and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,

In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days,<n id="1" /> if you return to the <sc>Lordsc> your God and obey him<n id="2" />

If it accepts your terms<n id="1" /> and submits to you, all the people found in it will become your slaves.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">If a homicide victim<n id="1" /> should be found lying in a field in the land the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you,<n id="2" /> and no one knows who killed<n id="3" /> him,

You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor<n id="1" /> has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved.<n id="2" />

Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, &#8216;I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,&#8217; but this is the evidence of my daughter&#8217;s virginity!&#8221; The cloth must then be spread out<n id="1" /> before the city&#8217;s elders.

But if the man came across<n id="1" /> the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped<n id="2" /> her, then only the rapist<n id="3" /> must die.

<p class="bodytext">If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites,<n id="1" /> and regards him as mere property<n id="2" /> and sells him, that kidnapper<n id="3" /> must die. In this way you will purge<n id="4" /> evil from among you.p>

They went<n id="1" /> to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them<n id="2" /> to return. Their pursuers<n id="3" /> looked all along the way but did not find them.<n id="4" />

Then the two men returned &#8211; they came down from the hills, crossed the river,<n id="1" /> came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered.

<p class="poetry">&#8216;No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder<n id="1" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">a girl or two for each man to rape!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth,<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,p> <p class="poetry">for the neck of the plunderer!&#8217;<n id="5" />p>

Gideon<n id="1" /> said to him, &#8220;If you really are pleased with me,<n id="2" /> then give me<n id="3" /> a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me.

This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah&#8217;s house.<n id="1" />

Micah said to him, &#8220;Where do you come from?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.&#8221;<n id="1" />

The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites<n id="1" /> gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around.<n id="2" />p>

May the <sc>Lordsc> enable each of you to find<n id="1" /> security<n id="2" /> in the home of a new husband!&#8221;<n id="3" /> Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">Ruth<n id="1" /> knelt before him with her forehead to the ground<n id="2" /> and said to him, &#8220;Why are you so kind<n id="3" /> and so attentive to me,<n id="4" /> even though<n id="5" /> I am a foreigner?&#8221;<n id="6" />

She said, &#8220;You really are being kind to me,<n id="1" /> sir,<n id="2" /> for you have reassured<n id="3" /> and encouraged<n id="4" /> me, your servant,<n id="5" /> even though I am<n id="6" /> not one of your servants!&#8221;<n id="7" />p>

She said, &#8220;May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.&#8221; So the woman went her way and got something to eat.<n id="1" /> Her face no longer looked sad.p>

<p class="bodytext">As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, &#8220;Is this where the seer is?&#8221;