Apr 30th

And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (now the name of the city was formerly Luz).

Then the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will treat you with lovingkindness.”

So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free.

So the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day.

But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its towns or Taanach and its towns or the inhabitants of Dor and its towns or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; so the Canaanites persisted to live in that land.

And it happened when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them completely.

Also Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob.

So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them.

Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

Then the Amorites pressed the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley;

and the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph became heavy, and they became forced labor.

Now the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,

and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done?

Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’ ”

So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.

Then Joshua sent the people away, and the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land.

And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who saw all the great work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel.

Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died at the age of 110.

And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know Yahweh or even the work which He had done for Israel.

Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals,

and they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked Yahweh to anger.

So they forsook Yahweh and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

And the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Wherever they went, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

Then Yahweh raised up judges who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

Yet they did not listen to their judges either, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of Yahweh; they did not do as their fathers.

Now when Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Yahweh was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and suppressed them.

But it happened when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.

So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has trespassed against My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice,

I also will no longer dispossess before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.”

So Yahweh allowed those nations to rest, not dispossessing them quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Now these are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan;

however, God tested them in order that the generations of the sons of Israel would know war, by learning war, especially those who had not known it formerly).

These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

And they were for testing Israel, to know if they would obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Now the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;

and they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

Thus the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and forgot Yahweh their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for the sons of Israel to save them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. So his hand was strong against Cushan-rishathaim.

Then the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees.

So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by his hand to Eglon the king of Moab.

And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.

Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

And it happened when he had finished bringing the tribute near, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

But he himself turned back from the graven images which were at Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who stood by him left him.

But Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.

Then Ehud sent forth his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.

Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,

but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.

For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”

And some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

For they did not dare to question Him any longer about anything.

Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son?

And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

“Beware of the scribes, who want to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.

And He saw a poor widow putting in two lepta.

And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them.

And while some were talking about the temple, that it had been adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated gifts, He said,

So they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

And He said, “See to it that you are not deceived; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Do not go after them.

Then He continued saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,