Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



And it was told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. Then David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into folly.

but if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy slave, O king as I have been thy father's slave until now, so will I now also be thy slave; then thou may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father; then the hands of all that are with thee shall be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. read more.
And the counselled of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the word of God: so was all the counselled of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled. Now, therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not lodge this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass the Jordan; lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that are with him. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel, for they could not be seen coming into the city; and a maidservant went and told them, and they went and told King David. Nevertheless, a young man saw them and told Absalom, but both of them went away quickly and came to a man's house in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they went down into it. And the woman of the house took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground wheat upon it, and the thing was not known. And when Absalom's slaves came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They have gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David and said unto David, Arise and pass quickly over the water, for thus has Ahithophel counselled against you. Then David arose and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan before the morning light; there lacked not one of them that was not gone over the Jordan. And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and arose, and went home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order and hanged himself and died and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.


Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and arose, and went home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order and hanged himself and died and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.


Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. read more.
Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.


Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled.


Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. And it came to pass when Hushai the Archite, David's special companion, came unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, Long live the king, Long live the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy mercy to thy friend? Why didst thou not go with thy friend? read more.
And Hushai said unto Absalom, No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. And again, whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence.

And it came to pass that when David came to the top of the mount to worship God there, behold, Hushai, the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent and earth upon his head, Unto whom David said, If thou pass on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me; but if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy slave, O king as I have been thy father's slave until now, so will I now also be thy slave; then thou may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. read more.
Are not Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, there with thee? Therefore, it shall be that whatever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them you shall send unto me everything that you hear. So Hushai, David's special companion came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.


Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. read more.
Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.


And it came to pass that when David came to the top of the mount to worship God there, behold, Hushai, the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent and earth upon his head, Unto whom David said, If thou pass on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me; but if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy slave, O king as I have been thy father's slave until now, so will I now also be thy slave; then thou may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. read more.
Are not Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, there with thee? Therefore, it shall be that whatever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son; and by them you shall send unto me everything that you hear. So Hushai, David's special companion came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled. Now, therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not lodge this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass the Jordan; lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that are with him. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel, for they could not be seen coming into the city; and a maidservant went and told them, and they went and told King David. Nevertheless, a young man saw them and told Absalom, but both of them went away quickly and came to a man's house in Bahurim, who had a well in his court, and they went down into it. And the woman of the house took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground wheat upon it, and the thing was not known. And when Absalom's slaves came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They have gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David and said unto David, Arise and pass quickly over the water, for thus has Ahithophel counselled against you. Then David arose and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan before the morning light; there lacked not one of them that was not gone over the Jordan.


But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the shofar, then ye shall say, Absalom reigns in Hebron.

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled. Now, therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not lodge this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass the Jordan; lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that are with him. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel, for they could not be seen coming into the city; and a maidservant went and told them, and they went and told King David.


The burden of Moab. Certainly in the night Ar of Moab was laid waste and brought to silence; certainly in the night Kir of Moab was laid waste and brought to silence.

And dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he put a shofar in each man's hand with empty pitchers and torches burning within the pitchers.

And Israel set ambushes round about Gibeah. And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in order against Gibeah as at the other times. And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to smite of the people and kill as at the other times in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God and the other to Gibeah by the field, and they killed about thirty men of Israel. read more.
And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the highways. Then all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and put themselves in order at Baaltamar, and also those of the ambushes of Israel came forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Gibeah. And ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was sore; but they did not know that evil was near them. And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men; all these drew the sword. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel had given place to the Benjamites because they trusted those of the ambushes which they had set behind Gibeah. Then the men of the ambushes rushed upon Gibeah and spread out and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men of the ambushes that they should make a great signal by causing much smoke to rise up out of the city. Then when the men of Israel turned their backs in the battle and those of Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons, for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle. But when the signal began to arise up out of the city, a pillar of smoke, those of Benjamin looked behind them, and, behold, the whole consumption of the city ascended up to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned again, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that evil was come upon them. Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. Thus they inclosed those of Benjamin round about and chased them and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.

And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his tried and experienced servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he and his slaves poured themselves out against them by night and smote them and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. read more.
Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.

And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the highways.

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that were with him, and the sheep and the cows and the camels, into two bands and said, If Esau comes to the one company and smites it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

So Joshua arose and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city; do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. And I and all the people that are with me, will approach the city; and when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them read more.
(for they will come out after us) until we have raptured them out of the city; for they will say, They flee before us as at the first. Therefore, we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city; for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And when ye have taken the city, ye shall set the city on fire. Ye shall do according to the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you. Then Joshua sent them forth, and they went to lie in ambush and abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; and Joshua lodged that night in the midst of the people. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people and went up he and the elders of Israel, before the people against Ai. And all the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew near and came before the city and pitched camp on the north side of Ai; now there was a valley between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And the people, all the camp that was on the side of the north came near to the city, and their ambush on the west of the city. And Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. When the king of Ai saw it, he rose up early in the morning and made haste with the men of the city to go out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. Then Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua and were raptured from the city. And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel that did not go out after Israel; and because they pursued after Israel, they left the city open. Then the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And those of the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city and took it and made haste to set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that were fleeing into the wilderness turned back upon their pursuers. Then Joshua and all Israel, seeing that those of the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned and slew the men of Ai. And the others issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they smote them so that they let none of them remain or escape. And they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. And when Israel had finished slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword until they were consumed, all the Israelites returned unto Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword. And so it was that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

And dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he put a shofar in each man's hand with empty pitchers and torches burning within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look at me and do as I do; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, as I do, so shall ye do. I shall blow the shofar, I and all that are with me, then ye shall blow the shofarot on every side of all the camp, and say, I AM The Hewer! read more.
So Gideon and the hundred men that were with him came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch when only the guards were awake, and they blew the shofarot and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the shofarot; and breaking the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the shofarot in their right hands to blow with; and they cried, The sword of I AM The Hewer! And they stood in their places round about the camp; and all the camp was routed, and they fled crying out. But the three hundred blew the shofarot, and the LORD set each man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the camp; and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath and to the border of Abelmeholah unto Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali and out of Asher and out of all Manasseh and pursued after the Midianites.

And it came to pass that when David came to the top of the mount to worship God there, behold, Hushai, the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent and earth upon his head, Unto whom David said, If thou pass on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me; but if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy slave, O king as I have been thy father's slave until now, so will I now also be thy slave; then thou may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me.

Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.

And I and all the people that are with me, will approach the city; and when they come out against us, as at the first, we will flee before them




Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only. Thus will I turn all the people back unto thee, and when they have returned (for that man is whom thou dost seek), all the people shall be in peace. read more.
And this word seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and of all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, Now call Hushai, the Archite, also, and let us likewise hear what he says. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Thus spoke Ahithophel; shall we follow his word or not? Speak thou. Then Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and now their souls are bitter, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or in some other place, and if some of thy men are overthrown at the beginning, whoever hears of it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. Thus even the valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt, for all Israel knows that thy father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Then we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he goes into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river until not even one small stone is found there. Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai, the Archite, is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had given orders to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. Then Hushai said unto Zadok and to Abiathar, the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counselled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counselled.

And when they came unto the borders of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there next to the Jordan, a great altar to look upon. And the sons of Israel heard it said, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. read more.
And the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. And they came unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD in that ye have built an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, for which there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD? And ye turn away this day from following the LORD; and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. If the land of your possession seems unto you to be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, in which the LORD's tabernacle dwells and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the LORD our God. Peradventure did Achan, the son of Zerah, not commit a trespass in the anathema, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity. Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knows and let Israel also know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD (save us not this day) that we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD or if to offer thereon burnt offering or present or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; likewise, if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, Peradventure tomorrow your children shall speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? The LORD has put the Jordan for a border between us and you, O sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD, so shall your sons make our sons cease from fearing the LORD. Therefore we said, Let us now work to build us an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between us and you and our generations after us, to do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. Therefore we said, that it shall be, if they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may reply, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices, but it is a witness between us and you. Let it never happen that we should rebel against the LORD or that we should turn today from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for presents, or for sacrifices, in addition to the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us because ye have not intended to trespass against the LORD. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the wrath of the LORD. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the sons of Israel; and the sons of Israel blessed God and did not speak again of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Ed; for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.

But if thou art afraid to go down, go with Phurah thy servant down to the camp, and thou shalt hear what they say; and then thy hands shall be strengthened, and thou shalt go down to the camp. Then he went down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the camp.

For, behold, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there and pain as of a woman in travail. read more.
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.