Thematic Bible: Mosaic


Thematic Bible




Now when it was morning, all the chief priests and those in authority took thought together with the purpose of putting Jesus to death. And they put cords on him and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate, the ruler.

And when he had come into the Temple, the chief priests and those in authority over the people came to him while he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority?

And the first thing in the morning the chief priests, with those in authority and the scribes and all the Sanhedrin, had a meeting, and put cords round Jesus, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate.

Then the chief priests and the rulers of the people came together in the house of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. And they made designs together to take Jesus by some trick, and put him to death. But they said, Not while the feast is going on, for fear of trouble among the people.

And those who had made Jesus prisoner took him away to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and those in authority over the people had come together. But Peter went after him at a distance, to the house of the high priest, and went in and took his seat with the servants, to see the end. Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for false witness against Jesus, so that they might put him to death; read more.
And they were not able to get it, though a number of false witnesses came. But later there came two who said, This man said, I am able to give the Temple of God to destruction, and to put it up again in three days. And the high priest got up and said to him, Have you no answer? what is it which these say against you? But Jesus said not a word. And the high priest said to him, I put you on oath, by the living God, that you will say to us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says to him, You say so: but I say to you, From now you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, violently parting his robes, said, He has said evil against God: what more need have we of witnesses? for now his words against God have come to your ears: What is your opinion? They made answer and said, It is right for him to be put to death. Then they put shame on him, and were cruel to him: and some gave him blows, saying, Be a prophet, O Christ, and say who gave you a blow!

And straight away, while he was still talking, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great band with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and the scribes and those in authority. Now he who had been false to him had given them a sign, saying, The one to whom I give a kiss, that is he; take him, and get him away safely. And when he had come, he went straight to him and said, Master; and gave him a kiss. read more.
And they put their hands on him, and took him. But a certain one of those who were near took out his sword, and gave the servant of the high priest a blow, cutting off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and sticks to take me? I was with you every day in the Temple teaching, and you did not take me; but this is done so that the Writings may come true. And they all went away from him in fear. And a certain young man went after him, with only a linen cloth about his body; and they put their hands on him; But he got away unclothed, without the linen cloth. And they took Jesus away to the high priest; and there came together with him all the chief priests and those in authority and the scribes. And Peter had come after him at a distance, even into the house of the high priest; and he was seated with the captains, warming himself in the light of the fire. Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for witness against Jesus so that they might put him to death; and they were unable to get any. For a number gave false witness against him and their witness was not in agreement. Then some got up and gave false witness against him, saying, He said in our hearing, I will put an end to this Temple which is made with hands, and in three days I will make another without hands. And even so their witness was not in agreement. And the high priest got up in the middle of them, and said to Jesus, Do you say nothing in answer? what is it which these say against you? But he kept quiet and said nothing. Again the high priest questioning him said, Are you the Christ, the son of the Holy One? And Jesus said, I am: and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest, violently parting his robes, said, What more need have we of witnesses? His words against God have come to your ears: what is your opinion? And they all said it was right for him to be put to death. And some put shame on him and, covering his face, gave him blows and said to him, Now say what is to come: and the captains took him and gave him blows with their hands.

And Jesus said to the chief priests and the captains of the Temple and the rulers, who had come against him, Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and sticks? When I was in the Temple with you every day, your hands were not stretched out against me: but this is your hour, and the authority of the dark power. And they made him a prisoner and took him away to the house of the high priest. But Peter went after them at a distance. read more.
And a fire was lighted in the middle of the open square, and they were seated together, and Peter was among them. And a certain woman-servant, seeing him in the light of the fire, and looking at him with attention, said, This man was with him. But he said, Woman, it is not true; I have no knowledge of him. And after a little time, another saw him and said, You are one of them; and he said, Man, I am not. And after about an hour, another man said, with decision, Certainly this man was with him, for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I have no knowledge of these things of which you are talking. And straight away, while he was saying these words, there came the cry of a cock. And the Lord, turning, gave Peter a look. And the words of the Lord came to Peter's mind, how he had said, This night, before the hour of the cock's cry, you will be false to me three times. And he went out, weeping bitterly. And the men in whose hands Jesus was, made sport of him and gave him blows. And, covering his eyes, they said to him, Are you prophet enough to say who gave you that blow? And they said a number of other evil things against him. And when it was day, the rulers of the people came together, with the chief priests and the scribes, and they took him before their Sanhedrin, saying, If you are the Christ, say so. But he said, If I say so you will not have belief; And if I put a question to you, you will not give an answer. But in the future the Son of man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, Are you then the Son of God? and he said, You say that I am. And they said, What more need have we of witness? we have the very words of his mouth.

And while they were talking to the people, the priests and the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees came up to them, Being greatly troubled because they were teaching the people and preaching Jesus as an example of the coming back from the dead. And they took them and put them in prison till the morning, for it was now evening. read more.
But a number of those who gave hearing to the word had faith; and they were now about five thousand. And on the day after, the rulers and those in authority and the scribes came together in Jerusalem; And Annas, the high priest, was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all the relations of the high priest. Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this? Then Peter, being full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, O you rulers of the people and men of authority, If we are questioned today about a good work done to a man who was ill, as to how he has been made well, Take note, all of you, and all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, whom God gave back from the dead, even through him is this man now before you completely well. He is the stone which you builders had no use for, but which has been made the chief stone of the building. And in no other is there salvation: for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, through which we may have salvation. Now when they saw that Peter and John were without fear, though they were men of no education or learning, they were greatly surprised; and they took note of them that they had been with Jesus. And, seeing that the man who had been made well was there with them, they were not able to say anything against it. But when they had given them orders to go out of the Sanhedrin, they had a discussion among themselves, Saying, What are we to do with these men? for certainly it is clear to all who are living in Jerusalem that a most important sign has been done by them, and it is not possible to say that it is not so. But so that it may not go farther among the people, let us put them in fear of punishment if they say anything in future in this name. And they sent for them, and gave them orders not to make statements or give teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John in answer said to them, It is for you to say if it is right in the eyes of God to give attention to you more than to God: For it is not possible for us to keep from saying what we have seen and have knowledge of. And when they had said more sharp words to them, they let them go, not seeing what punishment they might give them, because of the people; for all men were giving praise to God for what had taken place.

But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen. But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit. Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing. read more.
And the people, with the rulers and the scribes, were moved against him, and they came and took him before the Sanhedrin, And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law: For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses. And all those who were in the Sanhedrin, looking at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Then the high priest said, Are these things true? And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran, And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide. read more.
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now: And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time. And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years. And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place. And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel. And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him, And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house. Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food. But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time. And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family. Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons. And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers; And they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. But when the time was near for putting into effect the undertaking which God had given to Abraham, the people were increasing in Egypt, Till another king came to power, who had no knowledge of Joseph. He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living. At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father's house: And when he was put out, Pharaoh's daughter took him and kept him as her son. And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works. But when he was almost forty years old, it came into his heart to go and see his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being attacked, he went to his help and gave the Egyptian a death-blow: And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see. And the day after, he came to them, while they were having a fight, and would have made peace between them, saying, Sirs, you are brothers; why do you do wrong to one another? But the man who was doing wrong to his neighbour, pushing him away, said, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Will you put me to death as you did the Egyptian yesterday? And at these words, Moses went in flight to the land of Midian, and was living there for a time, and had two sons. At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree. And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it. And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt. This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree. This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years. This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you. By whom our fathers would not be controlled; but they put him on one side, turning back in their hearts to Egypt, And saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: as for this Moses, who took us out of the land of Egypt, we have no idea what has become of him. And they made the image of a young ox in those days, and made an offering to it, and had joy in the work of their hands. But God was turned from them and let them give worship to the stars of heaven, as it says in the book of the prophets, Did you make offerings to me of sheep and oxen for forty years in the waste land, O house of Israel? And you took up the tent of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, images which you made to give worship to them: and I will take you away, farther than Babylon. Our fathers had the Tent of witness in the waste land, as God gave orders to Moses to make it after the design which he had seen. Which our fathers, in their turn, took with them when, with Joshua, they came into the heritage of the nations whom God was driving out before the face of our fathers, till the time of David, Who was pleasing to God; and he had a desire to make a holy tent for the God of Jacob. But Solomon was the builder of his house. But still, the Most High has not his resting-place in houses made with hands, as the prophet says, Heaven is the seat of my power, and earth is a resting-place for my feet: what sort of house will you make for me, says the Lord, or what is my place of rest? Did not my hand make all these things? You whose hearts are hard and whose ears are shut to me; you are ever working against the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death; You, to whom the law was given as it was ordered by angels, and who have not kept it. Hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and moved with wrath against him. But he was full of the Holy Spirit, and looking up to heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God. And he said, Now I see heaven open, and the Son of man at the right hand of God. But with loud cries, and stopping their ears, they made an attack on him all together, Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul. And Stephen, while he was being stoned, made prayer to God, saying, Lord Jesus, take my spirit.


And with great joy they made a feast before the Lord that day. And they made Solomon, the son of David, king a second time, putting the holy oil on him to make him holy to the Lord as ruler, and on Zadok as priest.

And all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Truly, the king's son will be king, as the Lord has said about the sons of David.

And the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and put your hand on him; And take him before Eleazar the priest and all the meeting of the people, and give him his orders before their eyes. And put your honour on him, so that all the children of Israel may be under his authority. read more.
He will take his place before Eleazar the priest, so that he may get directions from the Lord for him, with the Urim: at his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the children of Israel. So Moses did as the Lord said: he took Joshua and put him before Eleazar the priest and the meeting of the people: And he put his hands on him and gave him his orders, as the Lord had said by Moses.

And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to the king!

Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah, And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations. But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them. As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you. Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler. And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king. And he said, This is the sort of king who will be your ruler: he will take your sons and make them his servants, his horsemen, and drivers of his war-carriages, and they will go running before his war-carriages; And he will make them captains of thousands and of fifties; some he will put to work ploughing and cutting his grain and making his instruments of war and building his war-carriages. Your daughters he will take to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers. He will take your fields and your vine-gardens and your olive-gardens, all the best of them, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and give it to his servants. He will take your men-servants and your servant-girls, and the best of your oxen and your asses and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his servants. Then you will be crying out because of your king whom you have taken for yourselves; but the Lord will not give you an answer in that day. But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us, So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war. Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.

Then Samuel said to the people, Come, let us go to Gilgal and there make the kingdom strong in the hands of Saul. So all the people went to Gilgal; and there in Gilgal they made Saul king before the Lord; and peace-offerings were offered before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel were glad with great joy.

Then Abner had a talk with the chief men of Israel, saying, In the past it was your desire to make David your king: so now, do it: For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them. And Abner said the same things to Benjamin: and he went to David in Hebron to make clear to him what seemed good to Israel and to all the people of Benjamin. read more.
So Abner, with twenty men, came to Hebron, to David. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, Now I will go, and make all Israel come to my lord the king, so that they may make an agreement with you, and your kingdom may be as wide as your heart's desire. Then David sent Abner away and he went in peace.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said, Truly, we are your bone and your flesh. In the past when Saul was king over us, it was you who went at the head of Israel when they went out or came in: and the Lord said to you, You are to be the keeper of my people Israel and their ruler. So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel.


Then one of the twelve, who was named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me, if I give him up to you? And the price was fixed at thirty bits of silver.

So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth. And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people; And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. read more.
So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

And before them seventy of the responsible men of the children of Israel had taken their places, every man with a vessel for burning perfumes in his hand, and in the middle of them was Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan; and a cloud of smoke went up from the burning perfume. And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the responsible men of the children of Israel do in the dark, every man in his room of pictured images? for they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has gone away from the land.

Then Judas, who was false to him, seeing that he was to be put to death, in his regret took back the thirty bits of silver to the chief priests and those in authority, Saying, I have done wrong in giving into your hands an upright man. But they said, What is that to us? it is your business.


So Joseph went up to put his father in his last resting-place; and with him went all the servants of Pharaoh, and the chief men of his house and all the chiefs of the land of Egypt,

And word came to Pharaoh of the flight of the people: and the feeling of Pharaoh and of his servants about the people was changed, and they said, Why have we let Israel go, so that they will do no more work for us?

And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?

And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants hard, so that I may let my signs be seen among them:

And Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long is this man to be the cause of evil to us? let the men go so that they may give worship to the Lord their God: are you not awake to Egypt's danger?

Then Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and a great cry went up from Egypt; for there was not a house where someone was not dead.


Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening. And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening? And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God: read more.
And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God. And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good. Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself. Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him: Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do. But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens; And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you. If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace. So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said. And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens. And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.

And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you. And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.

And Moses went out and gave the people the words of the Lord: and he took seventy of the responsible men of the people, placing them round the Tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time.

At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself; The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said! read more.
How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments? Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes. And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him. In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.


Now it came about in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the responsible men of Israel came to get directions from the Lord and were seated before me.

Let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting, let the old men, even all the people of the land, come together to the house of the Lord your God, crying out to the Lord.

Now in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in my house and the responsible men of Judah were seated before me, the hand of the Lord came on me there.

Then certain of the responsible men of Israel came to me and took their seats before me.

Son of man, say to the responsible men of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Have you come to get directions from me? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no directions from me.

Get the people together, make the mass of the people holy, send for the old men, get together the children and babies at the breast: let the newly married man come out of his room and the bride from her tent.


And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.

And Moses came and sent for the chiefs of the people and put before them all these words which the Lord had given him orders to say. And all the people, answering together, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do. And Moses took back to the Lord the words of the people.

Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.

You have come here today, all of you, before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, the overseers, and those who are in authority over you, with all the men of Israel, And your little ones, your wives, and the men of other lands who are with you in your tents, down to the wood-cutter and the servant who gets water for you: With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today: read more.
And so that he may make you his people today, and be your God, as he has said to you, and as he made an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And not with you only do I make this agreement and this oath; But with everyone who is here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with those who are not here:


So David, and the responsible men of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went with joy to get the ark of the agreement of the Lord out of the house of Obed-edom.

And the chief men of his house got up and went to his side to make him get up from the earth, but he would not; and he would not take food with them.

And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the angel of the Lord there between earth and heaven, with an uncovered sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the responsible men, clothed in haircloth, went down on their faces.


So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel.

So all the responsible men of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they put the holy oil on David and made him king over Israel, as the Lord had said by Samuel.

Then Abner had a talk with the chief men of Israel, saying, In the past it was your desire to make David your king: so now, do it: For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them. And Abner said the same things to Benjamin: and he went to David in Hebron to make clear to him what seemed good to Israel and to all the people of Benjamin. read more.
So Abner, with twenty men, came to Hebron, to David. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. And Abner said to David, Now I will go, and make all Israel come to my lord the king, so that they may make an agreement with you, and your kingdom may be as wide as your heart's desire. Then David sent Abner away and he went in peace.


Then the king, taking his place by the pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in this book.

Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.


Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.

You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you, These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.

And there came together to him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, And had seen that some of his disciples took their bread with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. Now the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not take food without washing their hands with care, keeping the old rule which has been handed down to them:


Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, the seventh month. And all the responsible men of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, all the chiefs of the tribes and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to Jerusalem and take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the feast in the seventh month. All the responsible men of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.


Now after these things were done, the captains came to me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not kept themselves separate from the people of the lands, but have taken part in the disgusting ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

And that if anyone did not come before three days were past, as ordered by the rulers and the responsible men, all his goods would be put under the curse, and he himself would be cut off from the meeting of the people who had come back. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin came together to Jerusalem before three days were past; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people were seated in the wide square in front of the house of God, shaking with fear because of this business and because of the great rain. And Ezra the priest got to his feet and said to them, You have done wrong and taken strange women for your wives, so increasing the sin of Israel. read more.
So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and make yourselves separate from the peoples of the land and from the strange women. Then all the people, answering, said with a loud voice, As you have said, so it is right for us to do. But the number of people is great, and it is a time of much rain; it is not possible for us to go on waiting outside, and this is not a thing which may be done in one day or even two: for our sin in this business is great. So now let our rulers be representatives for all the people, and let all those in our towns who are married to strange women come at fixed times, and with them the responsible men and the judges of every town, till the burning wrath of our God is turned away from us, and this has been done.


Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah, And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations. But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them. As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you. Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler. And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.

But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us, So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war. Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord. read more.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.


In these towns you may be safe from him who has the right of punishment; so that death may not overtake the taker of life till he has been judged by the meeting of the people.

Then let the meeting of the people be judge between the man responsible for the death and him who has the right of punishment for blood, acting by these rules: And let the people keep the man responsible for the death safe from the hands of him who has the right of punishment for blood, and send him back to his safe town where he had gone in flight: there let him be till the death of the high priest who was marked with the holy oil.


And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men;

Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people? And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever. But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him:


And Saul said, May God's punishment be on me if death is not your fate, Jonathan. And the people said to Saul, Is death to come to Jonathan, the worker of this great salvation for Israel? Let it not be so: by the living Lord, not one hair of his head is to be touched, for he has been working with God today. So the people kept Jonathan from death.


And the rulers of Judah, hearing of these things, came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord, and took their seats by the new door of the Lord's house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the rulers and to all the people, The right fate for this man is death; for he has said words against this town in your hearing. Then Jeremiah said to all the rulers and to all the people, The Lord has sent me as his prophet to say against this house and against this town all the words which have come to your ears. read more.
So now, make a change for the better in your ways and your doings, and give ear to the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will let himself be turned from the decision he has made against you for evil. As for me, here I am in your hands: do with me whatever seems good and right in your opinion. Only be certain that, if you put me to death, you will make yourselves and your town and its people responsible for the blood of one who has done no wrong: for truly, the Lord has sent me to you to say all these words in your ears. Then the rulers and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, It is not right for this man to be put to death: for he has said words to us in the name of the Lord our God. Then some of the responsible men of the land got up and said to all the meeting of the people, Micah the Morashtite, who was a prophet in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like the high places of the woodland. Did Hezekiah and all Judah put him to death? did he not in the fear of the Lord make prayer for the grace of the Lord, and the Lord let himself be turned from the decision he had made against them for evil? By this act we might do great evil against ourselves. And there was another man who was a prophet of the Lord, Uriah, the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; he said against this town and against this land all the words which Jeremiah had said: And when his words came to the ears of Jehoiakim the king and all his men of war and his captains, the king would have put him to death; but Uriah, hearing of it, was full of fear and went in flight into Egypt: And Jehoiakim the king sent Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt. And they took Uriah out of Egypt and came back with him to Jehoiakim the king; who put him to death with the sword, and had his dead body put into the resting-place of the bodies of the common people. But Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, gave Jeremiah his help, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to be put to death.


Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping. And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land! Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? read more.
And they said to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people. And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief, Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land. And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Only, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of them. But all the people said they were to be stoned. Then the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tent of meeting, before the eyes of all the children of Israel.


Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said, Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man: he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back. And all the responsible men and the people said to him, Do not give attention to him or do what he says.


Then he said, Great is my sin: but still, give me honour now before the heads of my people and before Israel, and come back with me so that I may give worship to the Lord your God.


And King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, Say to the responsible men of Judah, Why are you the last to take steps to get the king back to his house?


Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.

So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.


And the saying was pleasing to Absalom and to the responsible men of Israel.


So the responsible men and all the people of our country said to us, Take food with you for the journey and go to them, and say to them, We are your servants: so now make an agreement with us.


I sent for my lovers, but they were false to me: my priests and my responsible men were breathing their last breath in the town, while they were looking for food to give them new life.


And he gave you his agreement with you, the ten rules which you were to keep, which he put in writing on the two stones of the law.

And God said all these words:

The stones were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, cut on the stones.

And for forty days and forty nights Moses was there with the Lord, and in that time he had no food or drink. And he put in writing on the stones the words of the agreement, the ten rules of the law.


And he put on the stones, as in the first writing, the ten rules which the Lord gave you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the great meeting: and the Lord gave the stones to me.

And he made there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, writing it before the eyes of the children of Israel.


Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain