<p class="bodytext">Joshua captured all these royal cities and all their kings and annihilated them with the sword,<n id="1" /> as Moses the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s servant had commanded.

The Israelites plundered all the goods of these cities and the cattle, but they totally destroyed all the people<n id="1" /> and allowed no one who breathed to live.

The border then descended southward to the Valley of Kanah. Ephraim was assigned cities there among the cities of Manasseh,<n id="1" /> but the border of Manasseh was north of the valley and ended at the sea.

The one who committed manslaughter<n id="1" /> should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city.<n id="2" /> They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.<n id="3" />

Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, along with the grazing areas of each &#8211; a total of nine cities taken from these two tribes.

See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations,<n id="1" /> from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea<n id="2" /> in the west, including all the nations I defeated.<n id="3" />

For the <sc>Lordsc> our God took us and our fathers out of slavery<n id="1" /> in the land of Egypt<n id="2" /> and performed these awesome miracles<n id="3" /> before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.<n id="4" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s angelic messenger<n id="1" /> came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash&#8217;s son Gideon<n id="2" /> was threshing<n id="3" /> wheat in a winepress<n id="4" /> so he could hide it from the Midianites.<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">Gideon went and prepared a young goat,<n id="1" /> along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food<n id="2" /> to him under the oak tree and presented it to him.

His mother&#8217;s relatives<n id="1" /> spoke on his behalf to<n id="2" /> all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal.<n id="3" /> The leaders were drawn to Abimelech;<n id="4" /> they said, &#8220;He is our close relative.&#8221;<n id="5" />

The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish<n id="1" /> said to their kinsmen,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Jonathan said to his armor bearer, &#8220;Come on, let&#8217;s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the <sc>Lordsc> will intervene<n id="1" /> for us. Nothing can prevent the <sc>Lordsc> from delivering, whether by many or by a few.&#8221;

Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, &#8220;Is that your voice, my son David?&#8221; Then Saul wept loudly.<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">Saul said to his armor bearer, &#8220;Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.&#8221; But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.

<p class="bodytext">Then Absalom happened to come across David&#8217;s men. Now as Absalom was riding on his<n id="1" /> mule, it<n id="2" /> went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair,<n id="3" /> while the mule he had been riding kept going.p>

The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace.<n id="1" /> Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking.

and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple<n id="1" /> were made from polished bronze.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, &#8220;As certainly as the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel lives (whom I serve),<n id="1" /> there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">After this<n id="1" /> the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe.