The Book of

Judges

1

1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua that the children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying, Which of us shall go up against the Canaanites first, 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 to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot; and Simeon went with him. 4 And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men. 5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gleaned under my table: as I have done, so° 1.7 Elohim God has requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 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 afterwards 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 — the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; and they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife. 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 14 And it came to pass as she came, that she urged him to ask of her father the field; and she sprang down from the ass. And Caleb said to her, What wouldest thou? 15 And she said to him, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, had gone up out of the city of palm-trees 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 slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it; and they called the name of the city Hormah. 18 And Judah took Gazah and its border, and Ashkelon and its border, and Ekron and its border. 19 And Jehovah was with Judah; and he took possession of the hill-country, for he did not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20 And they gave to Caleb Hebron, as Moses had said; and he dispossessed from thence the three sons of Anak. 21 And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Jehovah was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the name of the city before was Luz. 24 And the guards saw a man come forth out of the city, and said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, how [ we] may enter into the city, and we will shew thee kindness. 25 And he shewed them how to enter into the city. And they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. 26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day. 27 And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its dependent villages, nor Taanach and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent villages, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages; and the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass when Israel became strong, that they made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly dispossess them. 29 And Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer. 30 Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. 31 Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor Ahlab, nor Achzib, nor Helbah, nor Aphik, nor Rehob; 32 and the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them. 33 Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; and he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them. 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 And the Amorites would dwell on mount Heres, in Ajalon and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, and they became tributaries. 36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upwards.

2

1 And the Angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you; and as for you, 2 ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw 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 [scourges] in your sides, and their° 2.3 Elohim gods shall be a snare unto you. 4 And it came to pass, when the Angel of Jehovah spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to Jehovah. 6 And Joshua dismissed the people, and the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua, who had seen all the great works of Jehovah, which he had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, a hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres, in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not Jehovah, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals. 12 And they forsook Jehovah the° 2.12 Elohim God of their fathers, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and followed other° 2.12 Elohim gods of the° 2.12 Elohim gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked Jehovah to anger. 13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about; and 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 said, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed. 16 And Jehovah raised up judges, and they saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17 But they did not even hearken to their judges, for they went a whoring after other° 2.17 Elohim gods, and bowed themselves to them; they turned quickly out of the way that their fathers had walked in, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; 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 groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them. 19 And it came to pass when the judge died, that they turned back and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other° 2.19 Elohim gods to serve them, and to bow down to them: they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. 20 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice, 21 I also will not henceforth dispossess from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died; 22 that through 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 Therefore Jehovah left those nations, without dispossessing them hastily, neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

3

1 And these are the nations that Jehovah left, to prove Israel by them, all that had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2 only that the generations of the children of Israel might know war by learning it, at the least those who before had known nothing thereof: 3 five lord ships of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwell on mount Lebanon; from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering into Hamath. 4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites: Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivites and Jebusites; 6 and they took their daughters as wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their° 3.6 Elohim gods. 7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and forgot Jehovah their° 3.7 Elohim God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; and Jehovah raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And the Spirit of Jehovah was upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Jehovah gave Chushan-rishathaim king of Syria into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim. 11 And the land had rest forty years; and Othniel the son of Kenaz died. 12 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they did evil in the sight of Jehovah. 13 And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek and went and smote Israel, and they took possession of the city of palm-trees. 14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a man left-handed. And by him the children of Israel sent a gift to Eglon king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made him a sword having two edges, it was of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right hip. 17 And he brought the gift to Eglon king of Moab; now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it came to pass when he had ended offering the gift, he sent away the people that had borne the gift. 19 But he turned from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word unto thee, O king. And he said, Be silent! And all that stood by him went out from him. 20 And Ehud came to him; now he was sitting in the cool upper-chamber, which was for him alone. And Ehud said, I have a word from° 3.20 Elohim God unto thee. And he arose from the seat. 21 Then Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right hip, and thrust it into his belly; 22 and the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade; for he did not draw the sword out of his belly, and it came out between the legs. 23 And Ehud went out into the portico, and shut the doors of the upper-chamber upon him, and bolted them. 24 And when he was gone out, the servants of the [king] came and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper-chamber were bolted. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the summer chamber. 25 And they waited till they were ashamed; and behold, he opened not the doors of the upper-chamber, and they took the key, and opened [ them], and behold, their lord lay dead on the earth. 26 And Ehud had escaped while they lingered, and passed beyond the graven images, and escaped to 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 to them, Follow after me, for Jehovah has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan toward Moab, and suffered no one to pass over. 29 And they slew the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand men, all fat, and all men of valour, and not a man escaped. 30 And Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years. 31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath; and he smote the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also delivered Israel.

4

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; now Ehud was dead. 2 And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-Goim. 3 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel twenty years. 4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount 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 to him, Hath not Jehovah the° 4.6 Elohim God of Israel commanded? Go and draw towards 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 torrent Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, and his chariots and his multitude, and I will give him into thy hand. 8 And Barak said to her, If thou goest with me, then I will go, but if thou goest not with me, I will not go. 9 And she said, I will by all means go with thee, only that it will not be to thine honour upon the way which thou goest, for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and there went up at his feet ten thousand men; and Deborah went up with him. 11 (Now Heber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites, from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaannaim, which is by Kedesh.) 12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor. 13 Then Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth-Goim to the torrent Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand! Is not Jehovah gone out before thee? And Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. 15 And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from [ his] chariot, and fled on foot. 16 And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth-Goim; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not one was left. 17 And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in to her, into the tent, and she covered him with the quilt. 19 And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the flask of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. 20 And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. 21 And Jael Heber’s wife took a tent-pin, and took the hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it penetrated into the ground; for he had fallen into a deep sleep and was faint; and he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And he went into her [ tent], and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the pin was in his temples. 23 So° 4.23 Elohim God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel ever advanced, and prevailed against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin king of Canaan.

5

1 Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying, 2 For that leaders led in Israel, For that the people willingly offered themselves, Bless Jehovah! 3 Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, [even] I, will sing to Jehovah; I will hymn to Jehovah the° 5.3 Elohim God of Israel. 4 Jehovah, when thou wentest forth from Seir, When thou marchedst out of the fields of Edom, The earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water. 5 The mountains quaked before the face of Jehovah, That Sinai, from before Jehovah the° 5.5 Elohim God of Israel. 6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, The roads were unused, and the travellers on highways went by crooked paths. 7 The villages ceased in Israel, Ceased until that I Deborah arose, That I arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose new° 5.8 Elohim 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, who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah! 10 Ye that ride on white she-asses, ye that sit on carpets, and ye that walk by the way, consider. 11 Because of the voice of those who divide [ the spoil] in the midst of the places of drawing water; There they rehearse the righteous acts of Jehovah, His righteous acts toward his villages 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 captive thy captives, thou son of Abinoam! 13 Then come down, thou, the remnant of nobles, [ as his] people; Jehovah! come down with me in the midst of the mighty ones. 14 Out of Ephraim [ came] those whose root was in Amalek; After thee was Benjamin among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down governors, And out of Zebulun they that handled the staff of the ruler. 15 And the princes in Issachar were with Deborah; And Issachar, like Barak; They were sent into the valley at his feet. In the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart! 16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the bleating of the flocks? In the divisions of Reuben there were great deliberations of heart! 17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan; And Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher sat on the sea-shore, And abode in his creeks. 18 Zebulun is a people [ that] jeoparded their lives unto death, Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. 19 Kings came, — they fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan; At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoil of silver. 20 From heaven was the fight; The stars from their courses fought with Sisera. 21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. My soul, thou hast trodden down strength! 22 Then did the horse-hoofs clatter with the coursings, The coursings of their steeds. 23 Curse Meroz, saith the Angel of Jehovah; Curse, curse the inhabitants thereof; For they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah among the mighty. 24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, Blessed above women in the tent! 25 He asked water, she gave milk; In the nobles’ bowl she brought forth cream. 26 She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; And she smote Sisera, she struck through his head, Shattered and pierced through his temples. 27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell, overcome. 28 Them other of Sisera looketh out at the window, And crieth through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the trampings of his chariots? 29 The wise amongst her ladies answer [ her], Yea, she returneth answer to herself, 30 Have they not found, divided the booty, A damsel, two damsels, to each? A booty of dyed stuffs for Sisera, A booty of dyed stuffs of embroidery, Dyed stuff of double embroidery for the neck of a spoiler? 31 So let all thine enemies perish, Jehovah! But let them that love him be as the rising of the sun in its might. And the land had rest forty years.

6

1 And the children of Israel did 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. Because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. 3 And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up, and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against them. 4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. 5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number; and they entered into the land to destroy it. 6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah. 7 And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried to Jehovah because of Midian, 8 that Jehovah sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the° 6.8 Elohim God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land, 10 and I said to you, I am Jehovah your° 6.10 Elohim God; fear not the° 6.10 Elohim gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened to my voice. 11 And an angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth that was in Ophrah, that [belonged] to Joash the Abi-ezrite. And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure [ it] from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 13 And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian. 14 And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have not I sent thee? 15 And he said to him, Ah Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. 16 And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and thou shalt smite Midian as one man. 17 And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me. 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and an ephah of flour in unleavened cakes: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the terebinth, and presented it. 20 And the Angel of° 6.20 Elohim God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. 21 And 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 rose 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 perceived that he was an angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! for because I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face... 23 And Jehovah said to him, Peace be unto thee: fear not; thou shalt not die. 24 And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 25 And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the second bullock of 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 to Jehovah thy ° 6.26 Elohim God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah that thou shalt cut down. 27 And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his father’s house, and the men of the city, if he did 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 up upon the altar that was built. 29 And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing. 30 And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it. 31 And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that contends for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be a° 6.31 Elohim god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down his altar. 32 And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead with him, because he has broken down his altar. 33 And all Midian and Amalek and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, and the Abi-ezrites were gathered after him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were gathered after him; and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. 36 And Gideon said to° 6.36 Elohim God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 37 behold, I put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if dew shall be 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 said. 38 And it was so. And when he rose up early on the morrow, he pressed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, a bowl-full of water. 39 And Gideon said to° 6.39 Elohim God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once! Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it, I pray thee, be dry upon the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 40 And° 6.40 Elohim God did so that night, and it was dry upon the fleece only, but on all the ground there was dew.

7

1 And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, arose early, and all the people that were with him, and they encamped beside the spring Harod; and he had the camp of Midian on the north by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 3 And now proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is timid and afraid, let him go back and turn from mount Gilead. And there went back of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. 4 And Jehovah said to Gideon, Still the people are many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there, and it shall be, that of whom I shall say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 And he brought down the people to the water; and Jehovah said to 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 on his knees to drink. 6 And the number of them that lapped, with their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water. 7 And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his place. 8 And they took the victuals of the people in their hand, and their trumpets; and all the men of Israel he sent away, every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley. 9 And it came to pass in that night, that Jehovah said to him, Arise, go down to the camp; for I have given it into thy hand. 10 And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the camp; 11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thy hand be strengthened, and thou shalt go down unto the camp. And he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand upon the sea-shore for multitude. 13 And Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to 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 to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, the man of Israel: ° 7.14 Elohim God hath given into his hand Midian and all the host. 15 And it came to pass when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. And he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold, when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon! 19 And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand, and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and 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 cried out, and fled. 22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp. And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. 25 And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

8

1 And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply. 2 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? 3 Into your hands hath ° 8.3 Elohim God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word. 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 to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. 6 And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army? 7 And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars. 8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand [ men], all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease. 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 camp. 13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres. 14 And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men. 15 And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary? 16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. 17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. 18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons 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 to Jether his firstborn, Arise, 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 on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels’ necks. 22 And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian. 23 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you. 24 And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites. 25 And they said, We will willingly give [ them]. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty. 26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred [ shekels] of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks. 27 And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house. 28 And 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 house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives. 31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech. 32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 33 And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their° 8.33 Elohim god. 34 And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their° 8.34 Elohim God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side. 35 And they shewed no kindness to the house of Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.

9

1 And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh. 3 And his mother’s brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem all these words. And their heart inclined after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. 4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton men, and they followed him. 5 And he came to his father’s house, to Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons upon one stone; but there remained Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal; for he had hid himself. 6 And all the citizens of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the memorial-oak that is in Shechem. 7 And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that° 9.7 Elohim God may hearken to you. 8 The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us. 9 And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour ° 9.9 Elohim God and man, and go to wave over the trees? 10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us. 11 But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees? 12 Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us. 13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers° 9.13 Elohim God and man, and go to wave over the trees? 14 Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us. 15 And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 16 Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and sincerely in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and if ye have done to him according to the deserving of his hands; 17 — for my father fought for you, and endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18 but ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your brother; 19 — if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you; 20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens 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, because of Abimelech his brother. 22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 And° 9.23 Elohim God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 that the violence [ done] to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who had strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. 25 And the citizens 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 citizens of Shechem put confidence in him. 27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode [ the grapes], and made rejoicings, and went into the house of their° 9.27 Elohim god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. 28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is he not the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem! and why should we serve him? 29 Oh! 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 Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled; 31 and he sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem, and behold, they shut up the city against thee; 32 and now, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in ambush in the fields. 33 And it shall be in the morning when the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and fall upon the city; and behold, he and the people that is with him shall come out against thee, and thou shalt do with him as thou shalt find occasion. 34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in ambush 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. Then Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, out of the ambush. 36 And Gaal saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men. 37 And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and one company is coming along by the way of the Magician’s oak. 38 Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that 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 against them. 39 And Gaal went out before the citizens of Shechem, and fought against Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, as far as the entrance of the gate. 41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they might 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 lay in ambush 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 two of the companies ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew them. 45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and broke down the city, and sowed it with salt. 46 And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [ that], and they entered into the stronghold of the house of the* 9.46 El god Berith. 47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem had gathered together. 48 Then Abimelech went 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 said to the people that was with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, do as I have done. 49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and they followed Abimelech, and put [ them] to the hold, and burned the hold with fire upon them. And all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. 50 And Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 51 But there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and thither fled all the men and women, all the citizens of the city; and they shut it behind them, and went up to the roof of the tower. 52 And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire; 53 and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull. 54 Then he called hastily to the young man that carried his armour, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they say not of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went every man to his place. 56 And° 9.56 Elohim God rendered back the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in slaying his seventy brethren. 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did° 9.57 Elohim God render back upon their heads; and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

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1 And after Abimelech, there rose up to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir on mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died, and was buried in Shamir. 3 And after him rose up Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called the villages of Jair to 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 evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, and the° 10.6 Elohim gods of Syria, and the° 10.6 Elohim gods of Zidon, and the° 10.6 Elohim gods of Moab, and the° 10.6 Elohim gods of the children of Ammon, and the° 10.6 Elohim gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not. 7 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold him into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. 8 And they oppressed and crushed the children of Israel in that year; eighteen years [ they oppressed] 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; and Israel was greatly distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our° 10.10 Elohim God, and also served the Baals. 11 And Jehovah said to the children of Israel, Did I not [save you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and Amalek and Maon oppressed you, and ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 But ye have forsaken me, and served other° 10.13 Elohim gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry to the° 10.14 Elohim gods that ye have chosen: let them save you in the time of your trouble. 15 And the children of Israel said to Jehovah, We have sinned. Do thou unto us according to all that is good in thy sight; only deliver us, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange° 10.16 Elohim gods from among them, and served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17 And the children of Ammon were called together and encamped in Gilead; and the children of Israel gathered together and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people, the chief men of Gilead, said one to another, Who is the man that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

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1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons were grown, they expelled Jephthah, and said to 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 vain men were gathered to Jephthah, and they made expeditions with him. 4 And it came to pass after some time, that the children of Ammon fought with Israel. 5 And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight against the children of Ammon. 7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come to me now when ye are in trouble? 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we have returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all of us the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye take me back to fight against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah give them up before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words! 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them; and Jephthah uttered all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah. 12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight against my land? 13 And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok and unto the Jordan; and now restore it peaceably. 14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon, 15 and said to 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, then Israel walked through the wilderness as far as the Red sea, and came to Kadesh. 17 And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom would not hearken. And they also sent to the king of Moab; and he would not. And Israel abode in Kadesh. 18 And they walked through the wilderness, and went round the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east of the land of Moab, and encamped beyond the Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon is the border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place. 20 But Sihon trusted not Israel, to let him pass through his border, and Sihon gathered all his people, and they encamped in Jahzah; and he fought with Israel. 21 And Jehovah the° 11.21 Elohim God of Israel gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel took possession of the whole land of the Amorites, who dwelt in that country. 22 And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto the Jordan. 23 And now Jehovah the° 11.23 Elohim God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou take possession of it? 24 Dost not thou possess what Chemosh thy ° 11.24 Elohim god puts thee in possession of? and whatever Jehovah our° 11.24 Elohim God has dispossessed before us, that will we possess. 25 And now art thou indeed better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive with Israel? did he ever fight against them? 26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its dependent villages, and in Aroer and its dependent villages, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years — why did ye not recover [ them] within that time? 27 So I have not sinned against thee, but it is thou who doest me wrong in making war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon! 28 But the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the words of Jephthah that he had sent him. 29 Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed to Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt without fail give the children of Ammon into my hand, 31 then shall that which cometh forth from the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering. 32 And Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Jehovah gave them into his hand. 33 And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, even unto Abel-Cheramim, with a very great slaughter; and the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambours and with dances; and she was an only child: besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his garments, 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 to Jehovah, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to Jehovah, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as Jehovah has taken vengeance for thee upon thine enemies, upon the children of Ammon. 37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to 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 went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, and he performed on her the vow that he had vowed; and she had known no man. And it became a fixed custom in Israel, 40 that from year to year the daughters of Israel go to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

12

1 And the men of Ephraim were called together, and passed over northwards, and said to Jephthah, Why didst thou pass 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 to them, I was at great strife, I and my people, with the children of Ammon; and I called you, but ye saved me not out of their hand. 3 And when I saw that ye would not save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah gave them into my hand. Why then are ye come up to me this day, to fight against me? 4 And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye, Gilead, ye are fugitives of Ephraim in the midst of Ephraim, [ and] in the midst of Manasseh. 5 And Gilead took the fords of the Jordan before Ephraim; and it came to pass that when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Art thou an Ephraimite? and he said, No. 6 Then they said to him, Say now Shibboleth! and he said, Sibboleth, and did not manage to pronounce [ it] rightly. Then they took him, and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand. 7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in [ one of] the cities of Gilead. 8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent out of the house, and thirty daughters he took in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10 And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem. 11 And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon 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 grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years. 15 And Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.

13

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zoreah, of the family of the Danites, and his name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and did not bear. 3 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, thou art barren and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive and bear a son. 4 And now beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. 5 For lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall come on his head; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of° 13.5 Elohim God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 6 And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of° 13.6 Elohim God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of° 13.6 Elohim God, very terrible; but I did not ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name. 7 And he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and now drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not anything unclean; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of° 13.7 Elohim God from the womb to the day of his death. 8 Then Manoah prayed to Jehovah, and said, Ah Lord! let the man of° 13.8 Elohim God which thou didst send come again unto us, I pray thee, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9 And° 13.9 Elohim God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of° 13.9 Elohim God came again to the woman whilst she sat in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman hasted and ran, and informed her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, that came to me that day. 11 And Manoah rose up and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that didst speak to the woman? And he said, I am. 12 And Manoah said, When thy words then come to pass, what shall be the child’s manner and his doing? 13 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware: 14 she shall not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither shall she drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean: all that I commanded her shall she observe. 15 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, I pray thee, let us detain thee, and we will make ready a kid of the goats for thee. 16 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Though thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou shalt offer it up to Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he was the Angel of Jehovah. 17 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy word cometh to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, How is it that thou askest after my name, seeing it is wonderful? 19 Then Manoah took the kid and the oblation, and offered it up to Jehovah upon the rock. And he did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 And it came to pass, as the flame went up from off the altar towards the heavens, that the Angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was the Angel of Jehovah. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen° 13.22 Elohim God. 23 But his wife said to him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and an oblation at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would he at this time have told us [ such things] as these. 24 And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him at Mahaneh-Dan, between Zoreah and Eshtaol.

14

1 And Samson went down to Timnathah, and saw a woman in Timnathah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 And he went up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnathah of the daughters of the Philistines; and now take her for me as wife. 3 And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the Philistines, the uncircumcised? And Samson said to his father, Take her for me, for she pleases me well. 4 And his father and his mother did not know that it was of Jehovah, that he was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. 5 And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnathah; and they came to the vineyards of Timnathah. And behold, a young lion roared against him; 6 and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he rent it as one rends a kid, and nothing was in his hand. And he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 And he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 And he returned after a time to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, [ there was] a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey; 9 and he took it out in his hands, and went on, and ate as he went. And he came to his father and to his mother, and gave them, and they ate; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion. 10 And his father went down to 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, and they were with him. 12 And Samson said to them, Let me now propound a riddle to you; if ye clearly explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find [ it] out, then I will give you thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. 13 But if ye cannot explain [ it] to me, then shall ye give me thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. And they said to him, Propound thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days explain the riddle. 15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson’s wife, Persuade thy husband, that he may explain to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire. Have ye invited 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 propounded the riddle to the children of my people, and hast not explained it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not explained it to my father nor my mother, and shall I explain it to thee? 17 And she wept before him the seven days, while they had the feast. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he explained it to her, for she pressed him. And she explained the riddle to the children of her people. 18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, And what stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle. 19 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew of them thirty men, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of garments unto them that explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had made his friend.

15

1 And it came to pass after a time, in the days of the wheat-harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid of the goats. 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 didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her. 3 And Samson said to them, This time I am blameless toward the Philistines, though I do them harm. 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between the two tails. 5 And he set the torches on fire, and let [ them] run into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, and the olive gardens. 6 And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said to them, If ye act thus, for a certainty I will avenge myself on you, and then 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 cliff Etam. 9 And 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 has done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the cliff Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? And what is this that thou hast done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them. 12 And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may give thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall on me yourselves. 13 And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand; but we certainly shall not put thee to death. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the cliff. 14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and the cords that were on his arms became as threads of flax that are burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew with it a thousand men. 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass when he had ended speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-Lehi. 18 And he was very thirsty, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given by the hand of thy servant this great deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 And° 15.19 Elohim God clave the hallow rock which was in Lehi, and water came out of it. And he drank, and his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16

1 And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her. 2 [ And it was told] the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they surrounded [ him], and laid wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning light we will kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, 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 afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is, and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred silver-pieces. 6 Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee. 7 And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak, and be as another man. 12 And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread. 13 And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web. 15 Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength. 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 to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of° 16.17 Elohim God from my mother’s womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind. 18 And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower 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 thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him. 21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their° 16.23 Elohim god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our° 16.23 Elohim god has given Samson our enemy into our hands. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their° 16.24 Elohim god; for they said, Our° 16.24 Elohim god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain. 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 played before them; and they set him between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O° 16.28 Elohim God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood ( and he supported himself 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 might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life. 31 And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.

17

1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred silver-pieces that were taken from thee, and about which thou didst curse and speak of 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 silver-pieces to his mother; and his mother said, I had dedicated the silver to Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image; and now I will restore it to thee. 4 Now he restored the silver to his mother; and his mother took two hundred silver-pieces and gave them to the founder, and he made of them a graven image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a house of° 17.5 Elohim gods, and made an ephod and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. 7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehem-Judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem-Judah, to sojourn where he might find [ a place]. And as he journeyed, he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find [ a place]. 10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee yearly ten silver-pieces, and a suit of garments, and thy victuals. And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah, Now I know that Jehovah will do me good, because I have the Levite for priest.

18

1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [ their lot] had not fallen to them for inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men of their whole number, men of valour, from Zoreah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to examine it; and they said to them, Go, examine the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to 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 in thither, and said to him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this [ place]? and what hast thou here? 4 And he said to them, Thus and thus has Micah done to me; and he has hired me, and I am his priest. 5 And they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of° 18.5 Elohim God, that we may know whether our way on which we go shall be prosperous. 6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way on which ye go. 7 And the five men departed, and came to Laish; and they saw the people that were therein, dwelling securely, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and no one was in the land who possessed authority, that might put [ them] to shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had nothing to do with [ any] man. 8 — And they came to their brethren at Zoreah and Eshtaol. And their brethren said to 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 ye are still! Be not slothful to go, to enter to take possession of the land. 10 When ye go in, ye shall come to a people secure, and the land is spacious in every direction; for° 18.10 Elohim God has given it into your hands; [ it is] a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth. 11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zoreah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war. 12 And they went up and encamped in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah; therefore they call that place Mahaneh-Dan to this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim. 13 And they passed thence to mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. 14 Then the five men that had gone to spy out the country of Laish spoke and said to their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? And now ye know what to do. 15 And they turned thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and inquired after his welfare. 16 And the six hundred men of the children of Dan, girded with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men that had gone to spy out the land went up, entered in thither, [ and] took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were girded with weapons of war. 18 And these came into Micah’s house, and took the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest said to them, What do ye? 19 And they said to 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 a priest for the house of one man, or to be priest for a tribe and a family in Israel? 20 Then 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 And they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the baggage before them. 22 They were already far from the house of Micah, when the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my° 18.24 Elohim gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away; and what have I more? and what is this that ye say to me, What aileth thee? 25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest men of exasperated spirit run upon you, and thou lose thy life and the lives of thy household. 26 And the children of Dan went their way; and Micah saw that they were too strong for him, and he turned and went back to his house. 27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest that he had had, and came upon Laish, upon a people quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Zidon, and they had nothing to do with [ any] man; and it [lay] in the valley that is 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 to Israel; howbeit Laish was the name of the city at the first. 30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and Jehonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses; he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, which he had made, all the time that the house of° 18.31 Elohim God was in Shiloh.

19

1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that a certain Levite, sojourning on the further side of mount Ephraim, took him a concubine out of Bethlehem-Judah. 2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem-Judah, and was there some time, — four months. 3 And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again; and his servant was 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; and they ate and drank, 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 to his son-in-law, Refresh thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards ye may go your way. 6 And they sat down, and ate and drank, both of them together. And the damsel’s father said to the man, Be content, I pray thee, and pass the night, and let thy heart be glad. 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; but the damsel’s father said, Refresh thy heart, I pray thee. And they lingered until the afternoon, and they did eat both of them. 9 And the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant; and his father-in-law, the damsel’s father, said to him, Behold now, the day draws toward evening — I pray you stay all night; behold, the day is declining, lodge here, and let thy heart be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go to thy tent. 10 But the man would not tarry the night; and he rose up and departed, and came opposite to Jebus, that is, Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, and his concubine was with him. 11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. 12 But his master said to him, We will not turn aside into the city of a stranger, which is not of the children of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah. 13 And he said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places, and lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah. 14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them [ when they were] by Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 And they turned aside thither, to go in, to lodge in Gibeah. And he went in, and sat down in the open place of the city; and there was no one that received him into his house to pass the night. 16 And behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjaminites. 17 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the open place of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? 18 And he said to him, We are travelling from Bethlehem-Judah towards the further side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I; and I went to Bethlehem-Judah, and I have to do with the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that receives me into his house. 19 And we have both straw and provender for our asses; and I have bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man with thy servants: there is no lack of anything. 20 Then the old man said, Peace be with thee; only let all thy wants lie on me; but lodge not in the street. 21 And he brought him into his house, and gave the asses provender; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 22 They were making their hearts merry, when behold, the men of the city, sons of Belial, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke 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 to them, and said to them, No, my brethren, I pray you, do not wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this villany. 24 Behold, my daughter, who is a virgin, and his concubine; let me bring them out, and humble ye them, and do to them as is good in your sight; but to this man do not so vile a thing. 25 But the men would not hearken to him; and the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning; and let her go when the morning-dawn arose. 26 And the woman came at the dawning of the day, and fell down at the entrance 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 door of the house, and went out to go his way, and behold, there lay the woman his concubine at the entrance of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. 28 And he said to her, Up, and let us go; but no one answered. And he took her upon the ass; and the man rose up, and went to his place. 29 And when he was come into his house, he took the knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, according to her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the borders of Israel. 30 And it came to pass that every one that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came out of Egypt to this day. Think it over, advise, and speak.

20

1 And all the children of Israel went forth, and the assembly gathered together as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah. 2 And the heads of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the congregation of the people of° 20.2 Elohim God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. 3 And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the children of Israel said, Tell [ us], how was this wickedness? 4 Then the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said, I came to Gibeah that [belongs] to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 5 And the citizens of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house because of me, by night; they thought to slay me, and my concubine have they humbled so that she died. 6 Then I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and villany in Israel. 7 Behold, all ye, children of Israel, deliberate and give here [ your] counsel. 8 And all the people rose up as one man, saying, We will not any one go to his tent, neither will we any one turn into his house. 9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [ we go] by lot against it; 10 and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the villany that they have wrought in Israel. 11 And all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. 12 And the tribes of Israel sent men to all the families of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has been done among you? 13 And now give up the men, the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But [ the children of] Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel. 14 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities of Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities, twenty-six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; all these slang stones at a hair [breadth], and missed not. 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 Bethel, and inquired of° 20.18 Elohim God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah first. 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 And the children of Benjamin went forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty-two thousand men. 22 And the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and set the battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day. 23 And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even, and inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up again 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 again destroyed to the ground of the children of Israel eighteen thousand men: all these drew the sword. 26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah. 27 And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah ( and the ark of the covenant of° 20.27 Elohim 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 give them 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 put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at the other times. 31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city, and began to smite of the people, slaying as at the former times, in the highways, of which one leads to Bethel 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. And the children of Israel said, Let us flee, that we may draw them from the city to the highways. 33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-Tamar; and the ambush of Israel rushed forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Geba. 34 And there came from opposite Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they knew not that disaster was coming upon them. 35 And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjaminites that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword. 36 And the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten. — And the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted to the ambush that they had set against Gibeah. 37 And the ambush hasted, and fell upon Gibeah; and the ambush drew along, and smote the whole city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambush, that they should make a thick column of smoke rise up out of the city. 39 And when the men of Israel turned back in the battle, Benjamin began to smite, slaying of the men of Israel about thirty men; for they said, Surely they are quite routed before us as in the first battle. 40 And when the burning began to rise up out of the city as a pillar of smoke, Benjamin looked behind, and behold, the whole city ascended [ in smoke] to the heavens. 41 Then the men of Israel turned back, and the men of Benjamin were amazed, for they saw that disaster was come upon them. 42 And they turned before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst. 43 They encompassed the Benjaminites, chased them, trode them down at the resting-place over against Gibeah toward the sun-rising. 44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men: all these, men of valour. 45 And they turned and fled towards the wilderness to the cliff of Rimmon, and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them to Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. 46 So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men that drew the sword: all these, men of valour. 47 And six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to the cliff of Rimmon, and abode at the cliff 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, as well the men of [ every] city as the cattle, and all that was found; even all the cities that were found did they set on fire.

21

1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to the Benjaminites as wife. 2 And the people came to Bethel, and abode there till even before° 21.2 Elohim God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 3 and said, Jehovah, ° 21.3 Elohim God of Israel, why is it come to pass in Israel, that there should be this 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 up 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 with the congregation to Jehovah? For they had [ made] a great oath concerning him that came not up to Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall certainly be put to death. 6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, To-day is one tribe extirpated from Israel. 7 What shall we do for wives for them that remain? since we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters for wives. 8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpah to Jehovah? And behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-Gilead, to the congregation; 9 for the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there. 10 And the assembly sent thither twelve thousand men of the most valiant and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, and the women and the children. 11 And this is the thing which ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain with man. 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young women that were virgins, who had known no man by lying with any male, and they brought them to the camp, to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13 And the whole assembly sent to speak to the children of Benjamin that were at the cliff of Rimmon, and to proclaim peace to them. 14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them the wives whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead; but even so they found not enough for them. 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because Jehovah had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, What shall we do for wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin. 17 And they said, There must be a possession for those of Benjamin that have escaped, that a tribe be not blotted out of Israel. 18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to the Benjaminites! 19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, toward the sun-rising of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. 20 And they commanded the sons 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 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 to us, that we will say to them, Gratify us with them, because we did not take each man his wife in the war; for ye did not give them to them, that ye should now be guilty. 23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught; and they went and returned to 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 what was right in his own eyes.