Judges 1–3; John 2

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Judges 1–3

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel ainquired of the Lord, bWho shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them? The Lord said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand. And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. cAnd I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you. So Simeon went with him. Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off dused to pick up scraps under my table. eAs I have done, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

fAnd the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in gthe hill country, in the Negeb, and in gthe lowland. 10 hAnd Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron i(now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated jSheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife. 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, kCaleb’s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want? 15 She said to him, Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the descendants of the lKenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah mfrom the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near nArad, oand they went and settled with the people. 17 pAnd Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called qHormah.1 18 Judah also rcaptured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 pAnd the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the shill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had tchariots of iron. 20 uAnd Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it vthe three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, wso the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, xand the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (yNow the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, Please show us the way into the city, zand we will deal kindly with you. 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to athe land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

Failure to Complete the Conquest

27 bManasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 cAnd Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of dNahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 eAsher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of fBeth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34 gThe Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, hin Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from ithe ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to jBochim. And he said, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, kI will never break my covenant with you, land you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; myou shall break down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, nI will not drive them out before you, but they shall become othorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. pAnd the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of qhis inheritance in Timnath-heres, rin the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 sAnd the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 tAnd they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. uThey went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and vbowed down to them. wAnd they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord xand served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 ySo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he zgave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. aAnd he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, bso that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, cand as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

16 dThen the Lord raised up judges, ewho saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for fthey whored after other gods and bowed down to them. gThey soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, hthe Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. iFor the Lord was moved to pity by jtheir groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But kwhenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 lSo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this people mhave transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 nI will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order oto test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not. 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

pNow these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations: qthe five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. They were for rthe testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So the people of Israel lived samong the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. tAnd their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

Othniel

uAnd the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and vthe Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, wand he sold them into the hand of xCushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. But when the people of Israel ycried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a zdeliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 bThe Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 cSo the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

12 dAnd the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon ethe king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the fAmalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of gthe city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 Then the people of Israel hcried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them ha deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, ia left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit3 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back jat the idols near Gilgal and said, I have a secret message for you, O king. And he commanded, Silence. And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his kcool roof chamber. lAnd Ehud said, I have a message from God for you. And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch4 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him mand locked them.

24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, nSurely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber. 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond othe idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, phe sounded the trumpet in qthe hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, Follow after me, rfor the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand. So they went down after him and seized sthe fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. tAnd the land had rest for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After him was uShamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines vwith an oxgoad, and he also wsaved Israel.


John 2

The Wedding at Cana

On hthe third day there was a wedding at iCana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with jhis disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, kWoman, lwhat does this have to do with me? mMy hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.

Now there were six stone water jars there nfor the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty ogallons.1 Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted pthe water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now. 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested qhis glory. And rhis disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and shis brothers2 and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 tThe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus uwent up to Jerusalem. 14 vIn the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, Take these things away; do not make wmy Father’s house a house of trade. 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, xZeal for your house will consume me.

18 So the Jews said to him, yWhat sign do you show us for doing these things? 19 Jesus answered them, zDestroy this temple, and in three days aI will raise it up. 20 The Jews then said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,3 and will you raise it up in three days? 21 But he was speaking about bthe temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, chis disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed dthe Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus Knows What Is in Man

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name ewhen they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus fon his part did not entrust himself to them, because ghe knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for ghe himself knew what was in man.