American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,And he shall yield royal dainties.
And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,
and Allammelech, and Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath;
and it turned toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; and it went out to Cabul on the left hand,
and Ebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Sidon;
and the border turned to Ramah, and to {Or, the city of Mibzar-zor, that is, the fortress of Tyre.}the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea {Or, from Hebel to Achzib.}by the region of Achzib;
Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.
So {Hebrew: Hirom (and in verse 18).}Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.
{[Chapter 5:15 in Hebrew]}And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.
But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence.
And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name.
Now therefore command thou that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of {Or, cypress}fir.
My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt {Or, carry them away}receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.
So {Hebrew: Hirom (and in verse 18).}Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.
and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to {Greek: Sarepta.}Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
and Ebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Sidon;
Nevertheless certain men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was {Greek: advanced in many days.}of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day.
And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks unto God, and spake of him to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Naphtali is a hind let loose:He giveth goodly words.
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded, saying, Go and draw unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
They chose new gods;Then was war in the gates:Was there a shield or spear seenAmong forty thousand in Israel?
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;
and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.
And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.
And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of Midian,
that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;
and I said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.
And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the {Or, terebinth}oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.
And Jehovah {Or, turned towards}looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my {Hebrew: thousand.}family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
And he said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me.
Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the {Or, terebinth}oak, and presented it.
And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
Then the angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight.
And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face.
And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it {That is, Jehovah is peace.}Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father's bullock, {Or, and}even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is {Or, upon}by it;
and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, {Or, with that pertaining to it}in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was {Or, upon}by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was {Or, upon}by it.
And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, {Or, shall be put to death: let be til morning if &c.}let him be put to death {Or, before morning}whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken down his altar.
Therefore on that day he called him {That is, Let Baal contend.}Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar.
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.
But the Spirit of Jehovah {Hebrew: clothed itself with.}came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.
And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken,
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken.
And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Joseph is {Hebrew: the son of a fruitful tree.}a fruitful bough,A fruitful bough by a fountain;His {Hebrew: daughters.}branches run over the wall.
The archers have sorely grieved him,And shot at him, and persecuted him:
But his bow abode in strength,And the arms of his hands were made {Or, active}strong,By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob( {Or, From hence from the shepherd Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd}From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
And the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the {Or, leader}prince; but the birthright was Joseph's),
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This shall be the border, whereby ye shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become {Hebrew: fullness.}a multitude of nations.
Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth:In the morning she shall devour the prey,And at even he shall divide the spoil.
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.
And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak {Hebrew: to her heart.}kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.
So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together: and the damsel's father said unto the man, Be pleased, I pray thee, to tarry all night, and let thy heart be merry.
And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day declineth; and they did eat, both of them.
And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thy heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go {Hebrew: to my tents.}home.
But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.
When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner, {Or, where there are none of the children of Israel}that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.
And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.
And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah unto the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem-judah: and I am now going to the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that taketh me into his house.
Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants: there is no want of anything.
And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him.
And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.
Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly.
But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.
And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, {Hebrew: according to her bones.}limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.
And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called {That is, The field of the sharp knives.}Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons, a hundred and fifty. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.
They {Or, drew the bow}were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
And of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield;
But when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. And the children of Israel sent tribute by him unto Eglon the king of Moab.
And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
And he offered the tribute unto Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man.
And when he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people that bare the tribute.
But he himself turned back from the {Or, graven images}quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body:
and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword out of his body; and {Or, he went out into the antechamber}it came out behind.
Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room upon him, and locked them.
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of {Or, wealth}valor.
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a {Or, choice}young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
And when Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
And Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin (for Beeroth also is reckoned to Benjamin:
and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there until this day).
Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel; and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was {In 1 Chronicles 8:34; 9:40, Merib-baal.}Mephibosheth.
And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he took his rest at noon.
And {Or, there came…men fetching wheat}they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him in the body: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with {Or, crimsoned}dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I {Or, will tread…and trample}trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their {Or, strength}lifeblood {Or, shall be}is sprinkled upon my garments, and I {Or, will stain}have stained all my raiment.