Judges 12

¹Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.

³²But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”

¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

¹What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?

²You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.

¹⁵So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

⁴In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

¹²Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”

¹³The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”

¹⁴Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands?

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

²¹When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you told me.

¹⁰⁹I constantly take my life in my hands, yet I do not forget Your law.

¹²Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

¹¹They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

¹³An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

¹⁰But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.

³⁹The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled there.

⁴Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is our witness if we do not do as you say.”

¹²So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.

¹³To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)

²⁸“Follow me,” he told them, “for the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and they did not allow anyone to cross over.

¹¹Then the Israelites received the report: “Behold, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the border of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.”

²⁴Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.

⁷So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut.

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

¹²In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one.

²I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.

¹⁴To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

¹⁹An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

¹⁹the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.

¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

⁶⁹Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, together with their pasturelands.

¹³and Beriah and Shema (who were the heads of families living in Aijalon and who drove out the inhabitants of Gath).

¹⁰You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder

⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.

¹⁴Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek; Benjamin came with your people after you. The commanders came down from Machir, the bearers of the marshal’s staff from Zebulun.

⁷Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁷Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

²⁷On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.

³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of Gaash,

⁸After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.