Judges 18 - 19, 1 Timothy 5 - 6, Proverbs 3

Danites Seek an Inheritance

18^aIn those days there was no king of Israel; and ^bin those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day the land among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them as an inheritance. ²So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, ¹men of valor from ^aZorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to ^bthe hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. ³They were near the house of Micah, and they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” ⁴And he said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me, and ^aI have become his priest.” ⁵And they said to him, “Ask of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” ⁶So the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going is before Yahweh.”

⁷Then the five men went forth and came to ^aLaish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the ¹manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ²oppressive conqueror dishonoring them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸So they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” ⁹And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you be silent? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. ¹⁰“When you enter, you will come to a secure people and a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, ^aa place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

¹¹Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war set out. ¹²And they went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place ¹^,^aMahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is ²west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³Then they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

Danites Take Micah’s Idols

¹⁴And the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their relatives, “Do you know that there are in these houses ^aan ephod and ¹household idols and a graven image and a molten image? So now, know what you should do.” ¹⁵Then they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. ¹⁶Now the 600 men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were standing by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷Then the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took ^athe graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image. And the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸Now these had entered into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹And they said to him, “Be silent; ^aput your hand over your mouth and come with us and be to us ^ba father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” ²⁰And the priest’s heart was merry, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and entered among the people.

²¹Then they turned and went away and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. ²²They had gone some distance from the house of Micah, and the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were summoned and then overtook the sons of Dan. ²³And they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned ¹around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you were summoned together?” ²⁴And he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men, bitter of soul, fall upon you and you ¹lose your life, with the lives of your household.” ²⁶So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷Now they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and they came to ^aLaish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. ²⁸And there was no one to deliver them because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near ^aBeth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹^aAnd they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. ³⁰Then the sons of Dan set up for themselves ^athe graven image; and Jonathan, the son of ^bGershom, the son of ¹Moses, ^che and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile of the land. ³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the ^ahouse of God was at Shiloh.

Benjamites Violate a Levite’s Concubine

19Now it happened in those days, when ^athere was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. ²But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah and was there for a period of four months. ³Then her husband arose and went after her to ^aspeak to her heart in order to bring her back, and his young man was with him as well as a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house, and the girl’s father saw him and was glad to meet him. ⁴And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. ⁵Now it happened on the fourth day that they got up early in the morning, and he arose to go; and the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “^aSustain ¹yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” ⁶So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be willing to spend the night, and ^alet your heart be merry.” ⁷Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law pressed him so that he turned back and spent the night there. ⁸And on the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl’s father said, “Please sustain ¹yourself and wait until ²afternoon”; so both of them ate. ⁹Then the man arose to go along with his concubine and young man, and his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn ¹to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is ²coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go to your tent.”

¹⁰But the man was not willing to spend the night, so he arose and went and came to a place before ^aJebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. ¹¹They were alongside of Jebus, and the day was almost gone. And ^athe young man said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” ¹²However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will pass on by until Gibeah.” ¹³Then he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ¹⁵Then they turned aside there in order to enter and to spend the night in Gibeah. So ¹they entered and sat down in the open square of the city. Now no one was taking them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶But behold, an old man was coming from his work, from the field, at evening. Now the man was from ^athe hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah, but the men of the place ^bwere Benjamites. ¹⁷And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to ¹the house of Yahweh, and no man is taking me into his house. ¹⁹“Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, ¹your maidservant, and ^athe young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” ²⁰Then the old man said, “^aPeace be to you. Only let me take care of all that you lack; however, do not spend the night in the open square.” ²¹^aSo he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

²²They were making their hearts merry, and behold, ^athe men of the city, certain ¹^,^bvile fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may ²know him.” ²³Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not do evil. Since this man has come into my house, ^ado not commit this disgraceful act. ²⁴“^aBehold, my daughter who is a virgin, and his concubine—please let me bring them out that you may violate them and do to them whatever is good in your eyes. But do not commit such a disgraceful act against this man.” ²⁵But the men were not willing to listen to him. So the man took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them; and they knew her and abused her all night until morning, and they let her go at the ¹breaking of dawn. ²⁶¹As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.

²⁷Then her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, and behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸And he said to her, “Get up and let us go,” ^abut there was no answer. Then he took her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his ¹home. ²⁹Then he entered his house and took a knife and took hold of his concubine and ^acut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. ³⁰And all who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it; ^atake counsel and speak up!”

Honor Widows

5^aDo not sharply rebuke an ^bolder man, but rather plead with him as a father, to ^cthe younger men as brothers, ²the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.

³Honor widows who are ^awidows indeed, ⁴but if any widow has children or grandchildren, ^athey must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to ¹make some return to their parents; for this is ^bacceptable in the sight of God. ⁵Now she who is a ^awidow indeed and who has been left alone, ^bhas fixed her hope on God and continues in ^cpetitions and prayers night and day. ⁶But she who ^alives in self-indulgence is ^bdead even while she lives. ⁷^aAnd command these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. ⁸But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has ^adenied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹A widow is to be ^aput on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been ^bthe wife of one man, ¹⁰having a reputation for ^agood works; if she has brought up children, if she has ^bshown hospitality to strangers, if she ^chas washed the ¹saints’ feet, if she has ^dassisted those in affliction, if she has devoted herself to every good work. ¹¹But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel ^asensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, ¹²thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous ¹pledge. ¹³And at the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house. And not merely idle, but also ^agossips and ^bbusybodies, talking about ^cthings not proper to mention. ¹⁴Therefore, I want younger widows to get ^amarried, bear children, ^bkeep house, and ^cgive the enemy no opportunity for reviling, ¹⁵for some ^ahave already turned aside after ^bSatan. ¹⁶If any believing woman ^ahas widows, she must ^bassist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are ^cwidows indeed.

Honoring the Elders

¹⁷^aThe elders who ^blead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who ^clabor ¹at preaching the word and teaching. ¹⁸For the Scripture says, “^aYou shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “^bThe laborer is worthy of his wages.” ¹⁹Do not receive an accusation against an ^aelder except on the basis of ^btwo or three witnesses. ²⁰Those who continue in sin, ^areprove in the presence of all, ^bso that the rest also will be fearful. ²¹^aI solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His elect angels, to observe these instructions without bias, doing nothing in partiality. ²²^aDo not lay hands upon anyone hastily and ¹thereby share ^bresponsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

²³No longer drink water only, but ^ause a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

²⁴The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins ^afollow after. ²⁵So also good works are quite evident, and ^athose which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

Instructions to Those Who Serve

6^aAll who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so ^bthat the name of God and our doctrine will not be ¹slandered. ²But those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are ^abrothers, but must serve them all the more, because those who ¹partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. ^bTeach and exhort these things.

³If anyone ^ateaches a different doctrine and does not ¹agree with ^bsound words—those of our Lord Jesus Christ—and with the doctrine ^cconforming to godliness, ⁴he is ^aconceited, understanding nothing but ¹having a morbid interest in ^bcontroversial questions and ^cdisputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵and constant friction between ^amen of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who ^bsuppose that ¹godliness is a means of gain. ⁶^aBut godliness actually is a means of ^bgreat gain, when accompanied by ^ccontentment. ⁷For ^awe have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. ⁸And if we ^ahave food and covering, with these we shall be content. ⁹^aBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and ^ba snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For ^athe love of money is a root of all ¹sorts of evils, and some by aspiring to it have ^bwandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

¹¹But you, O ^aman of God, ^bflee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, ^cfaith, ^dlove, ¹perseverance, gentleness. ¹²^aFight the good fight of ^bfaith. ^cTake hold of the eternal life ^dto which you were called, and you made the good ^econfession in the presence of ^fmany witnesses. ¹³^aI charge you in the presence of God, who ¹gives life to all things, and of ^bChrist Jesus, who testified the ^cgood confession ^dbefore Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the ^aappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which He will ¹bring about at ^athe proper time—He who is ^bthe blessed and ^conly Sovereign, ^dthe King of ²kings and ^eLord of ³lords, ¹⁶^awho alone has immortality and ^bdwells in unapproachable light, ^cwhom no man has seen or can see. ^dTo Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.

¹⁷Command those who are rich in ^athis present age ^bnot to be haughty or to ^cset their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, ^dwho richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. ¹⁸Command them to do good, to be rich in ^agood ¹works, ^bto be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹^astoring up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may ^btake hold of that which is life indeed.

²⁰O ^aTimothy, guard ^bwhat has been entrusted to you, turning aside from ^cgodless and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge— ²¹which some, while professing, have ^agone astray ¹from ^bthe faith. ^cGrace be with ²you.

Trust, Fear, and Honor Yahweh

3My son, ^ado not forget my ¹law,But let your heart ^bguard my commandments;²For ^alength of days and years of lifeAnd peace they will add to you.³Do not let ^alovingkindness and truth forsake you;^bBind them around your neck,^cWrite them on the tablet of your heart.⁴So you will ^afind favor and ^bgood insightIn the eyes of God and man.⁵^aTrust in Yahweh with all your heartAnd ^bdo not lean on your own understanding.⁶In all your ways ¹^,^aacknowledge Him,And He will ^bmake your paths straight.⁷^aDo not be wise in your own eyes;^bFear Yahweh and turn away from evil.⁸It will be ^ahealing to your ¹bodyAnd ^brefreshment to your bones.⁹^aHonor Yahweh from your wealthAnd from the ^bfirst of all your produce;¹⁰So your ^abarns will be filled with plentyAnd your ^bvats will burst with new wine.¹¹^aMy son, do not reject the ¹discipline of YahwehOr loathe His reproof,¹²For ^awhom Yahweh loves He reproves,Even ^bas a father reproves the son in whom he delights.¹³^aHow blessed is the man who finds wisdomAnd the man who obtains discernment.¹⁴For her ^aprofit is better than the profit of silverAnd her produce better than fine gold.¹⁵She is ^amore precious than ¹pearls;And nothing you desire compares with her.¹⁶^aLength of days is in her right hand;In her left hand are ^briches and glory.¹⁷Her ^aways are pleasant waysAnd all her pathways are ^bpeace.¹⁸She is a ^atree of life to those who seize her,And all those who hold her fast are blessed.¹⁹Yahweh ^aby wisdom founded the earth,By discernment He ^bestablished the heavens.²⁰By His knowledge the ^adeeps were split upAnd the ^bskies drip with dew.²¹My son, ^alet them not deviate from your eyes;Guard sound wisdom and discretion,²²So they will be ^alife for your soulAnd ^bgrace for your neck.²³Then you will ^awalk in your way securelyAnd your foot will not ^bstumble.²⁴When you ^alie down, you will not be in dread;You will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.²⁵^aDo not be afraid of sudden dreadNor of the ^bstorm of the wicked when it comes;²⁶For Yahweh will be ¹your confidenceAnd will ^akeep your foot from being caught.²⁷^aDo not withhold good from ¹those to whom it is due,When it is in your hand to do it.²⁸^aDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,And tomorrow I will give it,”When it is there with you.²⁹^aDo not devise ¹harm against your neighbor,While he lives securely beside you.³⁰^aDo not contend with a man without cause,If he has dealt you no ¹harm.³¹^aDo not envy a man of violenceAnd do not choose any of his ways.³²For the ^adevious one is an abomination to Yahweh;But His ^bsecret council is with the upright.³³The ^acurse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked one,But He ^bblesses the abode of the righteous.³⁴Though ^aHe scoffs at the scoffers,Yet ^bHe gives grace to the humble.³⁵^aThe wise will inherit glory,But ¹fools raise up disgrace.