LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND

Rahab and the Spies: Joshua 2:1-24

Josh 2:1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. Josh 2:2 It was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land." Josh 2:3 And the king of Jericho sent {word} to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." Josh 2:4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. Josh 2:5 "It came about when {it was time} to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them." Josh 2:6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. Josh 2:7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate. Josh 2:8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, Josh 2:9 and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. Josh 2:10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. Josh 2:11 "When we heard {it,} our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

Josh 2:12 "Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, Josh 2:13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." Josh 2:14 So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you." Josh 2:15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. Josh 2:16 She said to them, "Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way." Josh 2:17 The men said to her, "We {shall be} free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, Josh 2:18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household. Josh 2:19 "It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood {shall be} on his own head, and we {shall be} free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood {shall be} on our head if a hand is {laid} on him. Josh 2:20 "But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear." Josh 2:21 She said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. Josh 2:22 They departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought {them} all along the road, but had not found {them.} Josh 2:23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them. Josh 2:24 They said to Joshua, "Surely the LORD has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us."   Crossing the Jordan: Joshua 3:14 – 4:24

Josh 3:14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, Josh 3:15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), Josh 3:16 the waters which were flowing down from above stood {and} rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. Josh 3:17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan. Josh 4:1 Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, Josh 4:2 "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, Josh 4:3 and command them, saying, 'Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.'" Josh 4:4 So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; Josh 4:5 and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Josh 4:6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Josh 4:7 then you shall say to them, 'Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." Josh 4:8 Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there. Josh 4:9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. Josh 4:10 For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; Josh 4:11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed before the people. Josh 4:12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; Josh 4:13 about 40,000 equipped for war, crossed for battle before the LORD to the desert plains of Jericho. Josh 4:14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life. Josh 4:15 Now the LORD said to Joshua, Josh 4:16 "Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan." Josh 4:17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." Josh 4:18 It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before. Josh 4:19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. Josh 4:20 Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. Josh 4:21 He said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' Josh 4:22 then you shall inform your children, saying, 'Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.' Josh 4:23 "For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; Josh 4:24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever."   The Fall of Jericho: Joshua 5:13 – 6:21

Josh 5:13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" Josh 5:14 He said, "No; rather I indeed come now {as} captain of the host of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" Josh 5:15 The captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. Josh 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. Josh 6:2 The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king {and} the valiant warriors. Josh 6:3 "You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Josh 6:4 "Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. Josh 6:5 "It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead." Josh 6:6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD." Josh 6:7 Then he said to the people, "Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the LORD." Josh 6:8 And it was {so,} that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. Josh 6:9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. Josh 6:10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, 'Shout!' Then you shall shout!" Josh 6:11 So he had the ark of the LORD taken around the city, circling {it} once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. Josh 6:12 Now Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Josh 6:13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while they continued to blow the trumpets. Josh 6:14 Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days. Josh 6:15 Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. Josh 6:16 At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city. Josh 6:17 "The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. Josh 6:18 "But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet {them} and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. Josh 6:19 "But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD." Josh 6:20 So the people shouted, and {priests} blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. Josh 6:21 They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

Joshua’s Farewell Address: Joshua 23:1-16

Josh 23:1 Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, Josh 23:2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, "I am old, advanced in years. Josh 23:3 "And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you. Josh 23:4 "See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. Josh 23:5 "The LORD your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. Josh 23:6 "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, Josh 23:7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make {anyone} swear {by them,} or serve them, or bow down to them. Josh 23:8 "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. Josh 23:9 "For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. Josh 23:10 "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. Josh 23:11 "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. Josh 23:12 "For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, Josh 23:13 know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. Josh 23:14 "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. Josh 23:15 "It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. Josh 23:16 "When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you."   Joshua Renews the Covenant: Joshua 24:1-27

Josh 24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. Josh 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, {namely,} Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Josh 24:3 'Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. Josh 24:4 'To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. Josh 24:5 'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. Josh 24:6 'I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. Josh 24:7 'But when they cried out to the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Josh 24:8 'Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. Josh 24:9 'Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. Josh 24:10 'But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. Josh 24:11 'You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, {and} the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. Josh 24:12 'Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, {but} not by your sword or your bow. Josh 24:13 'I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.' Josh 24:14 "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Josh 24:15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Josh 24:16 The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; Josh 24:17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. Josh 24:18 "The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." Josh 24:19 Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. Josh 24:20 "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you." Josh 24:21 The people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD." Josh 24:22 Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." Josh 24:23 "Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." Josh 24:24 The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice." Josh 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. Josh 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. Josh 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God."   Deborah Leads Israel: Judges 4:1- 24

Judg 4:1 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. Judg 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Judg 4:3 The sons of Israel cried to the LORD; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years. Judg 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. Judg 4:5 She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. Judg 4:6 Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. Judg 4:7 'I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his many {troops} to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.'" Judg 4:8 Then Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." Judg 4:9 She said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. Judg 4:10 Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him. Judg 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. Judg 4:12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Judg 4:13 Sisera called together all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who {were} with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. Judg 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, "Arise! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the LORD has gone out before you." So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

Judg 4:15 The LORD routed Sisera and all {his} chariots and all {his} army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from {his} chariot and fled away on foot.

Judg 4:16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

Judg 4:17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for {there was} peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

Judg 4:18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid." And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.

Judg 4:19 He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him.

Judg 4:20 He said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

Judg 4:21 But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

Judg 4:22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

Judg 4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.

Judg 4:24 The hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan.

Gideon’s Fear, Faith and Fleece: Judges 6:1-40

Judg 6:1 Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian seven years. Judg 6:2 The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. Judg 6:3 For it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go against them. Judg 6:4 So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. Judg 6:5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it. Judg 6:6 So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the LORD. Judg 6:7 Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD on account of Midian, Judg 6:8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. Judg 6:9 'I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, Judg 6:10 and I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me."'" Judg 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save {it} from the Midianites. Judg 6:12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." Judg 6:13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian." Judg 6:14 The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" Judg 6:15 He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house." Judg 6:16 But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man." Judg 6:17 So Gideon said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Judg 6:18 "Please do not depart from here, until I come {back} to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." And He said, "I will remain until you return." Judg 6:19 Then Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and brought {them} out to him under the oak and presented {them.} Judg 6:20 The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so. Judg 6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Judg 6:22 When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face." Judg 6:23 The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die." Judg 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Judg 6:25 Now on the same night the LORD said to him, "Take your father's bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; Judg 6:26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down." Judg 6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. Judg 6:28 When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. Judg 6:29 They said to one another, "Who did this thing?" And when they searched about and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash did this thing." Judg 6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it." Judg 6:31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar." Judg 6:32 Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let Baal contend against him," because he had torn down his altar. Judg 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. Judg 6:34 So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. Judg 6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them. Judg 6:36 Then Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, Judg 6:37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken." Judg 6:38 And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Judg 6:39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground." Judg 6:40 God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.   Gideon Defeat the Midianites: Judges 7:1-25

Judg 7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. Judg 7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.' Judg 7:3 "Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'" So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Judg 7:4 Then the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." Judg 7:5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink." Judg 7:6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. Judg 7:7 The LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the {other} people go, each man to his home." Judg 7:8 So the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the {other} men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. Judg 7:9 Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. Judg 7:10 "But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, Judg 7:11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp." So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. Judg 7:12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Judg 7:13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, "Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat." Judg 7:14 His friend replied, "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand." Judg 7:15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands." Judg 7:16 He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. Judg 7:17 He said to them, "Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. Judg 7:18 "When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.'" Judg 7:19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. Judg 7:20 When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" Judg 7:21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. Judg 7:22 When they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. Judg 7:23 The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. Judg 7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. Judg 7:25 They captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.   Samson’s Birth: Judges13:1-25

Judg 13:1 Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. Judg 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no {children.} Judg 13:3 Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no {children,} but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Judg 13:4 "Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. Judg 13:5 "For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Judg 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he {came} from, nor did he tell me his name. Judg 13:7 "But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'" Judg 13:8 Then Manoah entreated the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born." Judg 13:9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. Judg 13:10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came the {other} day has appeared to me." Judg 13:11 Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I am." Judg 13:12 Manoah said, "Now when your words come {to pass,} what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation?" Judg 13:13 So the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. Judg 13:14 "She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded." Judg 13:15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you." Judg 13:16 The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, {then} offer it to the LORD." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD. Judg 13:17 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that when your words come {to pass,} we may honor you?" Judg 13:18 But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" Judg 13:19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. Judg 13:20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw {this,} they fell on their faces to the ground. Judg 13:21 Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. Judg 13:22 So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." Judg 13:23 But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear {things} like this at this time." Judg 13:24 Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him. Judg 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage: Judges14:1-20

Judg 14:1 Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, {one} of the daughters of the Philistines. Judg 14:2 So he came back and told his father and mother, "I saw a woman in Timnah, {one} of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife." Judg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she looks good to me." Judg 14:4 However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Judg 14:5 Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion {came} roaring toward him. Judg 14:6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Judg 14:7 So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked good to Samson. Judg 14:8 When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. Judg 14:9 So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave {some} to them and they ate {it;} but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. Judg 14:10 Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. Judg 14:11 When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. Judg 14:12 Then Samson said to them, "Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.

Judg 14:13 "But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes." And they said to him, "Propound your riddle, that we may hear it." Judg 14:14 So he said to them, "Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet." But they could not tell the riddle in three days. Judg 14:15 Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not {so?}" Judg 14:16 Samson's wife wept before him and said, "You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told {it} to me." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told {it} to my father or mother; so should I tell you?" Judg 14:17 However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. Judg 14:18 So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle." Judg 14:19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes {of clothes} to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father's house. Judg 14:20 But Samson's wife was {given} to his companion who had been his friend.   Samson and Delilah: Judges16:1-22

Judg 16:1 Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. Judg 16:2 {When it was told} to the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here," they surrounded {the place} and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, "{Let us wait} until the morning light, then we will kill him." Judg 16:3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron. Judg 16:4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. Judg 16:5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and see where his great strength {lies} and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred {pieces} of silver." Judg 16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you." Judg 16:7 Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any {other} man." Judg 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Judg 16:9 Now she had {men} lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered. Judg 16:10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound." Judg 16:11 He said to her, "If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any {other} man." Judg 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" For the {men} were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread. Judg 16:13 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web [and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man." Judg 16:14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened {it} with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web. Judg 16:15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is." Judg 16:16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. Judg 16:17 So he told her all {that was} in his heart and said to her, "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any {other} man." Judg 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all {that was} in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all {that is} in his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. Judg 16:19 She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. Judg 16:20 She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Judg 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. Judg 16:22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

Samson’s Death: Judges16:23-31

Judg 16:23 Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands." Judg 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has slain many of us." Judg 16:25 It so happened when they were in high spirits, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may amuse us." So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. Judg 16:26 Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them." Judg 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing {them.} Judg 16:28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." Judg 16:29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. Judg 16:30 And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. Judg 16:31 Then his brothers and all his father's household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.

Naomi and Ruth: Ruth 1:1-22

Ruth 1:1 Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. Ruth 1:2 The name of the man {was} Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons {were} Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. Ruth 1:3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. Ruth 1:4 They took for themselves Moabite women {as} wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. Ruth 1:5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. Ruth 1:6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food. Ruth 1:7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. Ruth 1:8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Ruth 1:9 "May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. Ruth 1:10 And they said to her, "{No,} but we will surely return with you to your people." Ruth 1:11 But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Ruth 1:12 "Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, Ruth 1:13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me." Ruth 1:14 And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:15 Then she said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law." Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you {or} turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people {shall be} my people, and your God, my God. Ruth 1:17 "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if {anything but} death parts you and me." Ruth 1:18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. Ruth 1:19 So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" Ruth 1:20 She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Ruth 1:21 "I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?" Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth Meets Boaz: Ruth 2:1-23

Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." Ruth 2:3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Ruth 2:4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you." Ruth 2:5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" Ruth 2:6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. Ruth 2:7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while." Ruth 2:8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Ruth 2:9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." Ruth 2:10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" Ruth 2:11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. Ruth 2:12 "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." Ruth 2:13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants." Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. Ruth 2:15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Ruth 2:16 "Also you shall purposely pull out for her {some grain} from the bundles and leave {it} that she may glean, and do not rebuke her." Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Ruth 2:18 She took {it} up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took {it} out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. Ruth 2:19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." Ruth 2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, 'You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'" Ruth 2:22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that {others} do not fall upon you in another field." Ruth 2:23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth 2:13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants." Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. Ruth 2:15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Ruth 2:16 "Also you shall purposely pull out for her {some grain} from the bundles and leave {it} that she may glean, and do not rebuke her." Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Ruth 2:18 She took {it} up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took {it} out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. Ruth 2:19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." Ruth 2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, 'You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'" Ruth 2:22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that {others} do not fall upon you in another field." Ruth 2:23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor: Ruth 3:1-18

Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Ruth 3:2 "Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Ruth 3:3 "Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your {best} clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; {but} do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Ruth 3:4 "It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do." Ruth 3:5 She said to her, "All that you say I will do." Ruth 3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. Ruth 3:7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. Ruth 3:8 It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. Ruth 3:9 He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative." Ruth 3:10 Then he said, "May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. Ruth 3:11 "Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. Ruth 3:12 "Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Ruth 3:13 "Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning." Ruth 3:14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." Ruth 3:15 Again he said, "Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it." So she held it, and he measured six {measures} of barley and laid {it} on her. Then she went into the city. Ruth 3:16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did it go, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done for her. Ruth 3:17 She said, "These six {measures} of barley he gave to me, for he said, 'Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" Ruth 3:18 Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today."   Boaz Marries Ruth: Ruth 4:1-22

Ruth 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, "Turn aside, friend, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down. Ruth 4:2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. Ruth 4:3 Then he said to the closest relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. Ruth 4:4 "So I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy {it} before those who are sitting {here,} and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem {it,} redeem {it;} but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem {it,} and I am after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem {it.}" Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance." Ruth 4:6 The closest relative said, "I cannot redeem {it} for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem {it} for yourself; you {may have} my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem {it.}" Ruth 4:7 Now this was {the custom} in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange {of land} to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the {manner of} attestation in Israel. Ruth 4:8 So the closest relative said to Boaz, "Buy {it} for yourself." And he removed his sandal. Ruth 4:9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. Ruth 4:10 "Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his {birth} place; you are witnesses today." Ruth 4:11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "{We are} witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Ruth 4:12 "Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman." Ruth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Ruth 4:14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. Ruth 4:15 "May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." Ruth 4:16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. Ruth 4:17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi!" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth 4:18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, Ruth 4:19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, Ruth 4:20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, Ruth 4:21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, Ruth 4:22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.