So none of us took off our clothes—not me, not my brothers, not my men, and not the guards. Each of us had our weapon ready at all times, even when we went to get water.
At that time I also said this to the people: “Every builder and his helper must stay inside Jerusalem at night. Then they can be guards at night and workers during the day.”
Next, I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. I chose another man named Hananiah to be the commander of the fort. I picked Hanani because he was a very honest man and he feared God more than most men do.
They don’t trip each other.\par Each soldier walks in his \{own\} path.\par If one of the soldiers is hit and falls down,\par the others keep right on marching.\par
But, because of God’s grace (gift), that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)
At the watering holes for the animals,
we hear the music of cymbals.
People sing about
the victories of the Lord,
the victories of his soldiers in Israel
when the Lord’s people fought
at the city gates {and won}!
So Abimelech and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon. [89] Abimelech took an axe and cut off some branches. He carried those branches on his shoulders. Then Abimelech said to the men with him, “Hurry! Do the same thing that I have done.”