Abimelech’s Conspiracy

1 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to ^phis mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, 2 “Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all ^qseventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that ^pI am ^ryour bone and your flesh.”

3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ^s“He is our brother.” 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of ^tBaal-berith with which Abimelech hired ^uworthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5 And he went to his father’s house at ^vOphrah ^wand killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6 And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all ^xBeth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

7 When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of ^yMount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you. 8 ^zThe trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ^a‘Reign over us.’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’ 10 And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’ 12 And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that ^bcheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’ 14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and ^ctake refuge in my shade, but if not, ^dlet fire come out of the bramble and devour ^ethe cedars of Lebanon.’

16 “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with ^fJerubbaal and his house and have done to him ^gas his deeds deserved— 17 for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18 and you have risen up against my father’s house this day ^hand have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made ⁱAbimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the leaders of Shechem, ^jbecause he is your relative— 19 if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then ^krejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, ^llet fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled and went to ^mBeer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.

The Downfall of Abimelech

22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 ⁿAnd God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem ^odealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 ^pthat the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25 And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.

26 And Gaal the son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his relatives, and the leaders of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards and trod them and held a festival; and they went into ^qthe house of their god and ate and drank and reviled Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, ^r“Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of ^sHamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 Would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. I would say¹ to Abimelech, ‘Increase your army, and come out.’”

30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly,² saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up³ the city against you. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the people who are with you, and set an ambush in the field. 33 Then in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, rise early and rush upon the city. And when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them ^tas your hand finds to do.”

34 So Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies. 35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from ^uthe mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake⁴ the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37 Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ^v‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.” 39 And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives, so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

42 On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told. 43 He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So he rose against them and killed them. 44 Abimelech and the company that was with him ^wrushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and ^xhe razed the city and ^ysowed it with salt.

46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered ^zthe stronghold of the house of ^aEl-berith. 47 Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 And Abimelech went up to Mount ^bZalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” 49 So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against ^cthe stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.

50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 ^dAnd a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54 ^eThen he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. 56 ^fThus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came ^gthe curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

1 Now there were in the church at Antioch ⁿprophets and ⁿteachers, ^oBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,¹ Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^pHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^qthe Holy Spirit said, ^r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^sfor the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and ^tpraying they laid their hands on them and ^usent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

4 So, being sent out ^vby the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^win the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^xJohn to ^yassist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^zmagician, ^aa Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with ^bthe proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the ^zmagician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^copposed them, seeking to turn ^dthe proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^efilled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You ^fson of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^gvillainy, will you not stop ^hmaking crooked ⁱthe straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, ^jthe hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^kpeople to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^lthe teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^mJohn left them and returned ⁿto Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^oon the Sabbath day ^pthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After ^qthe reading from ^rthe Law and the Prophets, ^sthe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^tword of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and ^umotioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^vyou who fear God, listen. 17 ^wThe God of this people Israel ^xchose our fathers and ^ymade the people great ^zduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^awith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about ^bforty years ^che put up with² them in the wilderness. 19 And ^dafter destroying ^eseven nations in the land of Canaan, ^fhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that ^ghe gave them judges until ^hSamuel the prophet. 21 Then ⁱthey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^jthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And ^kwhen he had removed him, ^lhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^m‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ⁿa man after my heart, ^owho will do all my will.’ 23 ^pOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel ^qa Savior, Jesus, ^ras he promised. 24 Before his coming, ^sJohn had proclaimed ^ta baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, ^uhe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^vwho fear God, to us has been sent ^wthe message of ^xthis salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^ythey did not recognize him nor understand ^zthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^afulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And ^bthough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^cthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when ^dthey had carried out all that was written of him, ^ethey took him down from ^fthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But ^gGod raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days ^hhe appeared to those ⁱwho had come up with him ^jfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, ^kwho are now ^lhis witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news ^mthat what God promised to the fathers, 33 ⁿthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^pqno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,

36 For David, after he had ^tserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ^ufell asleep and ^vwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom ^wGod raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^xthat through this man ^yforgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him ^zeveryone who believes is freed³ from everything ^afrom which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and ^cdevout ^dconverts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them ^eto continue in ^fthe grace of God.

44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 ^gBut ^hwhen the Jews⁴ saw the crowds, they were filled with ⁱjealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^jreviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^kbe spoken first to you. ^lSince you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^munworthy of eternal life, behold, we ⁿare turning to the Gentiles. 47 ^oFor so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^sglorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 ^tBut the Jews incited the devout ^uwomen of high standing and the leading men of the city, ^vstirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and ^wdrove them out of their district. 51 But they ^xshook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled ^ywith joy and ^zwith the Holy Spirit.

1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, ^w‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^xDo justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And ^ydo no wrong or violence ^zto the resident alien, ^xthe fatherless, and the widow, nor ^ashed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, ^bthen there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I ^cswear by myself, declares the Lord, that ^dthis house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, ⁱ“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 ^jAnd they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

Message to the Sons of Josiah

11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and ^mwho went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but ^min the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”

18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: