Day 129 of 365

Judg 12:1–13:25

12:1 The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house on you with fire."

12:2 Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not save me out of their hand.

12:3 When I saw that you did not save me, I put my life in my own hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?"

12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh."

12:5 The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No";

12:6 then they said to him, "Now say 'Shibboleth;'" and he said "Sibboleth"; for he couldn't manage to pronounce it right: then they seized him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.

12:7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

12:9 He had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years.

12:10 Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

12:12 Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

12:13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkey colts. And he judged Israel eight years.

12:15 Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

13:1 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and did not bear. .

13:3 The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, "See now, you are barren, and do not bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.

13:4 Now therefore please be careful and drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing.

13:5 For behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome; and I didn't ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name,

13:7 but he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.'"

13:8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born."

13:9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah, her husband, wasn't with her.

13:10 The woman ran quickly, and told her husband, and said to him, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

13:11 Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" He said, "I am."

13:12 Manoah said, "Now let your words happen. How shall the child be raised and what is he to do?"

13:13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

13:14 She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I have commanded her she is to observe."

13:15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Please, stay a bit longer that we may prepare a young goat for you."

13:16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I won't eat of your bread. And if you prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.

13:17 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, that when your words come true we may honor you?"

13:18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask for my name? It is incomprehensible."

13:19 So Manoah took the young goat and a grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, who works wonders. Then the angel did a wonderful thing as Manoah and his wife looked on.

13:20 For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

13:21 But the angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.

13:22 Manoah said to his wife, :We shall surely die, because we have seen God."

13:23 But his wife said to him, "If the Lord meant to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from us, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would he have spoken to us now like this."

13:24 The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

13:25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to direct him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

John 1:18–42

18 No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

19 This is John's testimony, when the Jewish leaders sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but he confessed, "I am not the Messiah."

21 They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."

22 They said therefore to him, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said."

24 The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees.

25 They asked him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

26 John answered them, "I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know.

27 He is the one who comes after me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen."

28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.'

31 I did not know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel."

32 John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.

33 I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, 'On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'

34 I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God. "

35 Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,

36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39 He said to them, "Come, and you will see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is, being interpreted, Christ).

42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (which is by interpretation, Peter).

Ps 56:1–13

1 Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.

2 My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me.

3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

4 In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

5 All day long they twist my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil.

6 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps, they are eager to take my life.

7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, God.

8 You number my wanderings. You put my tears into your bottle. Aren't they in your book?

9 Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this, that God is for me.

10 In God, I will praise his word. In the Lord, I will praise his word.

11 I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

12 Your vows are on me, God. I will give thank offerings to you.

13 For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.