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JUDGES
CHAPTER
1
1
And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked
of Jehovah, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to
fight against them?
2 And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into
his hand.
3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we
may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot.
So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites
into their hand: and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they
smote 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, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their
great toes cut off, gathered `their food' under my table: as I have done, so God
hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote 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 hill-country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of
Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba); and they smote Sheshai, and Ahiman, and
Talmai.
11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of
Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher.)
12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh 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 `unto him', that she moved him to ask of
her father a field: and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her,
What wouldest thou?
15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing; for that thou hast set me in the
land of the South, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper
springs and the nether springs.
Jdg 1:16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of
the city of palm-with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which
is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that
inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called
Hormah.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border
thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof.
19 And Jehovah was with Judah; and drove out `the inhabitants of' the
hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because
they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out thence
the three sons of Anak.
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
unto this day.
22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and Jehovah was
with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city
beforetime was Luz.)
24 And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto
him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly
with thee.
25 And he showed them the entrance into the city; and they smote the city with
the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called
the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day.
27 And Manasseh did not drive out `the inhabitants of' Beth-shean and its towns,
nor `of' Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor
the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its
towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was waxed strong, that they put the
Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.
29 And Ephraim drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the
Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Zebulun drove not out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of
Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became subject to taskwork.
31 Asher drove not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon,
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 Naphtali drove not 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 subject to
taskwork.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; 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: yet
the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became subject to
taskwork.
36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the
rock, and upward.
CHAPTER
2
1 And the angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I made
you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto
your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you:
2 and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall
break down their altars. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice: why have ye
done this?
3 Wherefore 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 unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of Jehovah spake these words unto 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 unto
Jehovah.
6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every
man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Jehovah that he
had wrought for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and
ten years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the
hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there
arose another generation after them, that knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work
which he had wrought for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
and served the Baalim;
12 and they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of
the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were
round about them, and bowed themselves down unto them: and they provoked Jehovah
to anger.
13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them
into the hands of spoilers that despoiled 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 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil,
as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore
distressed.
16 And Jehovah raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that
despoiled them.
17 And yet they hearkened not unto their judges; for they played the harlot
after other gods, and bowed themselves down unto them: they turned aside quickly
out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of
Jehovah; `but' they did not so.
18 And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was with the judge, and
saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it
repented Jehovah because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them
and vexed them.
19 But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and
dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them,
and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their doings, nor from their
stubborn way.
20 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because
this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and
have not hearkened unto my voice;
21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that
Joshua left when he died;
22 that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to
walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23 So Jehovah left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither
delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
CHAPTER
3
1 Now these are the nations which Jehovah 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 beforetime knew nothing thereof:
3 `namely', the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the
Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon
unto the entrance of Hamath.
4 And they were `left', to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would
hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by
Moses.
5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the
Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
6 and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters
to their sons and served their gods.
7 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah,
and forgat Jehovah their God, and served the Baalim and the Asheroth.
8 Therefore the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he sold them
into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of
Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
9 And when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a
saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz,
Caleb's younger brother.
10 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went
out to war, and Jehovah delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his
hand: and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah: and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because
they had done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and
smote Israel, and they possessed the city of palm-trees.
14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 But when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised them up a
saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. And the
children of Israel sent tribute by him unto Eglon the king of Moab.
16 And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he
girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh.
17 And he offered the tribute unto Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat
man.
18 And when he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people
that bare the tribute.
19 But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I
have a secret errand unto thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all that
stood by him went out from him.
20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper
room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of
his seat.
21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh,
and thrust it into his body:
22 and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade,
for he drew not the sword out of his body; and it came out behind.
23 Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room
upon him, and locked them.
24 Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the
doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, Surely he is covering his
feet in the upper chamber.
25 And they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors
of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened `them', and, behold,
their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and
escaped unto Seirah.
27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the
hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the
hill-country, and he before them.
28 And he said unto them, Follow after me; for Jehovah hath delivered your
enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the
fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over.
29 And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man,
and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest
fourscore years.
31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who smote of the Philistines six
hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also saved Israel.
CHAPTER
4
1 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah, when Ehud was dead.
2 And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in
Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the
Gentiles.
3 And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah: for he had nine hundred
chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that
time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the
hill-country of Ephraim: and 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 unto him, Hath not Jehovah, the God of Israel, commanded, `saying', Go and
draw unto mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of
Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's
army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy hand.
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou
wilt not go with me, I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding, the journey that
thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the
hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up
ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the
children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far
as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was 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,
unto the river Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath
delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not Jehovah gone out before thee? So Barak
went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with
the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot, and
fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of
the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there
was not a man left.
17 Howbeit 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 unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn
in to me; fear not. And he turned in unto her into the tent, and she covered him
with a rug.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am
thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 And he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when
any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou
shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took a hammer in her hand, and
went softly unto him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through
into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep; so he swooned and died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said
unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And he came unto
her; and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin 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 prevailed more and more against Jabin
the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
CHAPTER
5
1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2 For that the leaders took the lead in Israel, For that the people offered
themselves willingly, Bless ye Jehovah.
3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, `even' I, will sing unto Jehovah;
I will sing praise to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
4 Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, When thou marchedst out of the
field of Edom, The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, Yea, the clouds
dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked at the presence of Jehovah, Even yon Sinai at the
presence of Jehovah, the 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 rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased, Until that I Deborah arose, That I
arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods; Then 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 ye Jehovah.
10 Tell `of it', ye that ride on white asses, Ye that sit on rich carpets, And
ye that walk by the way.
11 Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, There shall
they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, `Even' the righteous acts of his
rule in Israel. Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates.
12 Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song: Arise, Barak, and lead
away thy captives, thou son of Abinoam.
13 Then came down a remnant of the nobles `and' the people; Jehovah came down
for me against the mighty.
14 Out of Ephraim `came down' they whose root is in Amalek; After thee,
Benjamin, among thy peoples; Out of Machir came down governors, And out of
Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16 Why sattest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? At
the watercourses of Reuben There were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead abode beyond the Jordan: And Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher
sat still at the haven of the sea, And abode by his creeks.
18 Zebulun was a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death, And Naphtali,
upon 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 From heaven fought the stars, From their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. O my
soul, march on with strength.
22 Then did the horsehoofs stamp By reason of the prancings, the prancings of
their strong ones.
23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants
thereof, Because they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah
against the mighty.
24 Blessed above women shall Jael be, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed
shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, `and' she gave him milk; She brought him butter in a lordly
dish.
26 She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen's hammer;
And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head; Yea, she
pierced and struck through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; At her feet he bowed, he fell; Where
he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 Through the window she looked forth, and cried, The mother of Sisera `cried'
through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels
of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not found, have they not divided the spoil? A damsel, two damsels
to every man; To Sisera a spoil of dyed garments, A spoil of dyed garments
embroidered, Of dyed garments embroidered on both sides, on the necks of the
spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah: But let them that love him be as
the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
CHAPTER
6
1 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah:
and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the
children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves,
and the strongholds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the
Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;
4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till
thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox,
nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts
for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came
into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel
cried unto Jehovah.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of
Midian,
8 that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto
them, Thus saith Jehovah, the 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 unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.
11 And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah,
that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out
wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is
with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all
this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us
of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us
off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.
14 And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel
from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my
family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite
the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a
sign that it is thou that talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my
present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come
again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of
meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought
it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto 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 Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his
hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out
of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of
Jehovah departed out of his sight.
22 And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O
Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face.
23 And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom:
unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy
father's bullock, even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the
altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;
26 and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, in
the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with
the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto
him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father's household and the men
of the city, so 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 broken down, and the Asherah 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 hath done this thing? And when they
inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die,
because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the
Asherah that was by it.
31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? Or
will ye save him? he that will contend for him, let him be put to death whilst
`it is yet' morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one
hath broken down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend
against him, because he hath broken down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east
assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley
of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and
Abiezer was gathered together after him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered
together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and
unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast
spoken,
37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew
on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that
thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken.
38 And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece
together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I
will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray thee, 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 encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on
the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for
me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against
me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful
and trembling, let him return and depart from mount Gilead. And there returned
of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
4 And Jehovah said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down
unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of
whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and
of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not
go.
5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and Jehovah said unto Gideon,
Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt
thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to
drink.
6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was
three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to
drink water.
7 And Jehovah said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save
you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand; and let all the people go every
man unto his place.
8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all
the men of Israel every man unto his tent, but retained the three hundred men:
and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
9 And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Arise, get
thee down into the camp; for I have delivered it into thy hand.
10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah thy servant down to the camp:
11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thy hands be
strengthened to go down into the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant
unto the outermost part of the armed men that were in the camp.
12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay
along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without
number, as the sand which is upon the sea-shore for multitude.
13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man telling a dream unto his
fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and, lo, a cake of barley bread
tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and smote it so that it
fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of
Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand God hath delivered
Midian, and all the host.
15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, that he worshipped; and he returned into the camp of
Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath delivered into your hand the host of
Midian.
16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into
the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the
pitchers.
17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come
to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the
trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For Jehovah and for
Gideon.
19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outermost
part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly
set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake in pieces the pitchers that
were in their hands.
20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held
the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands wherewith
to blow; and they cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon.
21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host
ran; and they shouted, and put `them' to flight.
22 And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword
against his fellow, and against all the host; and the host fled as far as Beth-shittah
toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
23 And the men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of
Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.
24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill-country of Ephraim,
saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as
Beth-barah, even the Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together,
and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, even the Jordan.
25 And they took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at
the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued
Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
CHAPTER
8
1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou
calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with
him sharply.
2 And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the
gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3 God hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and
what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward
him, when he had said that.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, `and' passed over, he, and the three hundred
men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto
the people that follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and
Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in
thy hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
7 And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into
my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with
briers.
8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them in like manner; and the
men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
9 And he spake also unto 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 host of the children of the
east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
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 Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two
kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he
described for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and
seven men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna,
concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now
in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy 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 brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye
slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled
the children of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as Jehovah liveth,
if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
20 And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew
not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is,
so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the
crescents that were on their camels' necks.
22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and
thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us out of the hand of
Midian.
23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son
rule over you: Jehovah shall rule over you.
24 And Gideon said unto them, I would make a request of you, that ye would give
me every man the ear-rings of his spoil. (For they had golden ear-rings, because
they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment,
and did cast therein every man the ear-rings of his spoil.
26 And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was a thousand and
seven hundred `shekels' of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and
the purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that
were about their camels' necks.
27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and
all Israel played the harlot after it there; and it became a snare unto Gideon,
and to his house.
28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their
heads no more. And the land had rest 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 threescore and ten sons of his body begotten; for he had many
wives.
31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, and he called
his name 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 Abiezrites.
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel
turned again, and played the harlot after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their
god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had
delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
35 neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, `who is' Gideon,
according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
CHAPTER
9
1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren,
and spake 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, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are threescore and ten persons,
rule over you, or that one rule over you? remember also that I am your bone and
your flesh.
3 And his mother's brethren spake 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 threescore and ten `pieces' of silver out of the house of
Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
5 And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons
of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: but Jotham the
youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
6 And all the men of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of
Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in
Shechem.
7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim,
and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men
of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.
8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto
the olive-tree, Reign thou over us.
9 But the olive-tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me
they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us.
11 But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good
fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?
12 And the trees said unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheereth God
and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?
14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.
15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the
bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
16 Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and uprightly, in that ye have made
Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have
done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
17 (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out
of the hand of Midian:
18 and ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his
sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the
son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your
brother);
19 if ye then have dealt truly and uprightly with Jerubbaal and with his house
this day, then rejoice ye 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 And Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.
23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the
men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
24 that the violence done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might
come, and that their blood might be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew
them, and upon the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his
brethren.
25 And the men of Shechem set liers-in-wait for him on the tops of the
mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: 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 trust in him.
27 And they went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod `the
grapes', and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and did eat
and drink, and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we
should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve
ye the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him?
29 And would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech.
And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine 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 unto Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son
of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem; and, behold, they constrain the
city `to take part' against thee.
32 Now therefore, up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie
in wait in the field:
33 and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt
rise early, and rush upon the city; and, behold, when he and the people that are
with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt 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 entrance of the gate of
the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from the
ambushment.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people
down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the
shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
37 And Gaal spake again and said, See, there come people down by the middle of
the land, and one company cometh by the way of the oak of Meonenim.
38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, that thou saidst, Who is
Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast
despised? go out now, I pray, 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 there fell many
wounded, even unto the entrance of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren,
that they should not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came to pass on the morrow, 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 he looked, and, behold, the people came forth out of the city;
And he rose up against them, and smote them.
44 And Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and
stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed upon
all that were in the field, and smote them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and
slew the people that were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with
salt.
46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard thereof, they entered into
the stronghold of the house of Elberith.
47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were
gathered together.
48 And Abimelech gat him 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 up, and laid it on his shoulder: and he said unto the people
that were with him, What ye 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 stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire upon
them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand
men and women.
50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men
and women, and all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and gat them up to
the roof of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and drew near unto
the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and brake
his skull.
54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, and said unto him,
Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men say not 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 unto his place.
56 Thus God requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father,
in slaying his seventy brethren;
57 and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God requite upon their
heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
CHAPTER
10
1 And after Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son
of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of
Ephraim.
2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in
Shamir.
3 And after him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty and two
years.
4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty
cities, which are called Havvoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of
Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
6 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and
the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon,
and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.
7 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the
hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.
8 And they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years
`oppressed they' all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the
land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah,
and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore
distressed.
10 And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against
thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and have served the Baalim.
11 And Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, `Did' not `I save you' from the
Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the
Philistines?
12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you;
and ye cried unto me, and I saved you out of their hand.
13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will save you no
more.
14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the time
of your distress.
15 And the children of Israel said unto Jehovah, We have sinned: do thou unto us
whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; only deliver us, we pray thee, this day.
16 And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Jehovah; 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 Mizpah.
18 And the people, the 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: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove
out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house;
for thou art the son of another woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there
were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
4 And it came to pass after a while, 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 unto Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the
children of Ammon.
7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and drive me
out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in
distress?
8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to
thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and
thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to
fight with the children of Ammon, and Jehovah deliver them before me, shall I be
your head?
10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah shall be witness between
us; surely according to thy word so will we do.
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head
and chief over them: and Jephthah spake all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.
12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying,
What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come unto me to fight against my
land?
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of
Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from
the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan: now therefore restore those
`lands' again peaceably.
14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon;
15 and he said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of
Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon,
16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness unto
the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh;
17 then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray
thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom hearkened not. And in like
manner he sent unto the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel abode in
Kadesh.
18 Then they went 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 they
encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they came not within the border of
Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of
Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land
unto my place.
20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered
all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 And Jehovah, the 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 border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even unto
the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto the Jordan.
23 So now Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorites from before
his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess them?
24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So
whomsoever Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from before us, them will we
possess.
25 And now art thou 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 its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and
in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years;
wherefore did ye not recover them within that time?
27 I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war
against me: Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel
and the children of Ammon.
28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of
Jephthah which he sent him.
29 Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and
Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed
over unto the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver
the children of Ammon into my hand,
31 then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to
meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be
Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and
Jehovah delivered them into his hand.
33 And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities,
and unto Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon
were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto 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! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that
trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah; do
unto me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth, forasmuch as
Jehovah hath taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on the children of
Ammon.
37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two
months, that I may depart and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my
virginity, I and my companions.
38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she departed, she
and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her
father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew
not man. And it was a custom in Israel,
40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of
Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
CHAPTER
12
1 And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they
said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children
of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thy house upon
thee with fire.
2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the
children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.
3 And when I saw that ye saved me not, I put my life in my hand, and passed over
against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand:
wherefore then are ye come up unto 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, Ye are
fugitives of Ephraim, ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, `and' in the midst
of Manasseh.
5 And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And
it was so, that, when `any of' the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over,
the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
6 then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he
could not frame to pronounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and slew him
at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two
thousand.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and
was buried in `one of' the cities of Gilead.
8 And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel.
9 And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty
daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven
years.
10 And Ibzan died, and was buried at Beth-lehem.
11 And after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten
years.
12 And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of
Zebulun.
13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty sons' sons, that rode on threescore and ten
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 hill-country of the Amalekites.
CHAPTER
13
1 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of
Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines 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 bare not.
3 And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold
now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat
not any unclean thing:
5 for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his
head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb: and he shall
begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me,
and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible;
and I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 but he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now
drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child
shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah entreated Jehovah, and said, Oh, Lord, I pray thee, let the man of
God whom thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto
the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto
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 told her husband, and said unto him,
Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the `other' day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto
him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass: what shall be the ordering
of the child, and `how' shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman
let her beware.
14 She may not eat of anything that cometh of 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 unto the angel of Jehovah, I pray thee, let us detain thee,
that we may make ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not
eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt make ready a burnt-offering, thou must offer
it unto Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he was the angel of Jehovah.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that, when thy
words come to pass, we may do thee honor?
18 And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore askest thou after my name,
seeing it is wonderful?
19 So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock
unto Jehovah: and `the angel' did wondrously, 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 Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his
wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then
Manoah knew that he was the angel of Jehovah.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 But his wife said unto him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not
have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he
have showed us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as
these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and
Jehovah blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and
Eshtaol.
CHAPTER
14
1 And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of
the Philistines.
2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a
woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for
me to wife.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the
daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a
wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her
for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought
an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule
over Israel.
5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to
the vineyards of Timnah: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would
have rent a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not 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 while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the
carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the
lion, and honey.
9 And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to
his father and mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat: but he told them
not that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
10 And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for
so used the young men 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 unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can
declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I
will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment;
13 but if ye cannot declare it unto me, then shall ye give me thirty linen
garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said unto him, Put forth thy
riddle, that we may hear it.
14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the
strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days declare the
riddle.
15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife,
Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee
and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to impoverish us? is it not
`so'?
16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and
lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and
hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father
nor my mother, and shall I tell thee?
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 pressed him sore; and
she told the riddle to the children of her people.
18 And the men of the city said unto 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
unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.
19 And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he went down to
Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the
changes `of raiment' unto them that declared 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, whom he had used as his
friend.
CHAPTER
15
1 But it came to pass after a while, 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 verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her;
therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than
she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
3 And Samson said unto them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the
Philistines, when I do them a mischief.
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 every two tails.
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain
of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and
also the oliveyards.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they said, Samson, the
son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken his wife, and given her to his
companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson said unto them, If ye do after this manner, surely I will 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 cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in
Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they said, To
bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam,
and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?
what then is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they
did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver
thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me,
that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver
thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with
two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the
Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms
became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his
hands.
15 And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it,
and smote a thousand men therewith.
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, With the
jawbone of an ass have I smitten 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 that place was called Ramath-lehi.
18 And he was sore athirst, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given
this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant; and now shall I die for
thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.
19 But God clave the hollow place that is in Lehi, and there came water thereout;
and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore the name
thereof was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi, unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
CHAPTER
16
1 And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
2 `And it was told' the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they
compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and
were quiet all the night, saying, `Let be' till morning light, then we will kill
him.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the
doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and
all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the
mountain 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 unto her, and said unto her, Entice
him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail
against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every
one of us eleven hundred `pieces' of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength
lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were
never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which
had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him,
The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of
tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies:
now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work
hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The
Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the
inner chamber. And he brake them off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies:
tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest
the seven locks of my head with the web.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon
thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the
beam, and the web.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not
with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy
great strength lieth.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged
him, that his soul was vexed unto death.
17 And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor
upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be
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 hath told me
all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought
the money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved
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 thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his
sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he
knew not that Jehovah was departed from him.
21 And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought
him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the
prison-house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great
sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath
delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god
hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who
hath slain 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 sport before them. And they set him between the
pillars:
26 and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may
feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, 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; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women,
that beheld while Samson made sport.
28 And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray
thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, 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 rested,
and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and 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 that he slew at his death were more than they that 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. And he judged Israel twenty years.
CHAPTER
17
1 And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred `pieces' of silver that were
taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it
in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said,
Blessed be my son of Jehovah.
3 And he restored the eleven hundred `pieces' of silver to his mother; and his
mother said, I verily dedicate the silver unto Jehovah from my hand for my son,
to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto
thee.
4 And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred
`pieces' of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven
image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.
5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he 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: every man did that which was right
in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who
was a Levite; and he sojourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn
where he could find `a place', and he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the
house of Micah, as he journeyed.
9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a
Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find `a place'.
10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest,
and I will give thee ten `pieces' of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel,
and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto
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 said Micah, Now know I that Jehovah 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 them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day `their'
inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number,
men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search
it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land. And they came to the
hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodged there.
3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the
Levite; and they turned aside thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee
hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus hath Micah dealt with me, and he hath
hired me, and I am become his priest.
5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know
whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way wherein
ye go.
7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were
therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet
and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put
`them' to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no
dealings with any man.
8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren
said unto them, What `say' ye?
9 And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the
land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go and
to enter in to possess the land.
10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and the land is large; for
God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything
that is in the earth.
11 And there set forth from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah
and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
12 And they went up, and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they
called that place Mahaneh-dan, unto this day; behold, it is behind
Kiriath-jearim.
13 And they passed thence unto the hill-country of Ephraim, and came unto the
house of Micah.
14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and
said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and
teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye
have to do.
15 And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young man the
Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.
16 And the six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the
children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.
17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither,
and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten
image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men
girt with weapons of war.
18 And when these went into Micah's house, and fetched the graven image, the
ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said unto them, What
do ye?
19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go
with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest
unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto 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
goods before them.
22 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 unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and
said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
24 And he said, ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are
gone away, and what have I more? and how then say ye unto me, What aileth thee?
25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us,
lest angry fellows fall upon you, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy
household.
26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too
strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.
27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came
unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the
sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no
dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And
they built the city, and dwelt therein.
29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father,
who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
30 And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image: and Jonathan,
the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe
of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 So 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 farther side of the hill-country of
Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.
2 And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto
her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.
3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring
her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and 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 did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning,
and he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law,
Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.
6 So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together: and the
damsel's father said unto the man, Be pleased, I pray thee, to tarry all night,
and let thy heart be merry.
7 And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged
there again.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's
father said, Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day
declineth; and they did eat, 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 unto him, Behold, now the day
draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to
an end, lodge here, that thy heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on
your way, that thou mayest go home.
10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came
over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of
asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.
11 When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his
master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites,
and lodge in it.
12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside into the city of a
foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to
Gibeah.
13 And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these
places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
14 So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them near to
Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
15 And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in,
and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man that took them
into his house to lodge.
16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even:
now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but
the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the
city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah unto the farther
side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem-judah:
and I am `now' going to the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that taketh me
into his house.
19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and
wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy
servants: there is no want of anything.
20 And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie
upon me; only lodge not in the street.
21 So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed
their feet, and did eat and drink.
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain
base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake
to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came
into thy house, that we may know him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them,
Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come
into my house, do not this folly.
24 Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring
out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but
unto this man do not any such folly.
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine,
and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night
until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of
the man's house where her lord was, till 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, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at
the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he
took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his
concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her
throughout all the borders 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
unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
CHAPTER
20
1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled
as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah
at Mizpah.
2 And the chiefs 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 Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness
brought to pass?
4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said,
I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by
night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and 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 Behold, ye children of Israel, all of you, 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 unto his house.
9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: `we will go up' against
it by lot;
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
victuals 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 come to pass among you?
13 Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, that are in Gibeah, that
we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not
hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
14 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities
unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities
twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah,
who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every
one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
17 And the men of Israel, besides 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 Beth-el, and asked counsel
of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the
children of Benjamin? And Jehovah 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 set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to
the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.
22 And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle
again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.
23 And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even; and
they asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the
children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah 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 unto
Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even;
and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
27 And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (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 Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I
will deliver him into thy hand.
29 And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about.
30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the
third day, and set 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 and kill of the people, as at other
times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to
Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the
first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the
city unto the highways.
33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in
array at Baal-tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Israel brake forth out of their
place, even out of Maareh-geba.
34 And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel,
and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.
35 And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel
destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all
these drew the sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten; for the men of Israel
gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers-in-wait whom they
had set against Gibeah.
37 And the liers-in-wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait
drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait was,
that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.
39 And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and
kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are
smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
40 But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke,
the Benjamites looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up
`in smoke' to heaven.
41 And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they
saw that evil was come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of
the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out
of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.
43 They inclosed the Benjamites round about, `and' chased them, `and' trod them
down at `their' resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the
sunrising.
44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these `were' men of
valor.
45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and
they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after
them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.
46 So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men
that drew the sword; all these `were' men of valor.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of
Rimmon, and abode in the rock of 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, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all
that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
CHAPTER
21
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us
give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2 And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted
up their voices, and wept sore.
3 And they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in
Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there
an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel
that came not up in the assembly unto Jehovah? For they had made a great oath
concerning him that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah, 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 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by
Jehovah 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 came not up unto
Jehovah to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead
to the assembly.
9 For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead there.
10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and
commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the
edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
11 And this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male,
and every woman that hath lain by man.
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young
virgins, that had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them unto
the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 And the whole congregation sent and spake to the children of Benjamin that
were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace unto them.
14 And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they
had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them
not.
15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that Jehovah had made a
breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How 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 are escaped of
Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of
Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in
Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that
goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in
the vineyards,
21 and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the
dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man 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 complain unto
us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took
not for each man `of them' his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto
them, else would ye now be guilty.
23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their
number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned
unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his
tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man 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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