Judges 7, Acts 11, Jeremiah 20, Mark 6

Judges 7,

1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
 
2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her,
 
3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
 
4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."
 
5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink."
 
6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
 
7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."
 
8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
 
9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.
 
10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah
 
11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
 
12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
 
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
 
14 His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."
 
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands."
 
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
 
17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.
 
18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.' "
 
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
 
20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"
 
21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
 
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
 
23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
 
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah." So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.
 
25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
 

Acts 11,

1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
 
2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
 
3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
 
4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:
 
5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.
 
6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
 
7 Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'
 
8 "I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
 
9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'
 
10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
 
11 "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
 
12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house.
 
13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
 
14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'
 
15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.
 
16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
 
17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
 
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
 
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
 
20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
 
21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
 
22 News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
 
23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
 
24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
 
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
 
26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
 
27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
 
28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
 
29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.
 
30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
 

Jeremiah 20,

1 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
 
2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple.
 
3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "The LORD's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.
 
4 For this is what the LORD says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.
 
5 I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city-all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
 
6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.' "
 
7 O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
 
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.
 
9 But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
 
10 I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."
 
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.
 
12 O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
 
13 Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
 
14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
 
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you-a son!"
 
16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.
 
17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.
 
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?
 

Mark 6

1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.
 
2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!
 
3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
 
4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."
 
5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
 
6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
 
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
 
8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
 
9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.
 
10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.
 
11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."
 
12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
 
13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
 
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."
 
15 Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
 
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"
 
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.
 
18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
 
19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
 
20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
 
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
 
22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you."
 
23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."
 
24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.
 
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
 
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
 
27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,
 
28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
 
29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
 
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
 
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
 
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
 
33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
 
34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
 
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late.
 
36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
 
37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"
 
38 "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five-and two fish."
 
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.
 
40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
 
41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
 
42 They all ate and were satisfied,
 
43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.
 
44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
 
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
 
46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
 
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
 
48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,
 
49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,
 
50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
 
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,
 
52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
 
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.
 
54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.
 
55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
 
56 And wherever he went-into villages, towns or countryside-they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.