Thematic Bible: The israelites


Thematic Bible



And Moses told these things unto all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning and climbed up into the top of the mountain, saying, Here we are prepared to go up unto the place of which the LORD has spoken; for we have sinned.


And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no one put on their ornaments.


Then the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against thee; pray unto the LORD that he take away these serpents from among us. And Moses prayed for the people.


Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria nor for all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people were upheld by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

For I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase one hundred, and one hundred of you shall put ten thousands to flight; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.


Then all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said unto them, Oh, that we might die in the land of Egypt or that we might die in this wilderness! And why has the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Would it not be better for us to return into Egypt? read more.
And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.

Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God; and ye murmured in your tents and said, Because the LORD hated us, he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorite, to destroy us. Where shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, This people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.


When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and in high places and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.


And all the men of Israel when they saw the man fled from him and feared greatly.


And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty-six men; for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down; therefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.


And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David because ye are a great multitude, and ye have with you the golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may become a priest of those that are not gods. But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business; read more.
and they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and aromatic incense, and they place the showbread upon the clean table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening; for we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper. But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them; so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them. So when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind; and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout, and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the sons of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter; so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the sons of Israel were humbled at that time, and the sons of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.


And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand and all that were with them, for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them because they put their trust in him.


And the people believed; and hearing that the LORD had visited the sons of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed and worshipped.


Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, who had never believed in the LORD their God.

Because all those men who saw my glory and my signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now these ten times and have not hearkened to my voice, surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers, neither shall any of those that provoked me see it.

Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the LORD, and they testified against them, but they would not give ear.

But they mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his prophets until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, and there was no remedy. Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age; he gave them all into his hands.

But they and our fathers dealt proudly and hardened their necks and did not hearken unto thy commandments and refused to hear; neither did they remember thy wonders that thou hadst done among them, but hardened their necks and in their rebellion thought to appoint a leader to return to their bondage; but thou art a God of pardons, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great mercy, for thou didst not leave them.

and didst protest unto them, that they return unto thy law; yet they dealt proudly and did not hearken unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments (which if a man shall do, in them he shall live) and withdrew the shoulder and hardened their neck and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear them and didst protest against them with thy spirit by the hand of thy prophets; yet they did not hear; therefore, thou didst give them into the hand of the peoples of the land.

And I will visit upon him and upon his seed and upon his slaves, their iniquity; and I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the men of Judah all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they did not hearken.


Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, each man in the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the LORD, Why hast thou afflicted thy slave and why have I not found grace in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all these people upon me? Have I conceived all these people? Have I begotten them, that thou should say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child, unto the land which thou hast sworn unto their fathers? read more.
Where should I find flesh to give unto all these people? For they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people alone because it is too heavy for me. And if thou must deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found grace in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. Then the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be elders of the people, and their princes; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the testimony that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there, and I will take of the spirit which is in thee and will put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. But thou shalt say unto the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was better with us in Egypt. Therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither ten days nor twenty days, But even a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and it becomes loathsome unto you, because ye have despised the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, Why have we come forth out of Egypt?


And the vulgar who were mixed in among them returned to their lust; and even the sons of Israel wept and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we freely ate in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.


And the people scattered about and gathered it and ground it in mills or beat it in a mortar and baked it in pans and made cakes of it, and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.


And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.


And the sons of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less.


And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread.


He spoke unto them in the pillar of fire; they kept his testimonies and the order that he gave them.

And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies), Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the LORD's side? Come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Put every man his sword by his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay each one his brother and his companion and his neighbour. read more.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. Then Moses had said, Today you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, for each one has consecrated in his son and in his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

And the sons of Israel went away, and as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen them; neither did he acknowledge his brethren nor know his own children; therefore, they shall keep thy word and guard thy covenant.

And the people had served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the LORD that he had done with Israel.

According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel made all the work. And Moses looked upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it; and Moses blessed them.

And so it was, when the cloud was a determined number of days upon the tabernacle, according to the commandment of the LORD they camped, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. And so it was that when the cloud remained from evening unto the morning, and in the morning the cloud was taken up, then they journeyed; or if it had remained during the day and the cloud was taken up by night, they journeyed.


who are Israelites, to whom pertains the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises,


And Moses told these things unto all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.


The LORD further said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and for certain it is a stiffnecked people.

Understand, therefore, that the LORD thy God does not give thee this good land to inherit because of thy righteousness, for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Furthermore, the LORD spoke unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.


And a man of the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi, who conceived and gave birth to a son, and seeing that he was beautiful, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch and put the child in it, and she laid it in the reeds by the river's brink. read more.
And his sister stood afar off to see what would happen to him.

I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Now, therefore, let us be wise concerning him, that he not multiply and it come to pass that when war comes, he shall also join with our enemies and fight against us and so leave the land. read more.
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built the supply cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew, so much that they loathed the sons of Israel. And the Egyptians made the sons of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, making mortar and brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service, in which they made them serve, was with rigor. And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and another named Puah; and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see the sex, if it is a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them but gave the men children their lives. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing and have given the men children their lives? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are lively and are delivered before the midwives come in unto them. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty. And it came to pass because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall give them their lives.

The same dealt subtly with our kindred and mistreated our fathers so that they exposed their babies to death, to the end that the generation would cease.


Therefore, I set in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

And it came to pass from that time forth that half of the young men wrought in the work, and the other half of them held spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the princes were behind all the house of Judah.


When they chose new gods, the war was at the gates. Was there a shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?

So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan except with Saul and with Jonathan his son who had them.


Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, Lest peradventure the Hebrews make swords or spears.


And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife.

And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.


Then the man of God came and spoke unto the king of Israel and said, Thus hath the LORD said, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the mountains, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore, I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand that ye may know that I am the LORD. And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the sons of Israel slew of the Syrians one hundred thousand footmen in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad also fled and came into the city, into an inner chamber.


And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and consider, and see what thou must do, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. And the slaves of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore, they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. Therefore, do this: Remove the kings from their positions and put captains in their place. read more.
And prepare another army like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.


And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand today, that thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus hath the LORD said, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou. Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand. read more.
And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benhadad had sent out men who warned him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. Then he said, If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army followed after them. And each one smote the man that came against him; and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them. And Benhadad, the king of Syria, escaped on a horse with some of the horsemen.


Then his slaves said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will give thee thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Thy slave Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he replied, If he is yet alive, he is my brother. Now these men took this as a good omen and quickly took this word from his mouth, and they said, Thy brother Benhadad! And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. read more.
And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make plazas for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and I will leave here confederated with thee. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away. Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall smite thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him and smote him. Then he found another man and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him and wounded him. So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way and disguised himself with a veil over his eyes. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said, Thy slave went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said, Guard this man; if by any means he should get away, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And when thy slave was busy here and there, he disappeared. Then the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy sentence be; thou thyself hast decided it. Then he quickly took the veil away from his face; and the king of Israel recognized that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man of my anathema, therefore, thy life shall go for his life and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house, sad and angry, and came to Samaria.


And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, but only with the king of Israel. And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely this is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. read more.
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man, shooting his bow in perfection, smote the king of Israel between the joints of his coat of mail; therefore, he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle had increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians and died in the evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And at the going down of the sun there went a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, Every man to his city and every man to his own land.


And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the sons of Israel were numbered and took provisions and went against them; and the sons of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the land.


And the king of Israel said unto his slaves, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are late in not taking it out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today. read more.
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there even yet a prophet of the LORD here that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel replied unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called a eunuch and said, Bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, here quickly. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in the plaza at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus hath the LORD said, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead and be prospered, for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand. And the messenger that had gone to call Micaiah spoke unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth; now let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD lives, all that the LORD says unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go and be prospered, for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep without a shepherd; and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return each man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? Then he said, Hear thou, therefore, the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne and all the host of the heavens standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said in this manner and another said in that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the LORD and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, In what manner? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth and do so. Now, therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD has decreed evil concerning thee. Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, went near and smote Micaiah on the cheek and said, Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. Then the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and carry him back unto Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king's son and say, Thus hath the king said, Put this fellow in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. Then he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramothgilead.


Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his slaves, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware to not pass through such and such a place, for the Syrians are going there. Then the king of Israel sent to the place, which the man of God told him and warned him of and kept himself from there, not once nor twice. read more.
Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled over this thing, and he called his slaves and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? Then one of his slaves said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.


And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.


And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is this not what we told thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.


and they said unto them, The LORD look upon you and judge because ye have made our savour to be a stench before Pharaoh and his slaves, putting a sword in their hands to slay us.


And when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.


And Moses told these things unto all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.