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18 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men you killed at Tabor?” “They were all like you,” they replied. “They appeared to be princes.” 19 “They were my brothers, my mother’s sons,” he said. “As the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 20 Then he said to his firstborn, Jether, “Go, kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, for he was still a boy. 21 (A)Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, kill us yourself, for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon stepped forward and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
22 (B)The Israelites then said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your son’s son—for you saved us from the power of Midian.” 23 But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord must rule over you.”(C)
24 Gideon went on to say, “Let me make a request of you. Give me, each of you, a ring from his spoils.” (Since they were Ishmaelites,[a] the enemy had gold rings.) 25 “We will certainly give them,” they replied, and they spread out a cloak into which everyone threw a ring from his spoils. 26 The gold rings he had requested weighed seventeen hundred gold shekels, apart from the crescents and pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and apart from the trappings that were on the necks of their camels. 27 (D)Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in his city, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28 Midian was brought into subjection by the Israelites; they no longer held their heads high, and the land had rest for forty years,(E) during the lifetime of Gideon.
Gideon’s Son Abimelech. 29 Then Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went to live in his house. 30 (F)Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine[b] who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 (G)But after Gideon was dead, the Israelites again prostituted themselves by following the Baals, making Baal-berith[c] their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord, their God, who had delivered them from the power of their enemies all around them. 35 Nor were they loyal to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.
Chapter 9
1 Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, went to his mother’s kin in Shechem,(H) and said to them and to the whole clan to which his mother’s family belonged, 2 “Put this question to all the lords of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you: that seventy men, all Jerubbaal’s sons, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ You must remember that I am your own flesh and bone.”(I) 3 When his mother’s kin repeated these words on his behalf to all the lords of Shechem, they set their hearts on Abimelech, thinking, “He is our kin.” 4 They also gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless men and outlaws as his followers. 5 He then went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. Only the youngest son of Jerubbaal, Jotham, escaped, for he was hidden. 6 Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together and made Abimelech king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem.
7 When this was reported to Jotham, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and cried out in a loud voice:
“Hear me, lords of Shechem,
and may God hear you!
8 One day the trees went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us.’
9 But the olive tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my rich oil,
whereby gods and human beings are honored,[d]
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
11 But the fig tree answered them,
‘Must I give up my sweetness
and my sweet fruit,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
12 Then the trees said to the vine,
‘Come you, reign over us.’
13 But the vine answered them,
‘Must I give up my wine
that cheers gods[e] and human beings,
and go off to hold sway over the trees?’
14 Then all the trees said to the buckthorn,
‘Come; you reign over us!’
15 The buckthorn answered the trees,
‘If you are anointing me in good faith,
to make me king over you,
come, and take refuge in my shadow.
But if not, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’(J)
16 “Now then, if you have acted in good faith and integrity in appointing Abimelech your king, if you have acted with good will toward Jerubbaal and his house, and if you have treated him as he deserved— 17 for my father fought for you at the risk of his life when he delivered you from the power of Midian, 18 but you have risen against my father’s house today and killed his seventy sons upon one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant,(K) king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your kin— 19 if, then, you have acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech and may he in turn rejoice in you! 20 But if not, let fire come forth from Abimelech and devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and let fire come forth from the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo and devour Abimelech.” 21 Then Jotham fled and escaped to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech.
44 [a]It was now about noon(A) and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon 45 because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.(B) 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.(C) 47 The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said, “This man was innocent[b] beyond doubt.” 48 When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts;(D) 49 but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events.(E)
The Burial of Jesus.(F) 50 Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who, though he was a member of the council, 51 had not consented to their plan of action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God.(G) 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 After he had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried.(H) 54 It was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was about to begin. 55 The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it,(I) 56 they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.(J)
VIII. The Resurrection Narrative[c]
Chapter 24
The Resurrection of Jesus. 1 (K)But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.(L) 5 They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?(M) 6 He is not here, but he has been raised.[d] Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”(N) 8 And they remembered his words.(O) 9 [e](P)Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. 10 The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,(Q) 11 but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. 12 [f](R)But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
The Appearance on the Road to Emmaus.[g]
Psalm 99[a]
The Holy King
I
1 The Lord is king, the peoples tremble;
he is enthroned on the cherubim,[b] the earth quakes.(A)
2 Great is the Lord in Zion,
exalted above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name:
Holy is he!(B)
II
4 O mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness;
you have created just rule in Jacob.(C)
5 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his footstool;[c](D)
holy is he!
III
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord, and he answered them.(E)
7 From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his decrees, the law he had given them.(F)
8 O Lord, our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
though you punished their offenses.(G)
9 Exalt the Lord, our God;
bow down before his holy mountain;
holy is the Lord, our God.
9 The wicked scorn a guilt offering,
but the upright find acceptance.
10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
and its joy no stranger shares.[a]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.