Live-Wire Bible Study - Day 69 - Judges 1–3 · Luke 20 · Psalm 16 - FeedTheGoodHorse
A year-long cultural and psychological reading of the entire Bible. An enduring human text.
← Day 68 | About | Day 70 →
Day 63: Judges 1–3 · Luke 20 · Psalm 16 · Commentary · Commentary² · Audio
The Bible text is included for reading continuity; it is accurate in substance, aligned with major modern translations, and may be read alongside any Bible you prefer.1
Special Note about the following Bible text: The following translation uses the Hebrew terms tamé (טָמֵא) and tahor (טָהוֹר) instead of the traditional “unclean” and “clean.” These terms describe ritual status in relation to sanctuary access, not moral fault, shame, or physical dirtiness. A fuller explanation will follow in a dedicated article.
Judges 1
After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel asked Jehovah, “Who will go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
Jehovah said, “Judah will go up. See, I have given the land into his hand.” Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Go up with me into the territory assigned to me so that we may fight against the Canaanites. Then I also will go with you into the territory assigned to you.” So Simeon went with him.
Judah went up, and Jehovah gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They struck ten thousand of them at Bezek. They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek, fought against him, and struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. The sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, struck it with the sword, and set the city on fire.
Afterward, the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the lowland. Judah went against the Canaanites living in Hebron—Hebron’s former name was Kiriath-arba—and struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. From there Judah went against the inhabitants of Debir—Debir’s former name was Kiriath-sepher.
Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give Achsah my daughter as a wife.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it. Caleb gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife.
When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. She got down from the donkey. Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the sons of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negev near Arad. They went and lived among the people.
Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. Judah captured Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
Jehovah was with Judah, and Judah took possession of the hill country. But he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.
But the descendants of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and Jehovah was with them. The house of Joseph sent spies to Bethel—Bethel’s former name was Luz. The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” So he showed them the entrance into the city. They struck the city with the sword but let the man and all his family go.
The man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, because the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor but did not completely drive them out. Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol. So the Canaanites lived among them, but they became forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or Beth-anath. So they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. The inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.
The Amorites pressed the descendants of Dan back into the hill country. They did not allow them to come down into the valley. The Amorites were determined to live in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. But the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, and they became forced labor.
The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
Judges 2
The messenger of Jehovah went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. You must not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You must tear down their altars. But you have not listened to my voice. What have you done?
“So now I also say, I will not drive them out before you. They will become adversaries to you, and their gods will become a snare to you.”
When the messenger of Jehovah spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept. So they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to Jehovah.
When Joshua dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. The people served Jehovah throughout the lifetime of Joshua and throughout the lifetime of the elders who lived long after him. Those elders had seen all the great work that Jehovah had done for Israel.
Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died at the age of one hundred ten years. They buried him within the territory of his inheritance at Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
All that generation also was gathered to their fathers, and another generation rose after them who did not know Jehovah or the work that he had done for Israel.
Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah and served the Baals. They abandoned Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples around them and bowed down to them. They provoked Jehovah to anger.
They abandoned Jehovah and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. So the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and he gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around. They were no longer able to stand before their enemies.
Wherever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for harm, just as Jehovah had spoken and sworn to them. They were in severe distress.
Then Jehovah raised up judges who delivered them out of the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen even to their judges. Instead, they acted unfaithfully with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked—the fathers who had listened to the commandments of Jehovah. They did not do as their fathers had done.
Whenever Jehovah raised up judges for them, Jehovah was with the judge. Jehovah delivered them out of the hand of their enemies throughout the lifetime of the judge. Jehovah was moved to pity because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
But when the judge died, they turned back and acted more corruptly than their fathers. They followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways.
So the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and he said, “Because this nation has broken my covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not listened to my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel, to see whether they will keep the way of Jehovah by walking in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.”
So Jehovah left those nations in place. Jehovah did not drive them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
Judges 3
Now these are the nations that Jehovah left to test Israel by them—those who had not known any of the wars fought in Canaan. This happened so that the generations of the sons of Israel might learn warfare, at least those who had not known it before: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the hill country of Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
They were left to test Israel by them, to determine whether Israel would listen to the commandments of Jehovah that he had commanded their fathers through Moses.
So the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They took their daughters for themselves as wives, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah. They forgot Jehovah their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. So the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim. The sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
When the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a deliverer for them who saved them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to battle. Jehovah gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and he prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim.
Then the land had rest forty years. After that Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the sight of Jehovah. He gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek. He went and struck Israel, and they took possession of the city of palms.
The sons of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
Then the sons of Israel cried out to Jehovah, and Jehovah raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a man restricted in his right hand. The sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab.
Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and bound it on his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very heavy man.
When he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. But he himself turned back from the carved images near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” The king said, “Silence!” Then all who attended him went out from his presence.
Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool upper room and said, “I have a message from God for you.” Then he rose from his seat. Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, because he did not draw the sword out of his belly. Then the refuse came out.
Then Ehud went out into the porch. He shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
After he had gone out, the servants came. They saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, so they said, “Surely he is relieving himself in the cool room.” They waited until they became embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord fallen to the ground, dead.
Ehud escaped while they delayed. He passed beyond the carved images and escaped to Seirah.
When he arrived, he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he went before them.
He said to them, “Follow after me, for Jehovah 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 cross.
At that time they struck about ten thousand Moabites, all strong and capable men. Not one escaped.
So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day. Then the land had rest eighty years.
After him was Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, and he also saved Israel.
Luke 20
One day, while he was teaching the people in the temple and announcing the good news, the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority?”
He answered them, “I will also ask you one question. Tell me: the baptism of John—was it from heaven or from people?”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘from people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
He began to tell the people this parable: “A person planted a vineyard, leased it to farmers, and went away for a long time. At the proper time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant; they beat this one also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. He sent a third; they wounded this one also and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance may become ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
When they heard this, they said, “May it never be!”
But he looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken, but the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The experts in the law and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people, because they understood that he had spoken this parable about them.
They watched him and sent spies who pretended to be upright, so that they might catch him in something he said and hand him over to the authority and power of the governor. They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it permitted for us to pay tax to Caesar or not?”
He perceived their cunning and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.”
He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
And they were not able to catch him in a statement before the people; and they were amazed at his answer and fell silent.
Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came and questioned him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies having a wife but no children, the brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers: the first took a wife and died without children. The second and the third took her, and in the same way all seven, and they died without leaving children. After all of them, the woman also died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as a wife.”
Jesus said to them, “Those of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to reach that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. For they can no longer die, because they are like the messengers and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised—even Moses showed in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”
Some of the experts in the law answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” And they no longer dared to question him about anything.
Then he said to them, “How do they say that the Anointed is the son of David? For David himself says in the book of Psalms:
‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand,
until I place your enemies under your feet.”’
So David calls him ‘lord’—how then is he his son?”
While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples, “Beware of the experts in the law, who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at feasts. They devour the houses of widows and for appearance make long prayers. These will receive a heavier judgment.”
Psalm 16
Protect me, God,
for I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord,
“You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good.”
As for the holy ones who are in the land,
they are the noble ones
in whom is all my delight.
Those who chase after another god
increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
nor will I take their names on my lips.
The Lord is the portion assigned to me
and my cup;
you hold my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a beautiful inheritance.
I will bless the Lord, who advises me;
even at night my inner being instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you will not abandon my life to the grave,
nor will you allow your faithful one to see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forever.
Commentary — Day 69
Judges 1–3 · Luke 20 · Psalm 16
Summary
Judges 1 begins with tribes moving into land that is only partly cleared. Victories are won at places like Bezek and Jerusalem, yet iron chariots hold the valleys and many cities remain occupied. Judges 2 turns to warning at Bochim, where a messenger speaks about altars left standing and nations that will become snares. A new generation rises that does not remember earlier deliverance, and cycles of failure begin.
Judges 3 introduces deliverers such as Othniel and Ehud, whose hidden sword strikes Eglon in the upper room before Moab falls at the Jordan fords. Luke 20 moves into temple debate, where a denarius, a vineyard, and the image of a rejected stone shape the teaching.
Psalm 16 closes with boundary lines and inheritance held secure in God’s presence.
Springs of water granted in dry land. Iron chariots holding the valley. A place named Bochim where voices rise in weeping. A sword hidden along the thigh. A locked upper room. A denarius held up for inspection. Boundary lines falling in pleasant places.
Judges 1 begins with movement into land that is only partly taken. After the death of Joshua, the tribes ask who will go first, and Judah steps forward with Simeon beside him. Victories follow at Bezek and Jerusalem, and the capture of Adoni-bezek ends with his thumbs and toes cut off as repayment for what he once did to seventy kings.
Caleb’s household gains springs of water in the Negev after Achsah asks her father for blessing beyond dry ground. Yet alongside these gains, resistance remains. Iron chariots hold the valley, and several tribes leave cities occupied—Benjamin leaves the Jebusites in Jerusalem, Manasseh leaves towns standing, and others force labor instead of driving inhabitants out. The land is entered, but not cleared.
Judges 2 turns from possession to warning at Bochim. A messenger rises from Gilgal and speaks about the covenant and the altars that were never torn down. The people weep at Bochim and offer sacrifice, but the warning remains: the nations left in the land will become adversaries and snares.
After the death of Joshua and the elders who had seen the works done in Egypt and the wilderness, another generation rises that does not know those acts. Service shifts from Jehovah to Baal and the Ashtoreths, and the consequences arrive through plunderers and surrounding enemies. Judges are raised to deliver, and relief lasts during their lifetime, yet the pattern returns when each judge dies. Nations left in place become the testing ground for obedience or failure.
Judges 3 introduces the first cycles of testing and deliverance. Nations remain in the land so that later generations learn warfare and face choices about whom to serve. Marriage ties form with surrounding peoples, and worship shifts again toward Baals and Asherahs.
Cushan-rishathaim rules for eight years until Othniel rises and wins rest for forty years. After his death, the pattern returns. Eglon of Moab takes the city of palms, and tribute is carried to him by Ehud.
Ehud binds a double-edged sword along his thigh, enters the cool upper room where Eglon sits alone, and thrusts the blade into his body. Doors are locked behind him, servants delay outside, and escape comes through that delay. A trumpet sounds in the hill country, the fords of the Jordan are seized, and Moab falls. The land rests again.
Afterward, Shamgar strikes six hundred Philistines with an ox goad and saves Israel. Deliverance appears, but it follows distress rather than preventing it.
Luke 20 moves into confrontation in the temple courts. Chief priests and elders question authority, and the answer comes as a question about John’s baptism that leaves them silent.
A vineyard owner sends servants to collect fruit, and each servant is beaten or cast out until the owner sends his son, who is killed outside the vineyard. The image of a rejected stone becoming the cornerstone stands beside the warning of judgment against those farmers.
Later, spies present a denarius and ask about paying tax. The coin, bearing Caesar’s image, becomes the object that shapes the reply: give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give God what belongs to God.
Sadducees raise a question about seven brothers and one wife, and the answer returns to Moses at the burning bush, where God names himself as God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—God of the living, not the dead. The exchange ends with warning against teachers who wear long robes, seek honor, and consume the houses of widows.
Psalm 16 closes with refuge named as portion and boundary. The speaker names the Lord as cup and inheritance, and boundary lines fall into pleasant places.
Sorrows multiply for those who chase other gods, but security remains for the one who keeps the Lord always before him. The promise extends beyond present life—confidence that the path will not end in decay but continue in joy within God’s presence.
Across Judges, Luke, and the Psalm, the same unfinished patterns continue to shape what follows.
Through fields that still hold enemy cities, caves sealed with stones, locked upper rooms, temple courts filled with questions, and boundary lines measured in inheritance, unfinished removal shapes what follows.
Nations left in valleys with iron chariots, altars left standing, rulers left alive, and choices left unresolved return again in later struggle. What remains in place continues to influence what happens next, whether in land held by tribes, authority tested in courts, or refuge named within the boundaries of faith.
← Day 68 | About | How-To | Schedule | Day 70 →
The Bible text provided in the daily readings is included so readers can follow the commentary without interruption or needing to choose between various versions. It is accurate in substance and consistent with all major modern translations.
The longer-term aim of this project is a more fully natural modern-English rendering, one not filtered through inherited Bible-specific language nor centuries of various divergent interpretations. That work is ongoing and deliberately unrushed.
You don’t have to know anything about Bible translations to read here. You are free to use any Bible you prefer, or to read the text provided.
For a brief explanation of why this translation is provided and why it appears as it does, see So… What Bible Is This?