111 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior , but he was the son of a harlot e . And Gilead was the father of Jephthah . 2 Gilead's wife bore him sons ; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house , for you are the son of another woman ." 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob ; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah , and they went out with him.
4 It came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel . 5 When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel , the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob ; 6 and they said to Jephthah , "Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon ." 7 Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead , " Did you not hate me and drive me from my father's house ? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble ?" 8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah , "For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead ." 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead , "If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up to me, will I become your head ?" 10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah , " The Lord is witness between us; surely e we will do as you have said ." 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead , and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah .
12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon , saying , "What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land ?" 13 The king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah , "Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt , from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan ; therefore, return them peaceably now ." 14 But Jephthah sent messengers again e to the king of the sons of Ammon , 15 and they said to him, "Thus says Jephthah , 'Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon . 16 'For when they came up from Egypt , and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red e Sea and came to Kadesh , 17 then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom , saying , "Please let us pass through your land ," but the king of Edom would not listen . And they also sent to the king of Moab , but he would not consent . So Israel remained at Kadesh . 18 'Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab , and came to the east e side e of the land of Moab , and they camped beyond the Arnon ; but they did not enter the territory of Moab , for the Arnon was the border of Moab . 19 'And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites , the king of Heshbon , and Israel said to him, "Please let us pass through your land to our place ." 20 'But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory ; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel . 21 'The Lord , the God of Israel , gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel , and they defeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites , the inhabitants of that country . 22 ' So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites , from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok , and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan . 23 'Since now the Lord , the God of Israel , drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel , are you then to possess it? 24 'Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess ? So whatever e the Lord our God has driven out before e us, we will possess it. 25 'Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor , king of Moab ? Did he ever strive with Israel , or did he ever fight against them? 26 ' While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages , and in Aroer and its villages , and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon , three hundred years , why did you not recover them within that time ? 27 'I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the Lord , the Judge , judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon .' " 28 But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded e the message which Jephthah sent him.
29 Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah , so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh ; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead , and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon . 30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said , "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand , 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon , it shall be the Lord'S , and I will offer it up as a burnt offering ." 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand . 33 He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith , twenty cities , and as far as Abel-keramim . So the sons of Ammon were subdued before e the sons of Israel . 34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah , behold , his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing . Now she was his one and only child ; besides her he had no son or daughter . 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said , "Alas , my daughter ! You have brought me very low , and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the Lord , and I cannot e take it back ." 36 So she said to him, "My father , you have given your word to the Lord ; do to me as you have said e e , since e the Lord has avenged you of your enemies , the sons of Ammon ." 37 She said to her father , "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone e two months , that I may go e to the mountains and weep because of my virginity , I and my companions ." 38 Then he said , "Go ." So he sent her away for two months ; and she left with her companions , and wept on the mountains because of her virginity . 39 At the end of two months she returned to her father , who did to her according to the vow which he had made ; and she had no relations with a man . Thus it became a custom in Israel , 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year .
121 Then the men of Ephraim were summoned , and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah , "Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you." 2 Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the sons of Ammon ; when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand . 3 "When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon , and the Lord gave them into my hand . Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?" 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim ; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim , because they said , "You are fugitives of Ephraim , O Gileadites , in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh ." 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim . And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said , "Let me cross over ," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite ?" If he said , "No ," 6 then they would say to him, "Say now , 'Shibboleth .' " But he said , "Sibboleth ," for he could not pronounce it correctly . Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan . Thus there fell at that time 42,000 e e of Ephraim . 7 Jephthah judged Israel six years . Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead .
8 Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him. 9 He had thirty sons , and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons . And he judged Israel seven years . 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem . 11 Now Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; and he judged Israel ten years . 12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun . 13 Now Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel after him. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys ; and he judged Israel eight years . 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim , in the hill country of the Amalekites .
61 Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath ; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain , rubbing them in their hands , and eating the grain. 2 But some of the Pharisees said , "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath ?" 3 And Jesus answering them said , "Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry , he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of God , and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone , and gave it to his companions e ?" 5 And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath ."
6 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching ; and there was a man there whose e right hand was withered . 7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath , so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 8 But He knew what they were thinking , and He said to the man with the withered hand , "Get up and come forward e !" And he got up and came forward. 9 And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath , to save a life or to destroy it?" 10 After looking around at them all , He said to him, "Stretch out your hand !" And he did so; and his hand was restored . 11 But they themselves were filled with rage , and discussed together e what e they might do to Jesus .
12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray , and He spent the whole night in prayer to God . 13 And when day came , He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles : 14 Simon , whom He also named Peter , and Andrew his brother ; and James and John ; and Philip and Bartholomew ; 15 and Matthew and Thomas ; James the son of Alphaeus , and Simon who was called the Zealot ; 16 Judas the son of James , and Judas Iscariot , who became a traitor .
17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place ; and there was a large crowd of His disciples , and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon , 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases ; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured . 19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all .
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples , He began to say , " Blessed are you who are poor , for yours is the kingdom of God . 21 "Blessed are you who hunger now , for you shall be satisfied . Blessed are you who weep now , for you shall laugh . 22 " Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil , for the sake of the Son of Man . 23 "Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold , your reward is great in heaven . For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets . 24 "But woe to you who are rich , for you are receiving your comfort in full . 25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now , for you shall be hungry . Woe to you who laugh now , for you shall mourn and weep . 26 "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way .
(Read Luke 6:1-5)
Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and that was plucking the ears of corn when they were hungry. But we must take heed that we mistake not this liberty for leave to commit sin. Christ will have us to know and remember that it is his day, therefore to be spent in his service, and to his honour.
(Read Luke 6:6-11)
Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.
(Read Luke 6:12-19)
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Those who have not faithful preaching near them, had better travel far than be without it. It is indeed worth while to go a great way to hear the word of Christ, and to go out of the way of other business for it. They came to be cured by him, and he healed them. There is a fulness of grace in Christ, and healing virtue in him, ready to go out from him, that is enough for all, enough for each. Men regard the diseases of the body as greater evils than those of their souls; but the Scripture teaches us differently.
(Read Luke 6:20-26)
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Matthew 5. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world envies them. Those are blessed indeed whom Christ blesses, but those must be dreadfully miserable who fall under his woe and curse! What a vast advantage will the saint have over the sinner in the other world! and what a wide difference will there be in their rewards, how much soever the sinner may prosper, and the saint be afflicted here!
