Bible Verses About Magistrates

After this, there came to the king two women who were prostitutes. After presenting themselves to him,

one of the women said, "My lord, I and this woman live in the same house; and when she was in the house, I gave birth to a baby.

Three days after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were there together; there was no one else with us in the house except the two of us.

During the night this woman's child died, because she rolled over on top of it.

So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from next to me, while your servant was sleeping, and put it in her arms; and she laid her dead child in my arms.

When I awoke in the morning to feed my child from my breast, there it was, dead. But when I took a closer look later in the morning, why, it wasn't my son at all - not the one I gave birth to!"

The other woman broke in, "No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!" The first one said, "No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son!" This is how they spoke in the presence of the king.

Then the king said, "This woman says, 'The living one is my son; your son is the dead one'; while the other says, 'No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.'

Bring me a sword," said the king. They brought a sword to the king.

The king said, "Cut the living child in two; give half to the one and half to the other."

At this, the woman to whom the living child belonged addressed the king, because she felt so strongly toward her son: "Oh, my lord, give her the living child; you mustn't kill it!" But the other one said, "It will be neither yours nor mine. Divide it up!"

Then the king answered, "Give the living child to the first woman, don't kill it, because she is its mother."

All Isra'el heard of the decision the king had made and held the king in awe, for they saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to render justice properly.

While 'Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrated before the house of God, a huge crowd of Isra'el's men, women and children gathered around him; and the people were weeping bitterly.

Sh'khanyah the son of Yechi'el, one of the descendants of 'Eilam, spoke up and said to 'Ezra, "We have acted treacherously toward our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra'el.

We should make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives, along with their children, in obedience to the advice of Adonai and of those who tremble at the mitzvah of our God; let us act in accordance with the Torah.

Stand up, and do your duty, for we are with you; take courage, and do it!"

'Ezra stood up, and he made the chief cohanim, the L'vi'im and all Isra'el swear that they would act according to what had been said; and they took the oath.

'Ezra then left his place in front of the house of God and went to the room of Y'hochanan the son of Elyashiv. After going there, he neither ate food nor drank water; because he was mourning over the treachery of the exiles.

A proclamation was issued throughout Y'hudah and Yerushalayim that all the exiles were to assemble in Yerushalayim;

and that whoever didn't come within three days, in answer to the summons from the officials and leaders, would forfeit all he owned and himself be banished from the community of the exiles.

All the men of Y'hudah and Binyamin assembled in Yerushalayim within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open place in front of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.