Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 2

Pattern of Sin and Judgment

¹ The Angel of the Lord ^(a) went up from Gilgal to Bochim^[a] and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land^(b) I had promised to your fathers.^(c) I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. ² You are not to make a covenant^(d) with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.^[b](e) But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? ³ Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.^(f) They will be thorns^[c][d] in your sides,^(g) and their gods will be a trap for you."^{(h) 4} When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ⁵ So they named that place Bochim^[e] and offered sacrifices there to the Lord .

Joshua's Death

⁶ Joshua sent the people away, and the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.^{(i) 7} The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived^[f] Joshua. They had seen all the Lord 's great works^(j) He had done for Israel.

⁸ Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord , died at the age of 110. ⁹ They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,^(k) north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord ^(l) or the works He had done for Israel.

¹¹ The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord 's sight.^(m) They worshiped the Baals^{(n) 12} and abandoned the Lord , the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples^(o) and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord ,^{(p) 13} for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.^(q)

¹⁴ The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold^(r) them to^[g] the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord ^[h] was against them^(s) and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them.^(t) So they suffered greatly.

¹⁶ The Lord raised up^(u) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, ¹⁷ but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted^(v) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way^(w) of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord 's commands. They did not do as their fathers did. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with^(x) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.^[i] The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. ¹⁹ Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly^(y) than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate^(z) ways.

²⁰ The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He declared, "Because this nation has violated My covenant^(aa) that I made with their fathers^(ab) and disobeyed Me, ²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left^(ac) when he died.^{(ad) 22} I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the Lord 's way^(ae) by walking in it, as their fathers had."^{(af) 23} The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

Chapter 3

The Lord Tests Israel

¹ These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since the Israelites had fought none of these in^[a] any of the wars with Canaan.^{(a) 2} This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.^{[b] 3} These nations included: the five rulers^(b) of the Philistines^(c) and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians,^(d) and the Hivites^(e) who lived in the Lebanese mountains^[c] from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.^{[d] 4} The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord 's commands He had given their fathers through^[e] Moses.^{(f) 5} But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.^(g)

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord 's sight; they forgot the Lord their God^(h) and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ⁸ The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to^[f] Cushan-rishathaim^[g] king of Aram-naharaim,^[h](i) and the Israelites served him eight years.

⁹ The Israelites cried out to the Lord .^(j) So the Lord raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's youngest brother,^(k) as a deliverer^(l) to save the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the Lord handed over Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him. ¹¹ Then the land was peaceful^(m) 40 years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

¹² The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord 's sight. He gave Eglon king of Moab⁽ⁿ⁾ power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the Lord 's sight. ¹³ After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.^{[i](o) 14} The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab 18 years.

¹⁵ Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord , and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed^(p) Benjaminite,^[j] as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him to Eglon king of Moab with tribute^(q) money.

¹⁶ Ehud made himself a double-edged sword 18 inches long.^[k] He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes ¹⁷ and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an extremely fat man. ¹⁸ When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it. ¹⁹ At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, "King Eglon, I have a secret message for you." The king called for silence, and all his attendants left him. ²⁰ Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his room upstairs where it was cool. Ehud said, "I have a word from God for you," and the king stood up from his throne.^{[l] 21} Ehud^[m] reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon's belly. ²² Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon's fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon's insides came out. ²³ Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.

²⁴ Ehud was gone when Eglon's servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself^[n] in the cool room. ²⁵ The servants waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!

²⁶ Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He crossed over the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah. ²⁷ After he arrived, he sounded the ram's horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader. ²⁸ He told them, "Follow me, because the Lord has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you." So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.^{(r) 29} At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites, all strong and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped. ³⁰ Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land was peaceful 80 years.

Shamgar

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.

Chapter 4

Deborah and Barak

¹ The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. ² So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin^(a) king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(b) The commander of his forces was Sisera^(c) who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.^{[a] 3} Then the Israelites cried out^(d) to the Lord , because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.

⁴ Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess^(e) and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.^(f)

⁶ She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "Hasn't the Lord , the God of Israel,^(g) commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,^(h) and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites⁽ⁱ⁾ and Zebulunites?^{(j) 7} Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin's forces, his chariots, and his army at the Wadi Kishon^(k) to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.'"^(l)

⁸ Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go."

⁹ "I will go with you," she said, "but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera into a woman's hand." So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; 10,000 men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab,^(m) Moses' father-in-law,⁽ⁿ⁾ and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim,^(o) which was near Kedesh.

¹² It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. ¹³ Sisera summoned all his 900 iron chariots and all the people who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations^[b] to the Wadi Kishon. ¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, "Move on, for this is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn't the Lord gone before you?" So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.

¹⁵ The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into confusion^(p) with the sword before Barak. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶ Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations,^[c] and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don't be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹ He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty." She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. ²⁰ Then he said to her, "Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?' say, ‘No.'" ²¹ While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber's wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.

²² When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, "Come and I will show you the man you are looking for." So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!

²³ That day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴ The power of the Israelites continued to increase against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

Chapter 5

Deborah's Song

¹ On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:

And the land was peaceful 40 years.

Chapter 6

Midian Oppresses Israel

¹ The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . So the Lord handed^(a) them over to Midian seven years, ² and they oppressed Israel.^(b) Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places^(c) for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. ³ Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Qedemites^(d) came and attacked them. ⁴ They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox or donkey. ⁵ For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to waste it. ⁶ So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord .

⁷ When the Israelites cried out to Him because of Midian, ⁸ the Lord sent a prophet^(e) to them. He said to them, "This is what the Lord ^(f) God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery.^{(g) 9} I delivered you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed^(h) you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey Me.'"

The Lord Calls Gideon

¹¹ The Angel^[a] of the Lord ⁽ⁱ⁾ came, and He^[b] sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."

¹³ Gideon said to Him, "Please Sir,^[c] if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?^[d] And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn't the Lord brought us out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian."

¹⁴ The Lord ^[e] turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?"

¹⁵ He said to Him, "Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."

¹⁶ "But I will be with you,"^(j) the Lord said to him. "You will strike Midian down as if it were one man."

¹⁷ Then he said to Him, "If I have found favor in Your sight,^(k) give me a sign^(l) that You are speaking with me. ¹⁸ Please do not leave this place until I return to You. Let me bring my gift and set it before You."

And He said, "I will stay until you return."

¹⁹ So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel^[f] of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.

²⁰ The Angel of God^(m) said to him, "Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it." And he did so.

²¹ The Angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

²² When Gideon realized that He was the Angel of the Lord , he said, "Oh no, Lord God !⁽ⁿ⁾ I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!"^(o)

²³ But the Lord said to him, "Peace to you. Don't be afraid, for you will not die." ²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it Yahweh Shalom.^[g] It is in Ophrah of the Abiezrites until today.

Gideon Tears Down a Baal Altar

²⁵ On that very night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal^(p) that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶ Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock.^(q) Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down." ²⁷ So Gideon took 10 of his male servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night.

²⁸ When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. ²⁹ They said to each other, "Who did this?" After they made a thorough investigation, they said, "Gideon son of Joash did it."

³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."

³¹ But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Would you plead Baal's case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar." ³² That day, Gideon's father called him Jerubbaal, saying, "Let Baal plead his case with him," because he tore down his altar.

The Sign of the Fleece

³³ All the Midianites, Amalekites, and Qedemites gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.^(r)

³⁴ The Spirit of the Lord took control of^[h] Gideon, and he blew the ram's horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You said, ³⁷ I will put a fleece of wool here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that You will deliver Israel by my strength, as You said." ³⁸ And that is what happened. When he got up early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew out of it, filling a bowl with water.

³⁹ Gideon then said to God, "Don't be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground." ⁴⁰ That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.