, 'The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,' {and you view your needy neighbor with hostility}, and [so] you [do] not give to him, and he might cry [out] against you to Yahweh, and {you would incur guilt against yourself}.

Don't view this as a hardship for yourself when you set him free, for he will have served you for six years twice the time of a paid worker. Then the LORD will bless you in all that you do."

Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

You shall be careful to perform that [vow] which passes your lips, just as you have made a voluntary vow to the Lord your God, just as you have promised with your own words (mouth).

The judge may sentence him to forty blows, but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite with contempt.

then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. She will then respond, "Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother's family line!"

Approach the priest who is in charge at that time and say to him, "I acknowledge today to the LORD your God that I've arrived in the land that the LORD promised our ancestors to give us.'

And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, who went down to Egypt and traveled there with very few family members, yet there he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. But the Egyptians oppressed us, afflicted us, and assigned us to hard labor.

"I've removed the holy offering from my house and given it to the descendants of Levi, to the foreigners, to the orphans, and to the widows just as you have commanded me. I haven't violated or forgotten your commands. I haven't eaten any part of it while mourning, nor removed any part of it while unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I've obeyed the voice of the LORD my God and did all that he commanded me.

Then inscribe on them all the words of this Law when you've crossed over into the land that the LORD your God is about to give you a land flowing with milk and honey just as the LORD God of your ancestors promised you.

And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.

Though I've led you for 40 years in the desert, neither your clothes nor your shoes have worn out.

"Because they've abandoned the covenant of their LORD, the God of their ancestors that he had made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped other gods whom they had not known and whom he did not assign to them.

"When all these things happen to you both the blessings and the curses that I've presented to you and you take them seriously in all the nations where the LORD your God will deport you,

I call heaven and earth to testify against you today! I've set life and death before you today: both blessings and curses. Choose life, that it may be well with you you and your children.

The LORD will hand them over to you, so you can do to them what I've instructed you to do.

because after I've brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey that I promised to their ancestors by an oath, they'll eat, grow fat, and then they'll turn to other gods and serve them, while despising me and breaking my covenant.

because indeed I know your rebellion and stubbornness. Note that even while I'm still alive, you've been rebelling against the LORD how much more so after my death!

because I know that after my death, you'll surely act wickedly and turn from the road that I've instructed you. As a result, evil will fall on you in days to come, because you'll act wickedly in the sight of the LORD, causing him to become angry due to your behavior."

Had I not feared the provocation of the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “Our [own] hand has prevailed,
And the Lord has not done all this.”’

‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword will devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’

“Go up Mount Nebo in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession.

Yes, from afar you may view the land, but there you shall not enter there, [that is], into the land that I [am] giving to the {Israelites}."

Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.

Above, is the God of aforetime, And, beneath, are the Arms of the ages, - So he driveth before thee the foe, And doth say - Destroy!

and he displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel.

I've commanded you, haven't I? Be strong and courageous. Don't be fearful or discouraged, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Your wives, your young children, and your livestock will remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan River, but you and all your warriors will cross, ready for battle, in full view of your relatives, and you will help them

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

So the king of Jericho sent for Rahab and ordered her, "Bring out the men who came to visit you and lodged in your house, because they've come to scout out the entire land."

Now therefore, since I've treated you so kindly, please swear in the name of the LORD that you'll also be kind to my father's household by giving me this sure sign:

The men said to her, "If you die, may we die too! If you do not report what we've been up to, then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance to you."

The men replied, "We'll be free from our commitment to you to which you've obligated us

But if you report this incident, we'll be free from the oath to which you've made us swear."

So the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan River, with the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant in full view of the people.

When all of the people had completed their crossing, the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in full view of the people.

Just as Moses had directed, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, dressed in battle regalia, in full view of the other Israelis.

And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.

And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.

They'll come after us until we've drawn them away from the city, because they'll say, "They're running away from us just like they did before.' While we're running away from them,

When you've taken the city, set it on fire, just as the LORD ordered. Look! These are your orders!"

Joshua spent that night in the camp among the army. In the morning, Joshua got up early, mustered his army, and set off for Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel in full view of the army.

Then they approached Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and addressed him and the Israelis, "We've arrived from a distant country, so please make a treaty with us right now."

They answered, "Your servants have arrived from a very distant land, because of the reputation of the LORD your God, because we've heard a report about all that he did in Egypt,

So Joshua and the Israelites finished inflicting a terrible slaughter on them until they were destroyed, although a few survivors ran away to the fortified cities.

The territory of King Og of Bashan, one of the few remaining Rephaites, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei

And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel smote beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even to mount Halak, that goes up to Seir, and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel f

the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) Moses defeated them and took their lands.

So Eleazar's son Phinehas the priest replied to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the descendants of Manasseh, "Today we've demonstrated that the LORD is among us, because you have not acted treacherously against the LORD. Now you have delivered the Israelis from the anger of the LORD."

The LORD replied, "The tribe of Judah is to lead you. Look! I've given the land into their control."

Adoni-bezek used to brag, "Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I've done." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there.

"I want this blessing from you," she replied. "Since you've given me land in the Negev, give me water springs, too." So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

The Israelis kept on practicing evil in full view of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served Canaanite male and female deities.

The Israelis again practiced evil in full view of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab in his control over Israel, because they had practiced evil in full view of the LORD.

“The torrent Kishon swept the enemy away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
O my soul, march on with strength.

The LORD looked straight at him and replied, "Go with this determination of yours and deliver Israel from Midian's domination. I've directed you, haven't I?"

And please don't leave here until I've come back to you, brought my offering, and set it down in front of you." The LORD replied, "I'll stay until you return."

When Gideon realized that he had seen the angel of the LORD himself, he cried out, "Oh no! Lord GOD! I've been looking right at the angel of the LORD and face-to-face at that!"

Then Gideon told God, "If you intend to deliver Israel by my efforts as you've said,

then take a look at this wool fleece that I'm placing on the threshing floor. If dew appears only on the fleece and it's dry on the ground all around it then I'll know that you'll deliver Israel by my efforts like you've said."

That's why you're to ask in full view of the soldiers, "Whoever is afraid or is trembling may go back from Mount Gilead and return home." So 22,000 soldiers left and 10,000 remained.

Later that same night, the LORD directed Gideon, "Get up and go down to the Midianite encampment, because I've given it into your control.

"But now as for you, you've rebelled against my father's house today. You've murdered his sons 70 men in one place, and you've installed Abimelech, the son of his mistress, as king to rule over the "lords" of Shechem, since he's related to you.

So if you've acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then you're welcome to Abimelech, and he's welcome to you"

So Gaal went out in full view of the "lords" of Shechem and fought Abimelech.

So he went up to Mount Zalmon, accompanied by his entire army. Abimelech had an axe in his hand, so he cut down a branch from a tree, lifted it up, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he told the army that had accompanied him, "You've seen what I just did. Hurry up! Do the same thing!"

The elders of Gilead responded to Jephthah, "May the Lord serve as a witness that we're making this agreement between ourselves to do as we've said."

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me; for I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow."

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward. And they said to Jephthah, Why did thou pass over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and did not call us to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with f

Manoah asked, "Now, when what you've said occurs, what is to be the young man's way of life and work?"

Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What's your name, because when what you've said happens, we'll glorify you?"

Then Manoah told his wife, "We're going to die for sure, because we've seen God!"

Then his father and his mother said to him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brothers, or among all my people, that thou go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her fo

The next day, they told Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we'll set fire to your father's house with you in it! You've invited us here to make us paupers, haven't you?"

So Samson's wife cried in front of him and accused him, "You only hate me. You don't love me. You've told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven't told the solution to me." Samson responded, "Look, I haven't told my parents, either. Why should I tell you?"

They said to him, “We’ve come to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won’t kill me.”

Then Samson declared, "With a jawbone from the donkey here a heap, there a pair of heaps with the jawbone of the donkey I've killed 1,000 men."

Some time later, Delilah told Samson, "Look here! You've been mocking me and lying to me. Now please tell me how you can be tied up."

Some time later, she asked him, "How can you keep saying "I love you!' when your heart isn't with me? These three times you've lied to me and haven't told me where your great strength lies."

So he finally disclosed everything. He told her, "A razor has never touched my head, because I've been a Nazirite for God before I was born. If I am shaved, then my strength will abandon me and I will become weak like every human being."

And the children of Dan sent of their kindreds five men of activity, out of their coasts, even out of Zorah and Eshtaol, to view the land and search it out, and said unto them, "Go and search out the land." And they came to mount Ephraim, even to the house of Micah and lodged there.

He answered, "Micah did such and such for me, and has hired me, so I've become his priest."

They replied, "Let's get going and attack them. We've scouted out the land and look! it's a very good one. Why should we sit still? We can't wait to go back, invade, and take over the land.

They yelled at the descendants of Dan, who turned around to face Micah and asked, "What's wrong with you? You've assembled together"?"

He replied, "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, because I'm from there, and I've been visiting Bethlehem in Judah. I'm going home now, but no one will take me into his home.

So I grabbed my mistress, cut her in pieces, and sent her remains throughout the territory of Israel's inheritance, because they've committed a vile, stupid outrage in Israel.

We'll take ten men out of 100 from all of the tribes of Israel. We'll appoint 100 out of 1,000 and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply provisions for the army. And when we reach Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, we'll punish them for all of the stupid things that they've done in Israel."

The LORD struck Benjamin in the full view of Israel. As a result, the Israelis destroyed 25,100 soldiers of Benjamin that day, all expert swordsmen.

Now the people of Israel had taken a vow in Mizpah that went like this: "Not even one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a descendant of Benjamin!"

What should we do about wives for the survivors? We’ve sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”

But we can't give them wives from our own daughters, since we've taken this vow: "May the LORD curse anyone who gives his daughter as a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!'"

Keep your eyes on the field where they are harvesting, and follow them. I've ordered my young men not to bother you, haven't I? And when you are thirsty, drink from the water vessels that the young men have filled."

She responded, "May I continue to find favor in your sight, sir, since you've been comforting me and you have spoken graciously to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants."