New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 After Abimelech died, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, was the next person to rescue Israel. He was from the tribe of Issachar but lived in the town of Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
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Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, was next after Abimelech. He rose to the occasion to save Israel. He was a man of Issachar. He lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
2 He judged Israel for twenty-three years. When he died, he was buried in Shamir.
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He judged Israel for twenty-three years and then died and was buried at Shamir.
3 After Tola died, Jair from Gilead judged Israel for twenty-two years.
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After him, Jair the Gileadite stepped into leadership. He judged Israel for twenty-two years.
4 His thirty sons rode around on thirty donkeys, and they owned thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which are still called the Towns of Jair.
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He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and had thirty towns in Gilead. The towns are still called Jair's Villages.
5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
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Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
6 Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD ’s sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the LORD and no longer served him at all.
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And then the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God's sight. They worshiped the Baal gods and Ashtoreth goddesses: gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab; gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They just walked off and left God, quit worshiping him.
7 So the LORD burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites,
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And God exploded in hot anger at Israel and sold them off to the Philistines and Ammonites, who,
8 who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in Gilead).
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beginning that year, bullied and battered the People of Israel mercilessly. For eighteen years they had them under their thumb, all the People of Israel who lived east of the Jordan in the Amorite country of Gilead.
9 The Ammonites also crossed to the west side of the Jordan and attacked Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. The Israelites were in great distress.
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Then the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to go to war also against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel was in a bad way!
10 Finally, they cried out to the LORD for help, saying, “We have sinned against you because we have abandoned you as our God and have served the images of Baal.”
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The People of Israel cried out to God for help: "We've sinned against you! We left our God and worshiped the Baal gods!"
11 The LORD replied, “Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,
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God answered the People of Israel: "When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Sidonians
12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me for help, and I rescued you.
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- even Amalek and Midian! - oppressed you and you cried out to me for help, I saved you from them.
13 Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore.
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And now you've gone off and betrayed me, worshiping other gods. I'm not saving you anymore.
14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”
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Go ahead! Cry out for help to the gods you've chosen - let them get you out of the mess you're in!"
15 But the Israelites pleaded with the LORD and said, “We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.”
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The People of Israel said to God: "We've sinned. Do to us whatever you think best, but please, get us out of this!"
16 Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the LORD . And he was grieved by their misery.
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Then they cleaned house of the foreign gods and worshiped only God. And God took Israel's troubles to heart.
17 At that time the armies of Ammon had gathered for war and were camped in Gilead, and the people of Israel assembled and camped at Mizpah.
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The Ammonites prepared for war, setting camp in Gilead. The People of Israel set their rival camp in Mizpah.
18 The leaders of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever attacks the Ammonites first will become ruler over all the people of Gilead.”
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The leaders in Gilead said, "Who will stand up for us against the Ammonites? We'll make him head over everyone in Gilead!"
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.