Judges 4; Judges 5; Judges 6; Luke 4:31-44

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after the death of Aod:

2 And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the Gentiles.

3 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots set with scythes and for twenty years had grievously oppressed them.

4 And there was at that time Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, who judged the people.

5 And she sat under a palm tree, which was called by her name, between Rama and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for all judgment.

6 And she sent and called Barac, the Son of Abinoem, out of Cedes, in Nephthali: and she said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army to Mount Thabor, and thou shalt take with thee ten thousand fighting men of the children of Nephthali, and of the children of Zabulon:

7 And I will bring unto thee in the place of the torrent Cison, Sisara, the general of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and all his multitude, and will deliver them into thy hand.

8 And Barac said to her: If thou wilt come with me, I will go: if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go.

9 She said to him: I will go, indeed, with thee, but at this time the victory shall not be attributed to thee, because Sisara shall be delivered into the hand of a woman. Debbora therefore arose, and went with Barac to Cedes.

10 And he called unto him Zabulon and Nephthali, and went up with ten thousand fighting men, having Debbora in his company.

11 Now Haber, the Cinite, had some time before departed from the rest of the Cinites, his brethren, the sons of Hobab, the kinsman of Moses: and had pitched his tents unto the valley, which is called Sennim, and was near Cedes.

12 And it was told Sisara, that Barac, the son of Abinoem, was gone up to Mount Thabor:

13 And he gathered together his nine hundred chariots armed with scythes, and all his army, from Haroseth of the Gentiles, to the torrent Cison.

14 And Debbora said to Barac: Arise, for this is the day wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisara into thy hands: behold, he is thy leader. And Barac went down from Mount Thabor, and ten thousand fighting men with him.

15 And the Lord struck a terror into Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his multitude, with the edge of the sword, at the sight of Barac; insomuch, that Sisara leaping down from off his chariot, fled away on foot,

16 And Barac pursued after the fleeing chariots, and the army, unto Haroseth of the Gentiles; and all the multitude of the enemies was utterly destroyed.

17 But Sisara fleeing, came to the tent of Jahel, the wife of Haber, the Cinite, for there was peace between Jabin, the king of Asor, and the house of Haber, the Cinite.

18 And Jahel went forth to meet Sisara, and said to him: Come in to me, my lord; come in, fear not. He went into her tent, and being covered by her with a cloak,

19 Said to her: Give me, I beseech thee, a little water, for I am very thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him.

20 And Sisara said to her: Stand before the door of the tent, and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is there any man here? thou shalt say: There is none.

21 So Jahel, Haber’s wife, took a nail of the tent, and taking also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it with the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died.

22 And behold, Barac came pursuing after Sisara: and Jahel went out to meet him, and said to him: Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, he saw Sisara lying dead, and the nail fastened in his temples.

23 So God that day humbled Jabin, the king of Chanaan, before the children of Israel:

24 Who grew daily stronger, and with a mighty hand overpowered Jabin, king of Chanaan, till they quite destroyed him.

1 In that day Debbora and Barac, son of Abinoem, sung, and said:

2 O you of Israel, that have willingly offered your lives to danger, bless the Lord.

3 Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye princes: It is I, it is I, that will sing to the Lord, I will sing to the Lord, the God of Israel.

4 O Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, and passedst by the regions of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens and clouds dropped water.

5 The mountains melted before the face of the Lord, and Sinai before the face of the Lord the God of Israel.

6 In the days of Samgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jahel, the paths rested: and they that went by them, walked through bye-ways.

7 The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel: until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel.

8 The Lord chose new wars, and he himself overthrew the gates of the enemies: a shield and spear was not seen among forty thousand of Israel.

9 My heart loveth the princes of Israel: O you, that of your own good will offered yourselves to danger, bless the Lord.

10 Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in judgment, and walk in the way.

11 Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of the enemies was choked, there let the justices of the Lord be rehearsed, and his clemency towards the brave men of Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the gates, and obtained the sovereignty.

12 Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise, arise, and utter a canticle. Arise, Barac, and take hold of thy captives, O son of Abinoem.

13 The remnants of the people are saved, the Lord hath fought among the valiant ones.

14 Out of Ephraim he destroyed them into Amalec, and after him out of Benjamin into thy people, O Amalec: Out of Machir there came down princes, and out of Zabulon they that led the army to fight.

15 The captains of Issachar were with Debbora, and followed the steps of Barac, who exposed himself to danger, as one going headlong, and into a pit. Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

16 Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou mayst hear the bleatings of the flocks? Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

17 Galaad rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan applied himself to ships: Aser dwelt on the sea shore, and abode in the havens.

18 But Zabulon and Nephthali offered their lives to death in the region of Merome.

19 The kings came and fought, the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanac, by the waters of Mageddo and yet they took no spoils.

20 There was war made against them from heaven: the stars, remaining in their order and courses, fought against Sisara.

21 The torrent of Cison dragged their carcasses, the torrent of Cadumim, the torrent of Cison: tread thou, my soul, upon the strong ones.

22 The hoofs of the horses were broken whilst the stoutest of the enemies fled amain, and fell headlong down.

23 Curse ye the land of Meroz, said the angel of the Lord: curse the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to help his most valiant men.

24 Blessed among women be Jahel, the wife of Haber the Cinite, and blessed be she in her tent.

25 He asked her water, and she gave him milk, and offered him butter in a dish fit for princes.

26 She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman’s hammer, and she struck Sisara, seeking in his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing through his temples.

27 Between her feet he fell: he fainted, and he died: he rolled before her feet, and there he lay lifeless and wretched.

28 His mother looked out at a window, and howled: and she spoke from the dining room: Why is his chariot so long in coming back? Why are the feet of his horses so slow?

29 One that was wiser than the rest of his wives, returned this answer to her mother in law:

30 Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the fairest of the women is chosen out for him: garments of divers colours are given to Sisara for his prey, and furniture of different kinds is heaped together to adorn necks.

31 So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love thee shine, as the sun shineth in his rising. (5-32) And the land rested for forty years.

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years,

2 And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

3 And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations, came up:

4 And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade, even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

5 For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.

6 And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.

7 And he cried to the Lord, desiring help against the Madianites.

8 And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,

9 And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you their land.

10 And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice.

11 And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas, the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon, his son, was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

13 And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian.

14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go, in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

15 He answered, and said: I beseech thee, my lord wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.

16 And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

17 And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me:

18 And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.

19 So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him.

20 And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,

21 The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

22 And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

23 And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die.

24 And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord’s peace, until this present day. And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,

25 That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father’s, and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father’s: and cut down the grove that is about the altar:

26 And thou shalt build un altar to the Lord thy God, in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out of the grove.

27 Then Gedeon, taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father’s house, and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night.

28 And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built.

29 And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon, the son of Joas, did all this.

30 And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove.

31 He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die before to morrow light appear: if he be a god, let him revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

32 From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joas had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

33 Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people, were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael.

34 But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and he sounded the trumpet, and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him.

35 And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him:and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon, and Nephthali, and they came to meet him.

36 And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

37 I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew in the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel.

38 And it was so. And rising before day, wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

39 And he said again to God: Let not thy wrath be kindled against me, if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.

40 And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

31 And he went down into Capharnaum, a city of Galilee: and there he taught them on the sabbath days.

32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his speech was with power.

33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had an unclean devil: and he cried out with a loud voice,

34 Saying: Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God.

35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Hold thy peace and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him and hurt him not at all.

36 And there came fear upon all; and they talked among themselves, saying: What word is this, for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they go out?

37 And the fame of him was published into every place of the country.

38 And Jesus rising up out of the synagogue, went into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever: and they besought him for her.

39 And standing over her, he commanded the fever: and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them.

40 And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them to him. But he, laying his hands on every one of them, healed them.

41 And devils went out from many, crying out and saying: Thou art the son of God. And rebuking them he suffered them not to speak; for they knew that he was Christ.

42 And when it was day, going out he went into a desert place: and the multitudes sought him, and came unto him. And they stayed him that should not depart from them.

43 To whom he said: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God: for therefore am I sent.

44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.