WEBVTT

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Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're

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taking this journey together to read the Bible

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in a year. Today's reading is from Judges chapters

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11 through 13. Chapter 11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite

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was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son

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of a harlot, and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead's

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wife bore sons, and when his wife's sons grew

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up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him,

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You shall have no inheritance in our father's

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house, for you are the son of another woman.

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Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt

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in the land of Tob. And worthless men banded

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together with Jephthah and went out raiding with

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him. It came to pass after a time that the people

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of Ammon made war against Israel. And so it was

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when the people of Ammon made war against Israel

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that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah

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from the land of Tob. Then they said to Jephthah,

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Come and be our commander, that we may fight

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against the people of Ammon. So Jephthah said

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to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me

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and expel me from my father's house? Why have

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you come to me now when you are in distress?

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And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, That

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is why we have turned again to you now, that

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you may go with us and fight against the people

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of Ammon. and be our head over all the inhabitants

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of Gilead. So Jephthah said to the elders of

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Gilead, If you take me back home to fight against

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the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them

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to me, shall I be your head? And the elders of

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Gilead said to Jephthah, The Lord will be a witness

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between us if we do not do according to your

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words. Then Jephthah went with the elders of

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Gilead, and the people made him head and commander

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over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before

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the Lord in Mizpah. Now Jephthah sent messengers

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to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, What

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do you have against me, that you have come to

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fight against me in my land? And the king of

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the people of Ammon answered the messengers of

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Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when

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they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as

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far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore

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restore those lands peaceably. So Jephthah again

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sent messengers to the king of the people of

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Ammon, and said to him, Thus says Jephthah, Israel

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did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land

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of the people of Ammon. For when Israel came

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up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness

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as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Then

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Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying,

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Please let me pass through your land. But the

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king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner

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they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not

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consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh. And they

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went along through the wilderness and bypassed

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the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to

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the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped

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on the other side of the Arnon. But they did

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not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was

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the border of Moab. Then Israel sent messengers

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to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Hezbon,

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and Israel said to him, Please let us pass through

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your land into our place. But Sihon did not trust

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Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon

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gathered all his people together, encamped in

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Jehaz, and fought against Israel. And the Lord

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God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people

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into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them.

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Thus Israel gained possession of all the land

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of the Amorites who inhabited that country. They

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took possession of all the territory of the Amorites,

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from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness

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to the Jordan. And now the Lord God of Israel

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has dispossessed the Amorites from before his

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people Israel. Should you then possess it? Will

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you not possess whatever Shimosh your God gives

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you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God

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takes possession of before us, we will possess.

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And now are you any better than Balak the son

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of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever fight against

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them? While Israel dwelt in Hezbon and its villages,

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in Aror and its villages, and in all the cities

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along the banks of the Arnon for three hundred

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years, why did you not recover them within that

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time? Therefore I have not sinned against you,

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but you wronged me by fighting against me. May

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the Lord, the Judge, render judgment this day

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between the children of Israel and the people

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of Ammon. However, the king of the people of

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Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent

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him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah,

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and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and

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passed through Mizpah of Gilead. And from Mizpah

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of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.

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And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said,

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If you will indeed deliver the people of Ammon

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into my hands, then it will be that whatever

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comes out of the doors of my house to meet you,

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when I return in peace from the people of Ammon,

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surely shall be the Lord's, and I will offer

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it up as a burnt offering. So Jephthah advanced

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toward the people of Ammon to fight against them,

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and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And

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he defeated them from Arwar as far as Meneath,

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twenty cities, and to Abel -Kiramim, with a very

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great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were

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subdued before the children of Israel. When Jephthah

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came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter

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coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing,

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and she was his only child. Besides her, he had

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neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass,

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when he saw her, that he tore his clothes and

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said, Alas, my daughter, you have brought me

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very low. You are among those who trouble me,

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for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot

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go back on it. So she said to him, My father,

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if you have given your word to the Lord, do to

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me according to what has gone out of your mouth,

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because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies,

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the people of Ammon. Then she said to her father,

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Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone for

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two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains

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and bewail my virginity, my friends and I. So

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he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months.

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And she went with her friends and bewailed her

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virginity on the mountains. And it was so at

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the end of two months that she returned to her

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father, and he carried out his vow with her which

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he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became

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a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel

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went four days each year to lament the daughter

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of Jephthah the Gileadite. Chapter 12 Then the

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men of Ephraim gathered together, crossed over

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towards Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, Why did

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you cross over to fight against the people of

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Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We

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will burn your house down on you with fire. And

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Jephthah said to them, My people and I were in

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a great struggle with the people of Ammon, and

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when I called you, you did not deliver me out

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of their hands. So when I saw that you would

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not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and

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crossed over against the people of Ammon, and

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the Lord delivered them into my hands. Why then

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have you come up to me this day to fight against

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me? Now Jephthah gathered together all the men

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of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the

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men of Gilead defeated Ephraim because they said,

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you Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among

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the Ephraimites and among the Manassites. The

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Gileadites seized the forts of the Jordan before

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the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite

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who escaped said, let me cross over, the men

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of Gilead would say to him, are you an Ephraimite?

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If he said no, then they would say to him, then

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say Shibboleth. And he would say Sibboleth. for

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he could not pronounce it right. Then they would

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take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan.

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There fell at that time 42 ,000 Ephraimites.

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And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah

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the Gileadite died and was buried among the cities

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of Gilead. After him, Ibn of Bethlehem judged

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Israel. He had 30 sons, and he gave away 30 daughters

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in marriage, and brought in 30 daughters from

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elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven

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years. Then Ibn died and was buried at Bethlehem.

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After him, Elon the Zebulonite judged Israel.

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He judged Israel 10 years, and Elon the Zebulonite

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died and was buried at Aijalon in the country

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of Zebulun. After him, Abdon the son of Hillel

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the Pirathonite judged Israel. He had forty sons

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and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy young

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donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. Then Abdon

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the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was

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buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in

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the mountains of the Amalekites. Chapter 13 Again

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the children of Israel did evil in the sight

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of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into

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the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

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Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the

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family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah,

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and his wife was barren and had no children.

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And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman

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and said to her, Indeed now you are barren and

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have borne no children, but you shall conceive

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and bear a son. Now therefore please be careful

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not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to

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eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive

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and bear a son, and no razor shall come upon

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his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to

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God from the womb. and he shall begin to deliver

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Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. So

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the woman came and told her husband, saying,

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A man of God came to me, and his countenance

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was like the countenance of the angel of God,

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very awesome. But I did not ask him where he

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was from, and he did not tell me his name. And

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he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and

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bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink,

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nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall

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be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day

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of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord

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and said, O Lord, please let the man of God,

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whom you sent, come to us again and teach us

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what we shall do for the child who will be born.

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And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and

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the angel of God came to the woman again as she

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was sitting in the field. But Manoah her husband

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was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste

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and told her husband and said to him, Look, the

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man who came to me the other day has just now

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appeared to me. So Manoah arose and followed

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his wife. When he came to the man, he said to

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him, Are you the man who spoke to this woman?

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And he said, I am. Manoah said, Now let your

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words come to pass. What will be the boy's rule

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of life and his work? So the angel of the Lord

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said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman,

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let her be careful. She may not eat anything

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that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine

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or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All

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that I commanded her, let her observe. Then Manoah

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said to the angel of the Lord, Please let us

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detain you, and we will prepare a young goat

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for you. And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah,

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Though you detain me, I will not eat your food.

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But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer

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it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know he was

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the angel of the Lord. Then Manoah said to the

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angel of the Lord, What is your name, that when

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your words come to pass, we may honor you? And

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the angel of the Lord said to him, Why do you

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ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? So Manoah

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took the young goat with the grain offering and

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offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And he

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did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife

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looked on. It happened as the flame went up toward

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heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord

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ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah

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and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces

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to the ground. When the angel of the Lord appeared

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no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew

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that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah

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said to his wife, We shall surely die because

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we have seen God. But his wife said to him, If

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the Lord has desired to kill us, he would not

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have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering

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from our hands, nor would he have shown us all

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these things, nor would he have told us such

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things as these at this time. So the woman bore

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a son and called his name Samson. And a child

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grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit

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of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahan -e

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-Dan between Zorah and Ishtawot. I hope you enjoyed

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today's reading as much as I did and I look forward

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to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our

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journey. God bless you and have a great day.