Judges 3 - 4
1
p Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.
2
It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.
3
These are the nations: q the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.
4
They were for r the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5
So the people of Israel lived s among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
6
t And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
7
u And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and v the Asheroth.
8
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, w and he sold them into the hand of x Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
9
But when the people of Israel y cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a z deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, a Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
10
b The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
11
c So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12
d And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon e the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
13
He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the f Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of g the city of palms.
14
And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15
Then the people of Israel h cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them h a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, i a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
16
And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.
17
And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
18
And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.
19
But he himself turned back j at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." And he commanded, "Silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.
20
And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his k cool roof chamber. l And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat.
21
And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
22
And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.
23
Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him m and locked them.
24
When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, n "Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber."
25
And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26
Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond o the idols and escaped to Seirah.
27
When he arrived, p he sounded the trumpet in q the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader.
28
And he said to them, "Follow after me, r for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him and seized s the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.
29
And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.
30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. t And the land had rest for eighty years.
31
After him was u Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines v with an oxgoad, and he also w saved Israel.
Judges 4
1
x And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died.
2
And the Lord y sold them into the hand of z Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in z Hazor. The commander of his army was a Sisera, who lived in b Harosheth-hagoyim.
3
Then the people of Israel c cried out to the Lord for help, for he had d 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
4
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
5
She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in e the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6
She sent and summoned f Barak the son of Abinoam from g Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, "Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount h Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.
7
And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by i the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, j and I will give him into your hand'?"
8
Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go."
9
And she said, "I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will k sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10
And Barak called out l Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
11
Now Heber m the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of n Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in o Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12
When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,
13
Sisera called out all his chariots, p 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.
14
And Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which q the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. r Does not the Lord go out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
15
s And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot.
16
And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17
But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18
And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid." So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19
And he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened t a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
20
And he said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say, 'No.'"
21
But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
22
And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.
23
u So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.
24
And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
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Cross References
Judges 3:4
They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
Judges 2:21 - 22
I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.
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Cross References
Joshua 13:2 - 6
This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites
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Cross References
Judges 3:1
Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.
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Cross References
Exodus 3:8
And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Psalms 106:35
But they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.
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Cross References
Exodus 34:16
And you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
Deuteronomy 7:3
You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons.
Ezra 9:12
Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.
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Cross References
Judges 2:11 - 13
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
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Cross References
Judges 6:25
That night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it
Exodus 34:13
You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim
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Cross References
Judges 2:14
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
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Cross References
Habakkuk 3:7
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
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Cross References
Judges 3:15
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
Judges 4:3
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
Judges 6:7
When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites.
Judges 10:10
And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.
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Cross References
Judges 3:15
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
Judges 2:16
Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
Nehemiah 9:27
Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
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Cross References
Judges 1:13
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.
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Cross References
Judges 6:34
But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and ...
Judges 11:29
Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, ...
Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in...
Judges 14:6
Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, an...
Judges 14:19
And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and...
Judges 15:14
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shou...
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Cross References
Judges 3:30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Judges 5:31
So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." And the land had rest for forty years.
Judges 8:28
So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
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Cross References
Judges 2:19
But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 12:9
But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them.
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Cross References
Judges 6:33
Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Psalms 83:7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
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Cross References
Judges 1:16
And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people.
Deuteronomy 34:3
The Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
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Cross References
Judges 3:9
But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
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Cross References
Judges 3:9
But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
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Cross References
Judges 20:16
Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
1 Chronicles 12:2
They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kinsmen.
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Cross References
Judges 3:26
Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.
Joshua 4:20
And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
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Cross References
Amos 3:15
I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end," declares the Lord.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 20:9 - 10
And Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 13:17 - 18
He called the young man who served him and said, "Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 24:3
And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
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Cross References
Judges 3:19
But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." And he commanded, "Silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.
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Cross References
Judges 6:34
But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.
1 Samuel 13:3
Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear.
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Cross References
Joshua 24:33
And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
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Cross References
Judges 4:7
And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabi...
Judges 4:14
And Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the...
Judges 7:9
That same night the Lord said to him, "Arise, g...
Judges 7:15
As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the drea...
1 Samuel 17:47
And that all this assembly may know that the Lo...
2 Chronicles 16:8
Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge ...
1 Kings 22:12
And all the prophets prophesied so and said, "G...
1 Kings 22:15
And when he had come to the king, the king said...
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Cross References
Judges 12:5
And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No.
Joshua 2:7
So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
Judges 7:24
Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.
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Cross References
Judges 3:11
So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
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Cross References
Judges 5:6
In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways.
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Cross References
Judges 5:8
When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?
1 Samuel 13:19
Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.
1 Samuel 13:22
So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.
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Cross References
Judges 2:16
Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
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Cross References
Judges 2:19
But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
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Cross References
Judges 2:14
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
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Cross References
Joshua 11:1
When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph.
Joshua 11:10
And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms.
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Cross References
Joshua 11:1
When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph.
Joshua 11:10
And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 12:9
But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them.
Psalms 83:9
Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon.
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Cross References
Judges 4:13
Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.
Judges 4:16
And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
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Cross References
Judges 3:9
But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
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Cross References
Judges 4:13
Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.
Judges 1:19
And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.
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Cross References
Joshua 24:33
And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
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Cross References
Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets -
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Cross References
Joshua 19:37
Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor.
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Cross References
Judges 8:18
Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.
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Cross References
Judges 4:13
Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.
Judges 5:21
The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might!
1 Kings 18:40
And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
Psalms 83:9
Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon.
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Cross References
Judges 3:28
And he said to them, "Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.
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Cross References
Judges 2:14
So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.
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Cross References
Judges 5:18
Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.
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Cross References
Judges 1:16
And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people.
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Cross References
Numbers 10:29
And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.
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Cross References
Joshua 19:33
And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan.
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Cross References
Judges 4:3
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
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Cross References
Judges 4:7
And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 9:3
Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.
2 Samuel 5:24
And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.
Psalms 68:7
O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
Isaiah 52:12
For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
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Cross References
Judges 4:23
So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.
Psalms 83:9
Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon.
Joshua 10:10
And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
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Cross References
Judges 5:25
He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
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Cross References
Judges 4:15
And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.