The Daily Audio Bible
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The Downfall of Abimelech
22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.(A) 24 This happened so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be avenged[a] and their blood be laid on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.(B) 25 So the lords of Shechem set ambushes against him on the mountaintops. They robbed all who passed by them along that way, and it was reported to Abimelech.
26 When Gaal son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his kinsfolk, the lords of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 They went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards, trod them, and celebrated. Then they went into the temple of their god, ate and drank, and ridiculed Abimelech.(C) 28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Did not the son of Jerubbaal and Zebul his officer serve the men of Hamor father of Shechem? Why then should we serve him?(D) 29 If only this people were under my command! Then I would remove Abimelech; I would say[b] to him, ‘Increase your army and come out.’ ”(E)
30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 31 He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah,[c] saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his kinsfolk have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up[d] the city against you. 32 Now therefore, go by night, you and the troops who are with you, and lie in wait in the fields. 33 Then early in the morning, as soon as the sun rises, get up and rush on the city, and when he and the troops who are with him come out against you, you may deal with them as best you can.”(F)
34 So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. 35 When Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, Abimelech and the troops with him rose from the ambush. 36 And when Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “The shadows on the mountains look like people to you.” 37 Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”[e](G) 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your boast[f] now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the troops you made light of? Go out now and fight with them.”(H) 39 So Gaal went out at the head of the lords of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.(I) 40 Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. Many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. 41 So Abimelech resided at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his kinsfolk, so that they could not live on at Shechem.
42 On the following day the people went out into the fields. When Abimelech was told, 43 he took his troops and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the fields. When he looked and saw the people coming out of the city, he rose against them and killed them. 44 Abimelech and the company that was[g] with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed on all who were in the fields and killed them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.(J)
46 When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the temple of El-berith.(K) 47 Abimelech was told that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the troops who were with him. Abimelech took an ax in his hand, cut down a bundle of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the troops with him, “What you have seen me do, do quickly, as I have done.”(L) 49 So every one of the troops cut down a bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and took it.(M) 51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.(N) 54 Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So the young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home. 56 Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers;(O) 57 and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.(P)
Tola and Jair
10 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, rose to deliver Israel.(Q) 2 He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.
3 After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.(R) 5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
Oppression by the Ammonites
6 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, serving the Baals and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Thus they abandoned the Lord and did not worship him.(S) 7 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,(T) 8 and they crushed and oppressed the Israelites that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.
10 So the Israelites cried to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have served the Baals.”(U) 11 And the Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you[h] from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?(V) 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.(W) 13 Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”(X) 15 And the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you, but deliver us this day!”(Y) 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer.(Z)
17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead, and the Israelites came together, and they encamped at Mizpah.(AA) 18 The commanders of the people of Gilead said to one another, “Who will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”(AB)
The Walk to Emmaus
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,(A) 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.[b] 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”(B) 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth,[c] who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,(C) 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.[d] Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.(D) 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,(E) 23 and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”(F) 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah[e] should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”(G) 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.(H)
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.(I) 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.(J) 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us[f] while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.(K) 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”(L) 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus[g] himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”[h] 37 They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.(M) 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”(N) 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.[i] 41 Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”(O) 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,[j] 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.(P)
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”(Q) 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah[k] is[l] to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day(R) 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.(S) 48 You are witnesses[m] of these things.(T) 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”(U)
The Ascension of Jesus
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.(V) 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.[n](W) 52 And they worshiped him and[o] returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple[p] blessing God.[q](X)
Psalm 100
All Lands Summoned to Praise God
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.(A)
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.(B)
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him; bless his name.(C)
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever
and his faithfulness to all generations.(D)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.