The Daily Audio Bible
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18 Then Gideon asked King Zebah and King Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabor—what were they like?”
They replied, “They were dressed just like you—like sons of kings!”
19 “They must have been my brothers!” Gideon exclaimed. “I swear that if you hadn’t killed them I wouldn’t kill you.”
20 Then, turning to Jether, his oldest son, he instructed him to kill them. But the boy was only a lad and was afraid to.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “You do it; we’d rather be killed by a man!”[a] So Gideon killed them and took the ornaments from their camels’ necks.
22 Now the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Be our king! You and your sons and all your descendants shall be our rulers, for you have saved us from Midian.”
23-24 But Gideon replied, “I will not be your king, nor shall my son; the Lord is your King! However, I have one request. Give me all the earrings collected from your fallen foes”—for the troops of Midian, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.
25 “Gladly!” they replied, and spread out a sheet for everyone to throw in the gold earrings he had gathered. 26 Their value was estimated at $25,000, not including the crescents and pendants, or the royal clothing of the kings, or the chains around the camels’ necks. 27 Gideon made an ephod[b] from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But all Israel soon began worshiping it, so it became an evil deed that Gideon and his family did.
28 That is the true account of how Midian was subdued by Israel. Midian never recovered, and the land was at peace for forty years—all during Gideon’s lifetime. 29 He returned home 30 and eventually had seventy sons, for he married many wives. 31 He also had a concubine in Shechem, who presented him with a son named Abimelech. 32 Gideon finally died, an old, old man, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father, Joash, in Ophrah, in the land of the Abiezrites.
33 But as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelis began to worship the idols Baal and Baal-berith. 34 They no longer considered the Lord as their God, though he had rescued them from all their enemies on every side. 35 Nor did they show any kindness to the family of Gideon despite all he had done for them.
9 One day Gideon’s son Abimelech visited his uncles—his mother’s brothers—in Shechem.
2 “Go and talk to the leaders of Shechem,” he requested, “and ask them whether they want to be ruled by seventy kings—Gideon’s seventy sons—or by one man—meaning me, your own flesh and blood!”[c]
3 So his uncles went to the leaders of the city and proposed Abimelech’s scheme; and they decided that since his mother was a native of their town they would go along with it. 4 They gave him money from the temple offerings of the idol Baal-berith, which he used to hire some worthless loafers who agreed to do whatever he told them to. 5 He took them to his father’s home at Ophrah and there, upon one stone, they slaughtered all seventy of his half brothers, except for the youngest, Jotham, who escaped and hid. 6 Then the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the garrison at Shechem, and Abimelech was acclaimed king of Israel.
7 When Jotham heard about this, he stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted across to the men of Shechem, “If you want God’s blessing, listen to me! 8 Once upon a time the trees decided to elect a king. First they asked the olive tree, 9 but it refused.
“‘Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses God and man, just to wave to and fro over the other trees?’ it asked.
10 “Then they said to the fig tree, ‘You be our king!’
11 “But the fig tree also refused. ‘Should I quit producing sweetness and fruit just to lift my head above all the other trees?’ it asked.
12 “Then they said to the grapevine, ‘You reign over us!’
13 “But the grapevine replied, ‘Shall I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and man, just to be mightier than all the other trees?’
14 “Then all the trees finally turned to the thorn bush. ‘You be our king!’ they exclaimed.
15 “And the thorn bush replied, ‘If you really want me, come and humble yourselves beneath my shade! If you refuse, let fire flame forth from me and burn down the great cedars of Lebanon!’
16 “Now make sure that you have done the right thing in making Abimelech your king, that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants. 17 For my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the Midianites, 18 yet you have revolted against him and killed his seventy sons upon one stone. And now you have chosen his slave girl’s son, Abimelech, to be your king just because he is your relative. 19 If you are sure that you have done right by Gideon and his descendants, then may you and Abimelech have a long and happy life together. 20 But if you have not been fair to Gideon, then may Abimelech destroy the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may they destroy Abimelech!”
21 Then Jotham escaped and lived in Beer for fear of his brother, Abimelech.
44 By now it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land[a] for three hours, until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone—and suddenly[b] the thick veil hanging in the Temple split apart.
46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I commit my spirit to you,” and with those words he died.[c]
47 When the captain of the Roman military unit handling the executions saw what had happened, he was stricken with awe before God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.”[d]
48 And when the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw that Jesus was dead, they went home in deep sorrow. 49 Meanwhile, Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him down from Galilee, stood in the distance watching.
50-52 Then a man named Joseph, a member of the Jewish Supreme Court, from the city of Arimathea in Judea, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He was a godly man who had been expecting the Messiah’s coming and had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other Jewish leaders. 53 So he took down Jesus’ body and wrapped it in a long linen cloth and laid it in a new, unused tomb hewn into the rock at the side of a hill.[e] 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation for the Sabbath.
55 As the body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw it carried into the tomb. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to embalm him; but by the time they were finished it was the Sabbath, so they rested all that day as required by the Jewish law.
24 But very early on Sunday morning they took the ointments to the tomb— 2 and found that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. 3 So they went in—but the Lord Jesus’ body was gone.
4 They stood there puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly two men appeared before them, clothed in shining robes so bright their eyes were dazzled. 5 The women were terrified and bowed low before them.
Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6-7 He isn’t here! He has come back to life again! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee—that the Messiah[f] must be betrayed into the power of evil men and be crucified and that he would rise again the third day?”
8 Then they remembered 9 and rushed back to Jerusalem[g] to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 (The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and several others.) 11 But the story sounded like a fairy tale to the men—they didn’t believe it.
12 However, Peter ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; and then he went back home again, wondering what had happened.
99 Jehovah is King! Let the nations tremble! He is enthroned between the Guardian Angels. Let the whole earth shake.
2 Jehovah sits in majesty in Zion, supreme above all rulers of the earth. 3 Let them reverence your great and holy name.
4 This mighty King is determined to give justice. Fairness is the touchstone of everything he does. He gives justice throughout Israel. 5 Exalt the Lord our holy God! Bow low before his feet.
6 When Moses and Aaron and Samuel, his prophet, cried to him for help, he answered them. 7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud, and they followed his instructions. 8 O Jehovah our God! You answered them and forgave their sins, yet punished them when they went wrong.
9 Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for he is holy.
9 The common bond of rebels is their guilt.[a] The common bond of godly people is goodwill.
10 Only the person involved can know his own bitterness or joy—no one else can really share it.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.