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Judges


 
Chapter 1
 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
    2.And the LORD said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
    3.And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.
    4.And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they slew ten thousand men of them in Bezek.
    5.And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
    6.But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
    7.And Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
    8.Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
    9.And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
    10.And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba), and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
    11.And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before it was called Kirjath-sepher.
    12.And Caleb said, "He that smites Kirjath-sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife."
    13.And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb s younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
    14.And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask her father for a field, and she dismounted from off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, "What will you do?"
    15.And she said to him, "Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land; give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
    16.And the children of the Kenite, Moses father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
    17.And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephave, and utterly destroyoud it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
    18.Also Judah took Gaza with the coast there, and Askelon with the coast there, and Ekron with the coast there.
    19.And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but did not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
    20.And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said, and he expelled the three sons of Anak there.
    21.And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
    22.And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
    23.And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
    24.And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy."
    25.And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.
    26.And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name there Luz, which is the name thereof to this day.
    27.Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
    28.And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
    29.Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
    30.Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
    31.Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob.
    32.But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
    33.Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them.
    34.And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.
    35.But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. yout the hand of the house of Joseph preveiled, so that they became tributaries.
    36.And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

 
 
 
Chapter 2
  1. And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
  2. And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; you shall throw down their altars. But you have not obeyoud my voice. Why have you done this?
  3. Why I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."
  4. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
  5. And they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to the LORD.
  6. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went, every man, to his inheritance to possess the land.
  7. And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
  8. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old.
  9. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
  10. And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them, which didn't know the LORD, nor yout the works which he had done for Israel.
  11. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim.
  12. And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
  13. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
  14. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of looters that looted them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
  15. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them, and they were greatly distressed.
  16. Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those that looted them.
  17. And yout they would not hearken to their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not do so.
  18. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, for it was repented by the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
  19. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they didn't cease from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
  20. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to my voice;
  21. From now on I will not drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died,
  22. That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not."
  23. Therefore the LORD left those nations, wiyout driving them out; neither delivered them into the hand of Joshua.

 
 
 
Chapter 3
  1. Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
  2. Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;
  3. Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon to the entering in of Hamath.
  4. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
  5. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites,
  6. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
  7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
  8. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishaveaim king of Mesopotamia. The children of Israel served Chushan-rishaveaim eight years.
  9. And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb s younger brother.
  10. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Chushan-rishaveaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand preveiled against Chushan-rishaveaim.
  11. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
  12. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
  13. And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
  14. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
  15. But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a lefthanded man, and by him the children of Israel sent a present to Eglon the king of Moab.
  16. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his clothing upon his right thigh.
  17. And he brought the present to Eglon king of Moab. Eglon was a very fat man.
  18. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bore the present.
  19. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret errand to you, O king," who said, "Keep silence." And all that stood by him went out from him.
  20. And Ehud came to him, as he was sitting in a summer parlor, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God to you. And he rose out of his seat.
  21. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
  22. And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly, and the dirt came out.
  23. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them.
  24. When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, "Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber."
  25. And they tarried until they were ashamed, and saw that he didn't open the doors of the parlor; therefore they took a key, and opened them, and, saw their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
  26. And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirath.
  27. And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountain, and he before them.
  28. And he said to them, "Follow after me. For the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand." And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
  29. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.
  30. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
  31. And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad, and he also delivered Israel.

 
 
 
Chapter 4
  1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
  2. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
  3. And the children of Israel cried to the LORD, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
  4. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
  5. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim. The children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
  6. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, 'Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun'?"
  7. And I will draw to you to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand."
  8. And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me, then I will not go."
  9. And she said, "I will surely go with you. Notwithstanding, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
  10. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.
  11. Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
  12. And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor.
  13. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river of Kishon.
  14. And Deborah said to Barak, "Up; for this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone out before you?" So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
  15. And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
  16. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles. And all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
  17. However, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
  18. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not." And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
  19. And he said to her, "Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty." And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
  20. Again he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and inquires of you, and says, "Is there any man here? that you shall say, No."
  21. Then Jael Heber s wife took a spike of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the spike into his temples, and fastened it into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
  22. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
  23. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
  24. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and preveiled against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyoud Jabin, king of Canaan.

 
 
 
Chapter 5
  1. Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, singing,
  2. "Praise the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
  3. Hear, O you kings; give ear, O you princes; I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
  4. LORD, when you went out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
  5. The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
  6. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
  7. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
  8. They chose new gods; then there was war in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
  9. My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless you the LORD.
  10. Speak, you that ride on white asses, you that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
  11. They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there they shall rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel. Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.
  12. Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, you son of Abinoam.
  13. Then he made him that remained have dominion over the nobles among the people; the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.
  14. Out of Ephraim there was a rout of them against Amalek; after you, Benjamin, among your people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.
  15. And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak; he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.
  16. Why do you abode among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
  17. Gilead abode beyond Jordan. And why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.
  18. Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeopardized their lives to the death in the high places of the field.
  19. The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
  20. They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
  21. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, you have trodden down strength.
  22. Then the horsehoofs were broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
  23. Curse you Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse you bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
  24. Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
  25. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
  26. She put her hand to the spike, and her right hand to the workmen s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
  27. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down. At her feet, he bowed, he fell. Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
  28. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots tarry?'
  29. Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
  30. Have they not sped? Have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of different colors, a prey of diverse colors of needlework, of different colors of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the loot?
  31. So let all your enemies perish, O LORD, but let them that love him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might." And the land had rest forty years.

 
 
 
Chapter 6
  1. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years.
  2. And the hand of Midian preveiled against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.
  3. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
  4. And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
  5. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it.
  6. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.
  7. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,
  8. That the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, which said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
  9. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;
  10. And I said to you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell, but you have not obeyed my voice."
  11. And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abi-ezrite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
  12. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour."
  13. And Gideon said to him, "Oh my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
  14. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, "Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent you?"
  15. And he said to him, "Oh my Lord, that shall I save Israel? Look, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father s house."
  16. And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man."
  17. And he said to him, "If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that you talked with me.
  18. Don't depart, therefore, I pray you, until I come to you, and bring forth my present, and set it before you." And he said, "I will tarry until you come again."
  19. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. The flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
  20. And the angel of God said to him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so.
  21. Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
  22. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face."
  23. And the LORD said to him, "Peace be to you; fear not. You shall not die."
  24. Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
  25. And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, "Take your father s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it,
  26. And build an altar to the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burned sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down."
  27. Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said to him. And so it was, because he feared his father s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
  28. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
  29. And they said one to another, "Who has done this thing?" And when they inquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."
  30. Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that was by it."
  31. And Joash said to all that stood against him, "Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar."
  32. Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar."
  33. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
  34. But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
  35. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
  36. And Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,
  37. Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew is on the fleece only, and it is dry upon all the earth beside, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said."
  38. And it was so, for he rose up early on the next day, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowlfull of water.
  39. And Gideon said to God, "Don't let your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; let me prove, I pray you, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
  40. And God did so that night, for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

 
 
 
Chapter 7
  1. Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod, so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
  2. And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people that are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'
  3. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.' And there returned of the people twenty two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
  4. And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there. And it shall be that of whom I say to you, 'This shall go with you,' the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, 'This shall not go with you,' the same shall not go."
  5. So he brought down the people to the water, and the LORD said to Gideon, "Every one that laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him shall you set by himself; likewise everyone that bows down upon his knees to drink."
  6. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men, but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
  7. And the LORD said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place."
  8. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets, and he sent all the rest of Israel, every man, to his tent, and retained those three hundred men; and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
  9. And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, "Arise, get down to the host; for I have delivered it into your hand.
  10. But if you fear to go down, go with Phurah your servant down to the host.
  11. And you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down to the host." Then he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
  12. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
  13. And when Gideon had come, there was a man that told a dream to his fellow, and said, "See, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came to a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along."
  14. And his fellow answered and said, "This is nothing but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. For into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the host."
  15. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, "Arise; for the LORD has delivered into your hand the host of Midian."
  16. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
  17. And he said to them, "Look at me, and do likewise, and when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall you.
  18. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon."
  19. So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch, and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
  20. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow, and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
  21. And they stood, every man, in his place round about the camp. And all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
  22. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host, and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, to Tabbath.
  23. And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
  24. And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters to Beth-barah and Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters to Beth-barah and Jordan.
  25. And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

 
 
 
Chapter 8
  1. And the men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you served us like this, that you didn't call us when you went to fight with the Midianites?" And they chided with him sharply.
  2. And he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison to you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?
  3. God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison to you?" Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
  4. And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
  5. And he said to the men of Succoth, "Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian."
  6. And the princes of Succoth said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?"
  7. And Gideon said, "Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars."
  8. And he went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them likewise, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
  9. And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."
  10. Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east, for there a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew swords fell.
  11. And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.
  12. And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
  13. And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
  14. And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him. He described to him the princes of Succoth, and the elders there, seventy seven men.
  15. And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, "look at Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you upbraided me, saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men that are weary'?"
  16. And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
  17. And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
  18. Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?" And they answered, "As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king."
  19. And he said, "They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you."
  20. And he said to Jether his firstborn, "Get up, and slay them." But the youth didn't draw his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
  21. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise, you, and fall upon us. For as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels necks.
  22. Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "You rule over us, both you and your son, and your son s son also, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian."
  23. And Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The LORD shall rule over you."
  24. And Gideon said to them, "I would desire a request of you, that you would give me, every man, the earrings of his prey." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
  25. And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a garment, and every man threw in the earrings of his prey.
  26. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels necks.
  27. And Gideon made an ephod, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah. And all Israel went there a whoring after it; which thing became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
  28. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
  29. And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
  30. And Gideon had seventy sons begotten of his body, for he had many wives.
  31. And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
  32. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
  33. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.
  34. And the children of Israel didn't remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
  35. They neither showed kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed to Israel.

 
 
 
Chapter 9
  1. And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother s father, saying,
  2. "Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are seventy persons, reign over you, or that one should reign over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh."
  3. And his mother s brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, "He is our brother."
  4. And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, that Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.
  5. And he went to his father s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, upon one stone. Notwithstanding, only Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
  6. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
  7. And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, "Hearken to me, you men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.
  8. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.'
  9. But the olive tree said to them, 'Should I leave my fatness, that by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'
  10. And the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come, and reign over us.'
  11. But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?'
  12. Then said the trees to the vine, 'Come, and reign over us.'
  13. And the vine said to them, 'Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'
  14. Then said all the trees to the bramble, 'Come, and reign over us.'
  15. And the bramble said to the trees, 'If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow, and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'
  16. Now therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;
  17. (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian)
  18. And you are risen up against my father s house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;
  19. If you then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.
  20. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech."
  21. And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
  22. When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
  23. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.
  24. That the cruelty done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
  25. And the men of Shechem set men lying in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way, and it was told Abimelech.
  26. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
  27. And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
  28. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal? And Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, for why should we serve him?
  29. And would to God this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech." And he said to Abimelech, "Increase your army, and come out."
  30. And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
  31. And he sent messengers to Abimelech privily, saying, "look, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren have come to Shechem; and see, they fortify the city against you.
  32. Now therefore get up by night, you and the people that are with you, and lie in wait in the field.
  33. And it shall be that in the morning as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and set upon the city. Look, when he and the people that are with him come out against you, then you may do to them as you shall find occasion."
  34. And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.
  35. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city. Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait.
  36. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Look there, people come down from the top of the mountains." And Zebul said to him, "You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men."
  37. And Gaal spoke again and said, "See! There are people come down by the middle of the land, and another company coming along by the plain of Meonenim."
  38. Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your mouth now, that you said 'Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?' Are these not the people that you have despised? Go out, I pray now, and fight with them."
  39. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
  40. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even to the entering of the gate.
  41. And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
  42. And it came to pass on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
  43. And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and saw that the people had come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.
  44. And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city. The two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them.
  45. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were there, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
  46. And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a hold of the house of the god Berith.
  47. And it was told to Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
  48. And Abimelech got up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that were with him, "What you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done."
  49. And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
  50. Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
  51. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women fled there, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and got up to the top of the tower.
  52. And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and went hard to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
  53. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech s head, and all to break his skull.
  54. Then he called haveily to the young man who was his armor bearer, and said to him, "Draw your sword, and slay me, that men don't say of me, 'A woman slew him'." And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
  55. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.
  56. Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in slaying his seventy brethren.
  57. And all the evil of the men of Shechem God rendered upon their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

 
 
 
Chapter 10
  1. And after Abimelech, there arose to defend Israel Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
  2. And he judged Israel for twenty three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
  3. And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel for twenty two years.
  4. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
  5. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
  6. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and didn't serve him.
  7. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
  8. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel. For eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side of Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
  9. Moreover, the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to also fight against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sorely distressed.
  10. And the children of Israel cried to the LORD, saying, "We have sinned against you, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim."
  11. And the LORD said to the children of Israel, "Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
  12. The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
  13. yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods. That is why I will deliver you no more.
  14. Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation."
  15. And the children of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever seems good to you; deliver us only, we pray you, this day."
  16. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD, and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
  17. Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
  18. And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

 
 
 
Chapter 11
  1. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot. Gilead begat Jephthah.
  2. And Gilead s wife bore him sons; and his wife s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said to him, "You shall not inherit in our father s house; for you are the son of a strange woman."
  3. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
  4. And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
  5. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
  6. And they said to Jephthah, "Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon."
  7. And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and expel me out of my father s house? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress?"
  8. And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "Therefore we turn again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
  9. And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them before me, shall I be your head?"
  10. And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD is witness between us, if we do not so according to your words."
  11. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them, and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
  12. And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, "What have you to do with me, that you have come against me to fight in my land?"
  13. And the king of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan. Now, therefore, restore those lands again peaceably."
  14. And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon.
  15. And said to him, "This says Jephthah, Israel didn't take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
  16. But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness to the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
  17. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Let me, I pray you, pass through your land,' but the king of Edom would not hearken to us. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent, and Israel abode in Kadesh.
  18. Then they went along through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but didn't come within the border of Moab; for Arnon was the border of Moab.
  19. And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, 'Let us pass, we pray you, through your land into my place.'
  20. But Sihon didn't trust Israel to pass through his coast, but he gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
  21. And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
  22. And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan.
  23. So now the LORD God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people for Israel, and should you possess it?
  24. Will you not possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
  25. And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
  26. While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? Therefore why did you not recover them within that time?
  27. why I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. The LORD will be the judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon."
  28. However, the king of the children of Ammon didn't hearken to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
  29. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.
  30. And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, "If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
  31. Then it shall be that whatever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD s, and I will offer it up for a burned offering."
  32. So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand.
  33. And he smote them from Aroer, even till you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
  34. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances, and she was his only child. Besides her, he had neither son nor daughter.
  35. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot go back."
  36. And she said to him, "My father, if you have opened your mouth to the LORD, do to me according to that which have proceeded out of your mouth; forasmuch as the LORD has taken vengeance for you of your enemies, even of the children of Ammon."
  37. And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me. Leave me alone for two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows."
  38. And he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months, and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
  39. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
  40. That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

 
 
 
Chapter 12
  1. And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said to Jephthah, "Why do you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house upon you with fire."
  2. And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you didn't deliver me out of their hands.
  3. And when I saw that you hadn't delivered me, I put my life in my own hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why, then, have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?"
  4. Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites."
  5. And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites. And it was so that when those Ephraimites which had escaped said, "Let me go over," that the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No";
  6. Then said they to him, "Say Shibboleth now," and he said "Sibboleth," for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan. There fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty two thousand.
  7. And Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
  8. And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
  9. And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
  10. Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
  11. And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
  12. And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
  13. And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
  14. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on seventy ass colts, and he judged Israel eight years.
  15. And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

 
 
 
Chapter 13
  1. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
  2. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn't bare children.
  3. And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren, and bear not. but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
  4. Now therefore beware, I pray you, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don't eat any unclean thing,
  5. For, lo, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
  6. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible. But I didn't ask him where he was, neither did he tell he me his name.
  7. But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death'."
  8. Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, "Oh, my Lord, let the man of God which you sent come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born."
  9. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.
  10. And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said to him, "See, the man has appeared to me, that came to me the other day."
  11. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, "Are you the man that spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I am."
  12. And Manoah said, "Now let your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and what shall we do to him?"
  13. And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
  14. She may not eat of any thing that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her, let her observe."
  15. And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "I pray you, let us detain you, until we shall have made ready a kid for you."
  16. And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat of your bread. And if you will offer a burned offering, you must offer it to the LORD." For Manoah didn't know that he was an angel of the LORD.
  17. And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, that when your sayings come to pass we may do you honour?"
  18. And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is secret?"
  19. So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock to the LORD, and the angel did wonders; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
  20. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
  21. But the angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
  22. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God."
  23. But his wife said to him, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have received a burned offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these."
  24. And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
  25. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

 
 
 
Chapter 14
  1. And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. Samson s Fight with the Lion
  2. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore get her for me to marry."
  3. Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there never a woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said to his father, "Get her for me; for she pleases me well."
  4. But his father and his mother didn't know that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines, for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
  5. Then Samson went down with his father and his mother to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath. And, behold, a young lion roared against him.
  6. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand, but he didn't tell his father or his mother what he had done.
  7. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
  8. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.
  9. And he took some in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them some, and they ate, but he didn't tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.
  10. So his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there; for so the young men used to do.
  11. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
  12. And Samson said to them, "I will now put forth a riddle to you: if you can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.
  13. But if you cannot declare it me, then shall you give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments." And they said to him, "Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it."
  14. And he said to them, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
  15. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson s wife, "Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, or we will burn your and your father s house with fire. Have you called us to take that we have? Is it not so?"
  16. And Samson s wife wept before him, and said, "You only hate me, and don't love me. You have put forth a riddle to the children of my people, and have not told it to me." And he said to her, "Look, I have not told it to my father nor my mother, but I shall tell it you?"
  17. And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him, and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
  18. And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle."
  19. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their loot, and gave change of garments to them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father s house.
  20. But Samson s wife was given to his companion, who had used to be his friend.

 
 
 
Chapter 15
  1. But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, "I will go in to my wife into the chamber." But her father would not suffer him to go in.
  2. And her father said, "I really thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray you, instead of her."
  3. And Samson said concerning them, "Now I shall be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
  4. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
  5. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
  6. Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they answered, "Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion." And the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.
  7. And Samson said to them, "Though you have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease."
  8. And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter, and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
  9. Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
  10. And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" And they answered, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us."
  11. Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that you have done to us?" And he said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."
  12. And they said to him, "We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me, that you will not fall upon me yourselves."
  13. And they spoke to him, saying, "No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand, but surely we will not kill you." And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
  14. And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
  15. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men with it.
  16. And Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass I have slain a thousand men."
  17. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.
  18. And he was very thirsty, and called on the LORD, and said, "You have given this great deliverance into the hand of your servant. And now shall I die of thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?"
  19. But God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came out water; and when he had drank, his spirit came again, and he revived, which is why he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
  20. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

 
 
 
Chapter 16
  1. Then Samson went to Gaza, and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
  2. And it was told to the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, "In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him."
  3. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.
  4. And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
  5. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may preveil against him, that we may bind him to afflict him, and each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."
  6. And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray you, where your great strength lies, and that you might be bound to afflict you."
  7. And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then I shall be weak, and be as another man."
  8. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
  9. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he broke the cords, as a thread of cotton is broken when it touches fire. So his strength was not known.
  10. And Delilah said to Samson, "Look here, you have mocked me, and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray you, how you might be bound."
  11. And he said to her, "If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then I shall be weak, and be as another man."
  12. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And there were men lying in wait, abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
  13. And Delilah said to Samson, "You have mocked me before, and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web."
  14. And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awakened out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
  15. And she said to him, "How can you say 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies."
  16. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed to death; The Death of Samson by Ruebens
  17. That he told her all his heart, and said to her "There has not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
  18. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he has showed me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought money in their hand.
  19. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
  20. And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself." And he didn't know that the LORD had departed from him.
  21. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he grinded in the prison house.
  22. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
  23. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their god, and to rejoice. For they said, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hand."
  24. And when the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us."
  25. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may make us sport." And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport; and they set him between the pillars.
  26. And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them."
  27. Now, the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. There were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that watched while Samson made sport.
  28. And Samson called to the LORD, and said, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray you, and strengthen me, I pray you, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."
  29. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
  30. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
  31. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel for twenty years.

 
 
 
Chapter 17
  1. And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
  2. And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you cursed, and spoke of also in my ears, look, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "You are blessed of the LORD, my son."
  3. And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, "I had wholly dedicated the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image. Now, therefore, I will restore it to you.
  4. yet he restored the money to his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image. and they were in the house of Micah.
  5. And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
  6. In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
  7. And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he traveled there.
  8. And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
  9. And Micah said to him, "where sre you from?" And he replied to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place."
  10. And Micah said to him, "Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and your victuals." So the Levite went in.
  11. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.
  12. And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
  13. Then Micah said, "Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest."

 
 
 
Chapter 18
  1. In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day all their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.
  2. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search the land. When they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
  3. When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite, and they turned in there, and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what brought you to this place? And what do you have here?"
  4. And he said to them, "This and that Micah deals with me, and has hired me, and I am his priest."
  5. And they said to him, "Ask counsel of God, we pray you, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
  6. And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. Before the LORD is your way that you go."
  7. Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were there, how they dwelt carelessly, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land that might put them to shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.
  8. And they came to their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, "What do you say?"
  9. And they said, "Arise, that we may go up against them. For we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good. And are you still? don't be lazy, go and possess the land.
  10. When you go, you shall come to a secure people, and to a large land. For God has given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth."
  11. And there the family of the Danites went from out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.
  12. And they went up, and pitched in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah, why they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day. See, it is behind Kirjath-jearim.
  13. And they passed there to mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
  14. Then the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brethren, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do."
  15. And they turned that way and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him.
  16. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.
  17. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
  18. And these went into Micah s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, "What do you do?"
  19. And they said to him, "Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"
  20. And the priest s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
  21. So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.
  22. And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
  23. And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, "What ails you, that you come with such a company?"
  24. And he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. What more do I have? And what is this that you say to me, 'What ails you'?"
  25. And the children of Dan said to him, "Don't let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household."
  26. And the children of Dan went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
  27. And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came to Laish, to a people that were at quiet and secure. And they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire.
  28. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt there.
  29. And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city was Laish at first.
  30. And the children of Dan set up the graven image, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
  31. And they set them up Micah s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

 
 
 
Chapter 19
  1. And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
  2. And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him to her father s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
  3. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly to her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses. She brought him into her father s house, and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
  4. And his father in law, the damsel s father, retained him; and he abode with him three days. So they ate and drank, and lodged there.
  5. And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart. And the damsel s father said to his son in law, "Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way."
  6. And they sat down, and ate and drank together, for the damsel s father had said to the man, "Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry."
  7. And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him. Therefore, he lodged there again.
  8. And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, and the damsel s father said, "Comfort your heart, I pray you." And they tarried until afternoon, and they ate, both of them.
  9. And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel s father, said to him, "Look, now the day draws towards evening, I pray you tarry all night. See, the day grows to an end. Lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get on your way early, that you may go home."
  10. But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
  11. And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, "Come, I pray you, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it."
  12. And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside here into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah."
  13. And he said to his servant, "Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah."
  14. And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belonged to Benjamin.
  15. And they turned aside there, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in a street of the city, for there was no one that took them into his house to lodging.
  16. And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites.
  17. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city. And the old man said, "Where you are going? And where do you come from?"
  18. And he said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receives me to house.
  19. Yet there is both straw and feed for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man which is with your servants. There is no want of anything."
  20. And the old man said, "Peace be with you; however, let all your wants lie upon me; only don't sleep in the street."
  21. So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses, and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
  22. Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him."
  23. And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, "No, my brethren, no, I pray you, do not do so wickedly; seeing that this man has come into my house, do not do this folly.
  24. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seemes good to you, but to this man do not do so vile a thing."
  25. But the men would not hearken to him, so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning. And when the day had begun to spring, they let her go.
  26. Then in the dawning of the day the woman came, and fell down at the door of the man s house where her lord was, until it was light.
  27. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way, and saw the woman, his concubine, was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
  28. And he said to her, "Get up, and let us be going." But there was no answer. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and got him to his place.
  29. And when he had come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
  30. And it was so, that all that saw it said, "There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take advice, and speak your minds."

 
 
 
Chapter 20
  1. Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to the LORD in Mizpeh.
  2. And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
  3. (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, "Tell us, how was this wickedness?"
  4. And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, "I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
  5. And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me. And my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.
  6. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel. For they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
  7. Look, you are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel."
  8. And all the people arose as one man, saying, "We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.
  9. But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
  10. And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel."
  11. So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
  12. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What wickedness is this that is done among you?
  13. Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel." But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel.
  14. But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
  15. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
  16. Among all these people there were seven hundred chosen lefthanded men; every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss.
  17. And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword. All these were men of war.
  18. And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, "Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Judah shall go up first."
  19. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
  20. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.
  21. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites twenty two thousand men that day.
  22. And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.
  23. (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until the evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him.)"
  24. And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.
  25. And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again, eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
  26. Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until the evening, and offered burned offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
  27. And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
  28. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."
  29. And Israel set men to lie in wait round about Gibeah.
  30. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
  31. And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite some of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
  32. And the children of Benjamin said, "They are beaten down before us, as at the first." But the children of Israel said, "Let us flee, and draw them from the city to the highways."
  33. And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar. and those lying in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
  34. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore, but they didn't know that evil was near them.
  35. And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed twenty five thousand one hundred of the the Benjamite men that day, all those that drew the sword.
  36. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted to those lying in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
  37. And those lying in wait hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and drew themselves along, and smote all in the city with the edge of the sword.
  38. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and those lying in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
  39. And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill some of the men of Israel, about thirty people. For they said, "Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle."
  40. But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and saw the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
  41. And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed, for they saw that evil had come upon them.
  42. Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
  43. Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrise.
  44. And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.
  45. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they gleaned of them in the highways, five thousand men; and pursued hard after them to Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
  46. So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.
  47. But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
  48. And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand. They also set on fire all the cities that they came to.

 
 
 
Chapter 21
  1. Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, "There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin to wife."
  2. And the people came to the house of God, and abode there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sorely;
  3. And said, "O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?"
  4. And it came to pass on the next day that the people rose early, and built an altar there, and offered burned offerings and peace offerings.
  5. And the children of Israel said, "Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that didn't come up with the congregation to the LORD?" For they had made a great oath concerning him that didn't come up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, "He shall surely be put to death."
  6. And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, "There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
  7. What shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?"
  8. And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel that didn't come up to Mizpeh to the LORD?" And saw that none came to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
  9. For the people were counted, and saw that there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
  10. And the congregation sent twelve thousand men of the most valiant there, and commanded them, saying, "Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and the children.
  11. And this is the thing that you shall do, you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that has lain with a man."
  12. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male, and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
  13. And the whole congregation sent people to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peacefully to them.
  14. And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, and yet so they didn't suffice.
  15. And the people repented for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
  16. Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
  17. And they said, "There must be an inheritance for them that have escaped from Benjamin, that a tribe is not destroyed out of Israel.
  18. However, we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, 'Cursed is he that gives a wife to Benjamin'."
  19. Then they said, "Look, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah."
  20. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
  21. And see if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come out of the vineyards, and every man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
  22. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to us to complain, that we will say to them, 'Be favourable to them for our sakes, because we didn't reserve to each man his wife in the war; for you did not give to them at this time, that you should be guilty'."
  23. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took themselves wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
  24. And the children of Israel departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and every man went out from there to his inheritance.
  25. In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

 
 
 
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