Judges 21, Acts 25, Jeremiah 35, Psalm 7, 8

Judges 21,

1 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."
 
2 The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly.
 
3 "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"
 
4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
 
5 Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death.
 
6 Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said.
 
7 "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"
 
8 Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
 
9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.
 
10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children.
 
11 "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin."
 
12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
 
13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon.
 
14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
 
15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.
 
16 And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?
 
17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
 
18 We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.'
 
19 But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah."
 
20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards
 
21 and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.
 
22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.' "
 
23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.
 
24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.
 
25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
 

Acts 25,

1 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,
 
2 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.
 
3 They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
 
4 Festus answered, "Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.
 
5 Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong."
 
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.
 
7 When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.
 
8 Then Paul made his defense: "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar."
 
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?"
 
10 Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
 
11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"
 
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"
 
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
 
14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. He said: "There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.
 
15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
 
16 "I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.
 
17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.
 
18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.
 
19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.
 
20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.
 
21 When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."
 
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself." He replied, "Tomorrow you will hear him."
 
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.
 
24 Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.
 
25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.
 
26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write.
 
27 For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.
 

Jeremiah 35,

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
 
2 "Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink."
 
3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons-the whole family of the Recabites.
 
4 I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.
 
5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, "Drink some wine."
 
6 But they replied, "We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.
 
7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.'
 
8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine
 
9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.
 
10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us.
 
11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, 'Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' So we have remained in Jerusalem."
 
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying:
 
13 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, 'Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD.
 
14 'Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me.
 
15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." But you have not paid attention or listened to me.
 
16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.'
 
17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' "
 
18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.'
 
19 Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.' "
 

Psalm 7, 8

1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
 
2 or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
 
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands-
 
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe-
 
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. Selah
 
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.
 
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high;
 
8 let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.
 
9 O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.
 
10 My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.
 
11 God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.
 
12 If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.
 
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.
 
14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
 
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.
 
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.
 
17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
 

    
1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
 
2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
 
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
 
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
 
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
 
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
 
7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
 
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
 
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!