Judges 20 - 21, 2 Timothy 1 - 2, Proverbs 4

A Battle Between Israel and Benjamin

20Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to Yahweh at ^aMizpah. ²And the ¹chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot ²soldiers ^awho draw the sword. ³(Then the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil take place?” ⁴So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ⁵“Then the ^amen of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ^bviolated my concubine, and she died. ⁶“And I ^aseized my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for ^bthey have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. ⁷“Behold, all you sons of Israel, ^agive your advice and counsel here.”

⁸Then all the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us turn aside to his house. ⁹“But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰“And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 in order to take up provisions for the people, that when they come to ¹Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do to them according to all the disgraceful acts that they have done in Israel.” ¹¹Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.

¹²Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire ¹tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has taken place among you? ¹³“So now, give up the men, the ¹^,^avile fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and ^bpurge this evil from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. ¹⁴Then the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. ¹⁵And from the cities on that day the ^asons of Benjamin were ¹numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were ²numbered, 700 choice men. ¹⁶Out of all these people 700 ^achoice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷And the men of Israel besides Benjamin were ¹numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war.

¹⁸Then the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and ^aasked of God and said, “Who shall go up for us to begin the battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then Yahweh said, “Judah shall begin it.”

¹⁹So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. ²⁰And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arranged themselves for battle against them at Gibeah. ²¹Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and ^adestroyed to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel. ²²But the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and arranged themselves for battle again in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day. ²³^aAnd the sons of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until evening and ^basked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall we again approach for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And Yahweh said, “Go up against him.”

²⁴Then the sons of Israel drew near to the sons of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day and destroyed to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword. ²⁶Then ^aall the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before Yahweh and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh. ²⁷Then the sons of Israel ^aasked of Yahweh (now the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And Yahweh said, “Go up, ^afor tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”

²⁹^aSo Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times. ³¹^aSo the sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike ¹and slay some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. ³²The sons of Benjamin said, “They are ¹defeated before us, as at the first.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways.” ³³Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; ^aand the men of Israel in ambush burst forth of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. ³⁴Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle became heavy; ^abut ¹Benjamin did not know that ²calamity was ³about to reach them. ³⁵Then Yahweh ¹defeated Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all ²who drew the sword.

³⁶So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were ¹defeated. ^aNow the men of Israel had given ²ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. ³⁷^aSo the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah. Then the men in ambush deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was ^athat they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. ³⁹So the men of Israel had turned around in the battle, and Benjamin had begun to strike ¹and slay about thirty men of Israel, ^afor they said, “Surely they are ²defeated before us, as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰But the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, and Benjamin turned ^abehind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven. ⁴¹Then the men of Israel turned around again, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that ¹^,^acalamity had ²reached them. ⁴²Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel ^atoward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. ⁴³^aThey surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trod them down opposite Gibeah to the east toward the sunrise. ⁴⁴Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant men. ⁴⁵¹And the rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of ^aRimmon, but they ²caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them ³at Gidom and struck down 2,000 of them. ⁴⁶So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword; all these were valiant men. ⁴⁷But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. ⁴⁸Now the men of Israel returned to the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

A Tribe Is Cut Off

21Now the men of Israel ^ahad sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” ²^aSo the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening and lifted up their voices and wept ¹bitterly. ³And they said, “Why, O Yahweh, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today from Israel?” ⁴Now it happened the next day that the people arose early and built ^aan altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For ¹they had taken a great oath concerning him ^awho did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” ⁶And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. ⁷“What shall we do for wives for those who are left? But we have ^asworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our daughters in marriage.”

Sons of Benjamin Steal the Daughters of Shiloh

⁸So they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. ⁹Indeed the people were ¹numbered, but behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. ¹⁰And the congregation sent 12,000 of the men of valor there and commanded them, saying, “Go and ^astrike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. ¹¹“Now this is the thing that you shall do: you ^ashall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.” ¹²And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with ¹him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were ^aat the rock of Rimmon and ^bcalled out peace to them. ¹⁴Then Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they did not find ¹enough for them. ¹⁵And the people were sorry for Benjamin because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” ¹⁷And they said, “There must be a possession for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. ¹⁸“But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel ^ahad sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

¹⁹So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in ^aShiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on ¹the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” ²⁰And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to ¹^,^atake part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. ²²“And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we shall say to them, ‘Be gracious to us concerning them because we did not take for each man of Benjamin ¹a wife in the battle, ²^,^aand you did not give your daughters to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’” ²³And the sons of Benjamin did so and carried away wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they stole away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and ^arebuilt the cities and lived in them. ²⁴Then the sons of Israel went away from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.

²⁵^aIn those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

Guard the Treasure Entrusted to You

1Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ¹^,^cby the will of God, according to the promise of ^dlife in Christ Jesus,

²To ^aTimothy, my beloved ^bchild: ^cGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³^aI am grateful to God, whom I ^bserve with a ^cclear conscience ¹the way my forefathers did, ^das I unceasingly remember you in my ²prayers night and day, ⁴^alonging to see you, ^bhaving remembered your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, ⁵¹being reminded of the ^aunhypocritical faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and ^byour mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it is in you as well. ⁶For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^athe gift of God which is in you through ^bthe laying on of my hands. ⁷For God has not given us a ^aspirit of ¹timidity, but of power and love and ²self-discipline.

⁸Therefore ^ado not be ashamed of either the ^bwitness about our Lord or me ^cHis prisoner, but join with me in ^dsuffering for the ^egospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has ^asaved us and ^bcalled us with a holy ^ccalling, ^dnot according to our works, but according to His own ^epurpose and grace which was given to us in ^fChrist Jesus from ^gall eternity, ¹⁰but ^anow has been manifested by the ^bappearing of our Savior ^cChrist Jesus, who ^dabolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹^afor which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things, but ^aI am not ashamed; for I know ^bwhom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to ^cguard what I have entrusted to Him ¹until ^dthat day. ¹³¹^,^aHold to the ^bstandard of ^csound words ^dwhich you have heard from me, in the ^efaith and love which are in ^fChrist Jesus. ¹⁴Guard, through the Holy Spirit who ^adwells in us, the ¹^,^btreasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵You are aware of this: that all who are in ^aAsia ^bturned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶The Lord give mercy to ^athe house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and ^bwas not ashamed of my ¹^,^cchains, ¹⁷but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸the Lord ¹grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on ^athat day—and you know very well what services he rendered at ^bEphesus.

Remember Jesus Christ

2You therefore, my ^achild, ^bbe strong in the grace that is in ^cChrist Jesus. ²And the things ^awhich you have heard from me in the presence of ^bmany witnesses, ^centrust these to ^dfaithful men who will be ^eable to teach others also. ³^aSuffer hardship with me, as a good ^bsoldier of ^cChrist Jesus. ⁴No soldier in active service ^aentangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵And also if anyone ^acompetes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶^aThe hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. ⁷Understand what I say, for the Lord will give you insight in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, ^arisen from the dead, of the ^bseed of David, ^caccording to my gospel, ⁹¹for which I ^aendure hardship even to ^bchains as a ^ccriminal. But ^dthe word of God ^ehas not been chained. ¹⁰For this reason ^aI endure all things for ^bthe sake of the elect, ^cso that they also may obtain the ^dsalvation, which is in ^eChrist Jesus, with ^feternal glory. ¹¹^aIt is a trustworthy saying: For ^bif we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

¹²If we endure, ^awe will also reign with Him;If we ^bwill deny Him, He also will deny us;¹³If we are faithless, ^aHe remains faithful, for ^bHe cannot deny Himself.

Accurately Handle the Word of Truth

¹⁴Remind them of these things, solemnly ^acharging them in the presence of God not to ^bdispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵Be diligent to ^apresent yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling ^bthe word of truth. ¹⁶But ^aavoid ^bgodless and empty chatter, for ¹it will lead to further ungodliness, ¹⁷and their word will spread like ¹gangrene. Among them are ^aHymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have gone astray from the truth saying that ^athe resurrection has already taken place, and they upset ^bthe faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless, the ^afirm foundation of God stands, having this ^bseal, “^cThe ¹Lord knows those who are His,” and, “^dEveryone who names the name of the ²Lord is to ^edepart from wickedness.”

²⁰Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of clay, and ^asome to honor and some to dishonor. ²¹Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from ^athese things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, having been ^bprepared for every good work. ²²Now ^aflee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, ^bfaith, love, and peace, with those who ^ccall on the Lord ^dfrom a pure heart. ²³But refuse foolish and ignorant ^aspeculations, knowing that they ^bproduce ¹quarrels. ²⁴^aAnd the Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, ^bable to teach, patient when wronged, ²⁵^awith gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, ^bif perhaps God may give them repentance leading to ^cthe full knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from ^athe snare of the devil, having been ^bheld captive ¹by him to do his will.

A Father’s Wise Instruction

4Hear, O sons, the ^adiscipline of a father,And ^bpay attention that you may know understanding,²For I give you ¹sound ^alearning;^bDo not forsake my ²instruction.³When I was a son to my father,^aTender and ^bthe only son before my mother,⁴Then he ^ainstructed me and said to me,“Let your heart ^bhold fast my words;^cKeep my commandments and live;⁵^aAcquire wisdom! ^bAcquire understanding!Do not forget and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth.⁶“Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;^aLove her, and she will guard you.⁷“¹^,^aThe beginning of wisdom is: ^bAcquire wisdom;And with all your acquiring, acquire understanding.⁸“^aPrize her, and she will exalt you;She will honor you if you embrace her.⁹“She will give ^afor your head a garland of grace;She will present you with a crown of beauty.”¹⁰Hear, my son, and ^areceive my sayingsAnd the ^byears of your life will be many.¹¹I have ^ainstructed you in the way of wisdom;I have led you in upright tracks.¹²When you walk, your ^asteps will not be impeded;And if you run, you ^bwill not stumble.¹³^aSeize discipline; do not let go.Guard her, for she is your ^blife.¹⁴^aDo not enter the path of wicked menAnd do not step into the way of evil men.¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;^aStray from it and pass on.¹⁶For they ^ado not sleep unless they do evil;And ¹they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.¹⁷For they ^aeat the bread of wickednessAnd drink the wine of violence.¹⁸But the ^apath of the righteous is like the ^blight of dawn,That ^cshines brighter and brighter until the ^dfullness of day.¹⁹The ^away of the wicked is like thick darkness;They do not know over what they ¹^,^bstumble.²⁰My son, ^apay attention to my words;^bIncline your ear to my sayings.²¹^aDo not let them deviate from your eyes;^bKeep them in the midst of your heart.²²For they are ^alife to those who find themAnd ^bhealing to all his flesh.²³Guard your heart with all diligence,For ^afrom it flow the springs of life.²⁴Put away from you a ^aperverse mouthAnd ^bput devious lips far from you.²⁵Let your eyes look directly aheadAnd even let your eyelids be fixed straight in front of you.²⁶^aWatch the track of your feetAnd all your ^bways will be established.²⁷^aDo not turn to the right nor to the left;^bTurn your foot from evil.