Book of Judges
Chapter
1
1. After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?"
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 1)
Oh God my Father if Joshua had been still alive, he would have told them that it was You who had been leading them into battle all along and not himself. The achievement of the conquests of the 'Promised Land', was not a human affair but one of God. At times oh God my Father we may fall into the same trap, thinking that our successes are our own, however, when the crisis reaches us, we realise that we were never alone only during those moments when we decided to follow our own agendas instead of Yours Amen. Oh God, my Father, I pray that Your 'Will be done' and not ours Amen.
2. The LORD said, "Judah shall go up, I hereby give the land into his hand."
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 2)
When it comes to decisions based on important choices and values somehow oh God my Father You always stimulate or choose adequate people who are instruments in Your hand. When we needed a new Pope by means of the process leading to the election of a new Pope You gave us one pope after another who all had particular charisma and qualities fit for the time that they were to serve in Amen.
3. Judah said to his brother Simeon. 'Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into the territory allotted to you."
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, when You want us to do a particular task, You really want it from us and not from somebody else. We are to trust totally in You, that since You chose us to accomplish the task, You have already given us all the needed skills in order to accomplish that task. Therefore we do not need to feel insecure or overwhelmed and seek the support of others, who may try to cheat us out of the task or bind us by means of some other obligation as in the saying, 'You scratch my back and I scratch yours!
4. Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 4)
Oh God my Father at times I am like Judah, in the sense that as a consequence of insecurity I seek the help of others when in truth You have given me what it takes to perform such a task. When I started praying, in the Bible there was a time when I asked the help of a friend of mine from India to reflect with me on the Book of Genesis and he would send me Word documents on each of the chapters that we divided among ourselves, however, today even though we did not keep on doing the same task together I thank Mr Pawar for by means of his assistance we covered the whole book of Genesis which is online for all to reflect and pray on. Amen.
5. They came upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6. Adoni-bezek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 5 to 6)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that You give me the fortitude to fight against my greatest enemy meaning the evil one until this evil spirit runs away once and for all and leaves me in peace Amen.
7. Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so Hod has paid me back." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 7)
Oh God, my Father although You do not repay us with the same actions that we do to others, however, it makes sense if You had to permit us to experience the same outcome, of the same negative action that we did to others. In the process, we will realise the pain that others experienced as a consequence of our sinful acts and repent. Amen.
8. Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 8 )
Oh God my Father, how quickly our values change, Jerusalem which was the city where the Holy Temple was built is now placed under siege. Oh God, many times it happens that when we have been waiting for such a long time to have our prayers answered we might decide that You are not listening and even decide to stop believing. May we always place our trust in You and always hold You in the domain of our mind, The capital city and Holy Temple is Your Divine presence that dwells in us Amen.
9. Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10. Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba): and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 9 to 10 )
Oh God, my Father when we let You be our avenger we can expect nothing but success. However, when we take matters into our own hand and seek our personal revenge we end up hurting ourselves and even at times innocent others. Amen.
11. From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher).
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 11 )
Oh God my Father what is in a name? Debir was formerly called Kiriath-Sepher. People say many things about people of which some may be true and others false. I pray oh God that both those who speak others say the truth and that the recipients those who receive the message do so with an objective attitude thus filtering the bias, hurts, and attitude from what is left of the message of 'truth' Amen. I am praying this today my Lord and God because I have heard a person speak untruths about me to significant others and I wanted to share this with You even though You know more than I do about the situation Amen. I leave it to Your hands my God and Father Amen and let the truth always reign Amen.
12. Then Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife." 13. And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 12 to 13)
There was a time oh God my Father when we would reason that if something was according to Your will it would be a success or take place, however, when we feel personally motivated we take the centre stage of our life and start giving such commands as did Caleb. I pray oh God that we remain in a humble position and remain totally dependent on You and may Your will always be done Amen.
14. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What do you wish? " 15. She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim." So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh God my Father if You were to ask us individually what we wished for as a gift, the answers would differ in both quality and quantity. If You were to ask me, my Lord and God, I would ask You for nothing but a place in heaven for me and my family and others who have devoted their lives to living according to Your will and also encouraging others to follow their examples and way of life Amen.
15. She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim." So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 15)
Oh God, my Father in such situation Achsah tried to gain from Caleb as much as she could in property and wealth by bargaining for a better arrangement. As much as we seek to bargain on a material level, oh God my Father I hope that we bargain with You in a positive spirit on a spiritual level and seek Your mercy to obtain a place in Heaven Amen.
16. The descendants of Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 16)
Oh God my Father during times of crisis it is like abandoning our comfort zones and heading into the wilderness where we turn in on ourselves and question our values and belief. I pray that during such moments, You guide me in my choices so that I never compromise with sin and its ways and end up becoming on friendly terms with evil Amen.
17. Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called Hormah. Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 17)
Oh God my Father after the death of Joshua a new revival took place among the people, a wish and motivation to continue the conquest of the promised land, that You had given them. I pray that as humans we never stop in our plans to move on in life, both on a spiritual level and even on other levels, in order for us not to get stuck and ruined by usual patterns of our life. Amen. I pray that we let Your Holy Spirit be dynamic and alive and permit Him to lead us to areas that we had never dreamt of before so that Your plan for us will continue to unfold Amen.
18. Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19. The LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 18 to 19)
Oh God my Father many times even though You give us the skills and abilities to perform a task, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are doing it all and when our 'I' takes control we are bound to fail, for in truth its not with our own ability that we accomplish tasks but according to the will of God. If it is not Your will nothing may actually take place Amen. When Judah perceived that the inhabitants had chariots of iron, this may have put him on the 'this cannot be done attitude', however for You, my God and Father anything is possible.
20. Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21. But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 20 to 21)
Oh God when You told Your people to conquer the promised land You strictly gave orders that all traces of inhabitants and the gods, they worshipped were to be destroyed so that Your people would not be tempted to start adoring or worshipping their gods and idols, however it seems that Your people decided to party with the inhabitants and accept them as neighbours even though this went against Your will.
22. The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. 23. The house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the name of the city was formely Luz). 24. When the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, "Show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." 25. So he showed them the way into the city, and they put the city to the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26. So the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz; that is its name to this day.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 22 to 26)
Oh God my Father when we turn our back on evil and let it take place, evil increases and makes it more difficult to overcome. I pray that I stop evil and its practices immediately.
27. Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 27)
Apparently oh God my Father it seems that Israel was becoming lax in its obedience to You and was permitting the Canaanites to live in the land that You had chosen for His people.
28. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not in fact drive them out. 29. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. 30. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 28 to 30)
Apparently, oh God my Father, the wave of disobedience continued to spread and the Canaanites were permitted to live in the land. Oh God You love us so much that You give us the opportunity for living a life that is a hundred percent according to our wishes and desires, however on the other, hand we are happy to benefit from maybe only a 50 percent of that divine providence through making choices that are not according to Your will.
31. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; 32. but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 31 to 33)
Oh God, my Father, one sin leads to another. On the one hand, Your people disobeyed in allowing the inhabitants of certain regions of the promised lands, while on the other hand those whom they accepted they abused by treating them as slaves who were subject to forced labor and thus stripping them of all their dignity.
34. The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country; they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35. The Amorites continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor; 36. The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 34 to 36)
Oh God, my Father in contrast to those who accept the presence of evil in their lives, there are others who make compromises with evil and set parameters as to the limits of its presence. For instance a person may reason that one pint of beer is not enough to make him drunk, however even though one is aware that he intends to drive, one makes an allowance for another couple of beers, a vodka and even a couple of vodkas.
Oh God my Father I would like to end the first chapter of the book of Judges with the following prayer:-
Oh God, my Father, I pray for many families who have become divided among themselves due to inheritance. I also pray for those wives and husbands who have experienced the death of their spouses which means having the full responsibility of their families. I pray that You give them the love, care, faith in wisdom in order to preserve the spiritual and material well-being of the family. I also pray for those who are stuck in the stages of bereavement so much that they are blaming You for the death of their loved ones Amen.
2. The LORD said, "Judah shall go up, I hereby give the land into his hand."
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 2)
When it comes to decisions based on important choices and values somehow oh God my Father You always stimulate or choose adequate people who are instruments in Your hand. When we needed a new Pope by means of the process leading to the election of a new Pope You gave us one pope after another who all had particular charisma and qualities fit for the time that they were to serve in Amen.
3. Judah said to his brother Simeon. 'Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into the territory allotted to you."
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 3)
Oh God my Father, when You want us to do a particular task, You really want it from us and not from somebody else. We are to trust totally in You, that since You chose us to accomplish the task, You have already given us all the needed skills in order to accomplish that task. Therefore we do not need to feel insecure or overwhelmed and seek the support of others, who may try to cheat us out of the task or bind us by means of some other obligation as in the saying, 'You scratch my back and I scratch yours!
4. Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 4)
Oh God my Father at times I am like Judah, in the sense that as a consequence of insecurity I seek the help of others when in truth You have given me what it takes to perform such a task. When I started praying, in the Bible there was a time when I asked the help of a friend of mine from India to reflect with me on the Book of Genesis and he would send me Word documents on each of the chapters that we divided among ourselves, however, today even though we did not keep on doing the same task together I thank Mr Pawar for by means of his assistance we covered the whole book of Genesis which is online for all to reflect and pray on. Amen.
5. They came upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6. Adoni-bezek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 5 to 6)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that You give me the fortitude to fight against my greatest enemy meaning the evil one until this evil spirit runs away once and for all and leaves me in peace Amen.
7. Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so Hod has paid me back." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 7)
Oh God, my Father although You do not repay us with the same actions that we do to others, however, it makes sense if You had to permit us to experience the same outcome, of the same negative action that we did to others. In the process, we will realise the pain that others experienced as a consequence of our sinful acts and repent. Amen.
8. Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 8 )
Oh God my Father, how quickly our values change, Jerusalem which was the city where the Holy Temple was built is now placed under siege. Oh God, many times it happens that when we have been waiting for such a long time to have our prayers answered we might decide that You are not listening and even decide to stop believing. May we always place our trust in You and always hold You in the domain of our mind, The capital city and Holy Temple is Your Divine presence that dwells in us Amen.
9. Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10. Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba): and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 9 to 10 )
Oh God, my Father when we let You be our avenger we can expect nothing but success. However, when we take matters into our own hand and seek our personal revenge we end up hurting ourselves and even at times innocent others. Amen.
11. From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher).
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 11 )
Oh God my Father what is in a name? Debir was formerly called Kiriath-Sepher. People say many things about people of which some may be true and others false. I pray oh God that both those who speak others say the truth and that the recipients those who receive the message do so with an objective attitude thus filtering the bias, hurts, and attitude from what is left of the message of 'truth' Amen. I am praying this today my Lord and God because I have heard a person speak untruths about me to significant others and I wanted to share this with You even though You know more than I do about the situation Amen. I leave it to Your hands my God and Father Amen and let the truth always reign Amen.
12. Then Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife." 13. And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 12 to 13)
There was a time oh God my Father when we would reason that if something was according to Your will it would be a success or take place, however, when we feel personally motivated we take the centre stage of our life and start giving such commands as did Caleb. I pray oh God that we remain in a humble position and remain totally dependent on You and may Your will always be done Amen.
14. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What do you wish? " 15. She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim." So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh God my Father if You were to ask us individually what we wished for as a gift, the answers would differ in both quality and quantity. If You were to ask me, my Lord and God, I would ask You for nothing but a place in heaven for me and my family and others who have devoted their lives to living according to Your will and also encouraging others to follow their examples and way of life Amen.
15. She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim." So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 15)
Oh God, my Father in such situation Achsah tried to gain from Caleb as much as she could in property and wealth by bargaining for a better arrangement. As much as we seek to bargain on a material level, oh God my Father I hope that we bargain with You in a positive spirit on a spiritual level and seek Your mercy to obtain a place in Heaven Amen.
16. The descendants of Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 16)
Oh God my Father during times of crisis it is like abandoning our comfort zones and heading into the wilderness where we turn in on ourselves and question our values and belief. I pray that during such moments, You guide me in my choices so that I never compromise with sin and its ways and end up becoming on friendly terms with evil Amen.
17. Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called Hormah. Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 17)
Oh God my Father after the death of Joshua a new revival took place among the people, a wish and motivation to continue the conquest of the promised land, that You had given them. I pray that as humans we never stop in our plans to move on in life, both on a spiritual level and even on other levels, in order for us not to get stuck and ruined by usual patterns of our life. Amen. I pray that we let Your Holy Spirit be dynamic and alive and permit Him to lead us to areas that we had never dreamt of before so that Your plan for us will continue to unfold Amen.
18. Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19. The LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 18 to 19)
Oh God my Father many times even though You give us the skills and abilities to perform a task, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are doing it all and when our 'I' takes control we are bound to fail, for in truth its not with our own ability that we accomplish tasks but according to the will of God. If it is not Your will nothing may actually take place Amen. When Judah perceived that the inhabitants had chariots of iron, this may have put him on the 'this cannot be done attitude', however for You, my God and Father anything is possible.
20. Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21. But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 20 to 21)
Oh God when You told Your people to conquer the promised land You strictly gave orders that all traces of inhabitants and the gods, they worshipped were to be destroyed so that Your people would not be tempted to start adoring or worshipping their gods and idols, however it seems that Your people decided to party with the inhabitants and accept them as neighbours even though this went against Your will.
22. The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. 23. The house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the name of the city was formely Luz). 24. When the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, "Show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." 25. So he showed them the way into the city, and they put the city to the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26. So the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz; that is its name to this day.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 22 to 26)
Oh God my Father when we turn our back on evil and let it take place, evil increases and makes it more difficult to overcome. I pray that I stop evil and its practices immediately.
27. Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verse 27)
Apparently oh God my Father it seems that Israel was becoming lax in its obedience to You and was permitting the Canaanites to live in the land that You had chosen for His people.
28. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not in fact drive them out. 29. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. 30. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 28 to 30)
Apparently, oh God my Father, the wave of disobedience continued to spread and the Canaanites were permitted to live in the land. Oh God You love us so much that You give us the opportunity for living a life that is a hundred percent according to our wishes and desires, however on the other, hand we are happy to benefit from maybe only a 50 percent of that divine providence through making choices that are not according to Your will.
31. Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; 32. but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 31 to 33)
Oh God, my Father, one sin leads to another. On the one hand, Your people disobeyed in allowing the inhabitants of certain regions of the promised lands, while on the other hand those whom they accepted they abused by treating them as slaves who were subject to forced labor and thus stripping them of all their dignity.
34. The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country; they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35. The Amorites continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor; 36. The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
(Book of Judges Chapter 1 verses 34 to 36)
Oh God, my Father in contrast to those who accept the presence of evil in their lives, there are others who make compromises with evil and set parameters as to the limits of its presence. For instance a person may reason that one pint of beer is not enough to make him drunk, however even though one is aware that he intends to drive, one makes an allowance for another couple of beers, a vodka and even a couple of vodkas.
Oh God my Father I would like to end the first chapter of the book of Judges with the following prayer:-
Oh God, my Father, I pray for many families who have become divided among themselves due to inheritance. I also pray for those wives and husbands who have experienced the death of their spouses which means having the full responsibility of their families. I pray that You give them the love, care, faith in wisdom in order to preserve the spiritual and material well-being of the family. I also pray for those who are stuck in the stages of bereavement so much that they are blaming You for the death of their loved ones Amen.
What A Great Rendition Of The Book Of Judges.
ReplyDeleteGreat Insight And Worthy Blogspot.