~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ Now it happened after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” And Yahweh said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. So Judah went up, and Yahweh gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down 10,000 men at Bezek. Then they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and seized him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. Then the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the Negev and in the Shephelah. So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. Then from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). And Caleb said, “The one who strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” Then Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. Now it happened that when she came to him, she enticed him to ask her father for the field. Then she alighted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” And she said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the Negev, so you shall give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. Now the sons of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people. Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. And Judah captured Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. Now Yahweh was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak. But the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and Yahweh was with them. And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (now the name of the city was formerly Luz). Then the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will treat you with lovingkindness.” So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free. So the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day. But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its towns or Taanach and its towns or the inhabitants of Dor and its towns or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; so the Canaanites persisted to live in that land. And it happened when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them completely. Also Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor. Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them. Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them. Then the Amorites pressed the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; and the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph became heavy, and they became forced labor. Now the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done? “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’” So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to Yahweh. Then Joshua sent the people away, and the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who saw all the great work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel. Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died at the age of 110. And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know Yahweh or even the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals, and they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked Yahweh to anger. So they forsook Yahweh and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. And the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then Yahweh raised up judges who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges either, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of Yahweh; they did not do as their fathers. Now when Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Yahweh was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and suppressed them. But it happened when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has trespassed against My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer dispossess before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” So Yahweh allowed those nations to rest, not dispossessing them quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Now these are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; however, God tested them in order that the generations of the sons of Israel would know war, by learning war, especially those who had not known it formerly). These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. And they were for testing Israel, to know if they would obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. Now the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods. Thus the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and forgot Yahweh their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for the sons of Israel to save them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. So his hand was strong against Cushan-rishathaim. Then the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by his hand to Eglon the king of Moab. And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. And it happened when he had finished bringing the tribute near, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. But he himself turned back from the graven images which were at Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who stood by him left him. But Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. Then Ehud sent forth his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. Now he went out, and his servants came in and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is surely relieving himself in the cool room.” Then they waited until they were ashamed; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead. Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the graven images and escaped to Seirah. And it happened when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. Then he said to them, “Pursue them, for Yahweh has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab and did not allow anyone to cross. And they struck down at that time about 10,000 Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was quiet for eighty years. Now after him was Shamgar the son of Anath. And he struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Now Ehud had died. And Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh; for he had 900 iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. Then she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun? ‘And I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’” Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. Then Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and 10,000 men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. So Sisera called together all his chariots, 900 iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. And Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand; has not Yahweh gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his camp into confusion with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera came down from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and all those in the camp as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the camp of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one remained. Now Sisera fled away 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. And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. And he said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and asks of you and says, ‘Is there a man here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and placed a hammer in her hand and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. Now behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. And the hand of the sons of Israel went forth heavier and heavier against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin the king of Canaan.

~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, “When the leaders led in Israel, When the people volunteered, Bless Yahweh! “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! As for me, to Yahweh, I will sing; I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel. “O Yahweh, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, Even the clouds dripped water. “The mountains flowed at the presence of Yahweh, This Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the paths had ceased, So travelers went by roundabout paths. “The peasantry ceased; they ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel. “God chose new leaders; Then war was in the gates. Not a shield or a spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel. “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, The volunteers among the people; Bless Yahweh! “You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road—muse aloud! “At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places, There they shall commemorate the righteous deeds of Yahweh, The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel. Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates. “Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and take away your captives, O son of Abinoam. “Then survivors came down to the mighty ones; The people of Yahweh came down to me as warriors. “From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of a scribe. “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed at his heels; Among the divisions of Reuben There was great persistence of the heart. “Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great probings of the heart. “Gilead dwelt across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore, And dwelt by its landings. “Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death, And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. “The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; They took no gain of silver. “The stars fought from heaven; From their courses they fought against Sisera. “The river of Kishon swept them away, The ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. “Then the horses’ hoofs beat From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds. ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of Yahweh, ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants, Because they did not come to the help of Yahweh, To the help of Yahweh against the warriors.’ “Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent. “He asked for water, and she gave him milk; In a mighty bowl she brought him curds. “She sent forth her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. Then she beat Sisera; she smashed his head, And she crushed and pierced his temple. “Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell violently devastated. “Out of the window she looked and lamented, The mother of Sisera through the lattice, ‘Why does his chariot delay in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’ “Her wise princesses would answer her, Indeed she repeats her words to herself, ‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil? A maiden, two maidens for every mighty man; To Sisera a spoil of dyed work, A spoil of dyed work embroidered, Dyed work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoil?’ “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Yahweh; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” And the land was quiet for forty years.

~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh; and Yahweh gave them into the hands of Midian seven years. And the power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. And it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would go up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go up against them. So they would camp against them and ruin the produce of the earth as far as Gaza and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. For they would go up with their livestock and their tents; they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to make it a ruin. So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh. Now it happened when the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh on account of Midian, that Yahweh sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. ‘I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors and drove them out before you and gave you their land, and I said to you, “I am Yahweh your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not listened to My voice.” ’ ” Then the angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to preserve it from the Midianites. And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, O mighty man of valor.” Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His wondrous deeds which our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Then Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” But he said to Him, “O Lord, with what shall I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But Yahweh said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike down Midian as one man.” So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your eyes, then do a sign for me that it is You who speak with me. “Please do not depart from here until I come back to You, and I bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.” So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to him under the oak and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock and pour out the broth.” And he did so. Then the angel of Yahweh put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of Yahweh went away from before his eyes. And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh, so he said, “Alas, O Lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face.” And Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and named it Yahweh is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Now it happened on the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it, and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as Yahweh had spoken to him; and now it happened that because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. Then the men of the city arose early in the morning, and behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built. And they said to one another, “Who did this thing?” And when they searched about and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.” Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? Whoever will contend for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has torn down his altar.” Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar. Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east assembled themselves; and they crossed over and camped in the valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them. Then Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.” And it was so. Indeed he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece. And he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” And God did so that night. So it was dry only on the fleece, but dew was on all the ground.

~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel honor themselves, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ “So now, come, call out in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Then Yahweh said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it will be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set him aside by himself, and so also everyone who kneels to drink.” Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will save you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his place.” So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. Now it happened the same night that Yahweh said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. “But if you are afraid to go down, then both you and Purah your young man, go down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened, that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his young man down to the outskirts of the armed men that were in the camp. Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Then Gideon came, and behold, a man was recounting a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” And his friend answered and said, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” Now it happened that when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, I will come to the outskirts of the camp, and it will be that just as I do so you do likewise. “And I and all who are with me will blow the trumpet. Then you also shall blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon.’” So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set up the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and called out, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” And each stood in his place around the camp. Then all of the camp ran, and they made a loud shout and fled. So they blew 300 trumpets. And Yahweh set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole camp. And the camp fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. Now Gideon had sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to meet Midian and capture the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. Then they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they strongly contended with him. But he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? “God has given the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he spoke this word. Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing. And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” But the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?” And Gideon said, “Thus, when Yahweh has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash your bodies with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” So he went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.” Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of the entire camp of the sons of the east; for the fallen were 120,000 men who drew the sword. And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. Then Zebah and Zalmunna fled. And he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw the whole camp into utter fright. Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. And he captured a youth from the men of Succoth and questioned him. So the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you reproached me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’” Then he took the elders of the city as well as thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson. And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.” And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and smite us; for as the man, so is his might.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks. Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Yahweh shall rule over you.” Yet Gideon said to them, “I would make one request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.” (For they had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) And they said, “We will surely give them.” So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks. Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon. Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. Then Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Then it happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel turned back and played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show lovingkindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.

~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and spoke to them and to the whole family of the household of his mother’s father, saying, “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.” And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our relative.” So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him. Then he came to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar which was in Shechem. Then they told Jotham, so he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you. “The trees surely went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness, with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good produce and go to wave over the trees?’ “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which makes God and men glad, and go to wave over the trees?’ “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ “And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’ “So now, if you have dealt in truth and integrity and made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house and have dealt with him according to the bountiful works of his hands— for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian; but you have risen against my father’s house today and have killed his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative— if then you have dealt in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, be glad in Abimelech, and let him also be glad in you. “But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem and from Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.” Then Jotham escaped and fled and went to Beer and remained there because of Abimelech his brother. And Abimelech governed over Israel three years. Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. And the lords of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who might pass by them along the road; and it was told to Abimelech. Then Gaal the son of Ebed came with his relatives, and they crossed over into Shechem; and the lords of Shechem put their trust in him. And they went out into the field and gathered the grapes of their vineyards and trod them and celebrated a festival; and they came into the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. Then 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 is Zebul not his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? “Would, therefore, that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.” Then Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger burned. And he sent messengers to Abimelech deceitfully, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his relatives have come to Shechem; and behold, they are stirring up the city against you. “So now, arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field. “And it will be in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and behold, he and the people who are with him will come out against you, and you shall do to them whatever your hand finds pleasing.” So Abimelech and all the people who were with him arose by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and the people who were with him arose from the ambush. Then Gaal saw the people and said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.” Yet Gaal spoke again and said, “Behold, people are coming down from the highest part of the land, and one company comes by the way of the soothsayers’ oak.” Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your boasting now with which you said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people whom you rejected? Go out now and fight with them!” So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him; and many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate. Then Abimelech remained at Arumah, but Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives so that they could not remain in Shechem. Now it happened the next day, that the people went out to the field, and it was told to Abimelech. So he took his people and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the field; then he looked, and behold, the people were coming out from the city. So he arose against them and struck them down. Then Abimelech and the company who was with him rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the city gate; but the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and struck them down. So Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people who were in it; then he tore the city down and sowed it with salt. Then all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard of it, and they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. And it was told to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees and lifted it and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do likewise.” And all the people also cut down each one his branch and followed Abimelech and put them on the inner chamber and set the inner chamber on fire over those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem also died, about one thousand men and women. Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he camped against Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower in the center of the city, and all the men and women with all the lords of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up on the roof of the tower. So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and she smashed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and put me to death, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man pierced him through, and he died. Then the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, so each went away to his home. Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their own heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ Then after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir. After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. And Jair died and was buried in Kamon. Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him. So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. And they shattered and smashed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they did this to all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. Then the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed. And the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” Then Yahweh said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? “Also the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you. And you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hand. “Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Then the sons of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned, so You, do to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only please deliver us this day.” So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and He could bear the trouble of Israel no longer. Then the sons of Ammon were summoned, and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. And the people, the princes of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead became the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him. Now it happened after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. So it happened that as the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.” Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and Yahweh gives them up to me, will I become your head?” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh is witness between us; surely we will do as you have said.” Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah. And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” Then the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; so now, return them peaceably.” But Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon, and they said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon. ‘For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel remained at Kadesh. ‘Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and came to the east toward the sunrise of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. ‘And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.” ‘But Sihon did not believe Israel to allow them to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel. ‘Then Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them down; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. ‘So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan. ‘So now Yahweh, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel. Are you then to possess it? ‘Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever Yahweh our God has taken possession of before us, we will possess it. ‘So now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever fight against them? ‘While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns and in Aroer and its towns and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them for yourself within that time? ‘I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me evil by making war against me; may Yahweh, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.’” But the king of the sons of Ammon did not listen to the words which Jephthah sent him. Now the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. And he struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. So it happened that when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me. But I have opened my mouth to vow to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” So she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to vow to Yahweh; do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. And it happened at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she did not know a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ Then the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon, but did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you.” Then Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the sons of Ammon. And I cried out to you, but you did not save me from their hand. “And I saw that you would not save me, so I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and Yahweh gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim down because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim. And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. Then Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him. And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem. Then Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; and he judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel after him. And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel eight years. Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so that Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. Then the angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall be with child and give birth to a son. “So now, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. “For behold, you shall be with child and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. “And he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall be with child and give birth to a son, so now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, and you shall not eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” Then Manoah entreated Yahweh and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may instruct us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, and she said to him, “Behold, the man who came the other day to me has appeared to me.” Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” So Manoah said, “Now your words will come to pass. What shall be the judgment governing the boy and his work?” So the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Let the woman be careful in all that I said. “She should not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her keep all that I commanded.” Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “Please let us delay you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.” And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Though you delay me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to Yahweh.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of Yahweh. Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?” But the angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to Yahweh, and He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on. Indeed, it happened when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife saw this, so they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of Yahweh did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh. So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh had desired to put us to death, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.” Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up, and Yahweh blessed him. And the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
	
~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back up and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; so now, take her for me as a wife.” But his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Take her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” However, his father and mother did not know that it was of Yahweh, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him mightily, so that he tore it as one tears a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. So he went down and spoke to the woman; and she was right in the eyes of Samson. Then he returned later to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. Then he went to his father and mother, and he gave some to them, and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion. Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. Now it happened that when they saw him, they took thirty companions to be with him. Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes. “But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.” So he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” But they could not tell the riddle in three days. Then it happened on the fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?” So Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?” However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle.” Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. But Samson’s wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.

~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ Now it happened that after a while, in the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter. And her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please let her be yours instead.” Samson then said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. Then he set fire to the torches and sent the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. So he caused both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves, to burn. Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. Then Samson said to them, “If you act like this, then I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will cease.” And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam. Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and spread out in Lehi. So the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you yourselves will not kill me.” So they said to him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not put you to death.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he sent forth his hand and took it and struck down 1,000 men with it. Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down 1,000 men.” Now it happened that when he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi. Then he became very thirsty, and he called to Yahweh and said, “You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your slave, but now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi and water came out of it. Then he drank, and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
		
~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in to her. And it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” so they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and seized the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and brought them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron. Now it happened afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.” Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in wait, sitting in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tinder snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was still not known. Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used for work, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Now the men lying in wait were sitting in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread. Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web [and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” Now it happened when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like every other man.” And Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, so she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the silver in their hands. Then she made him sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that Yahweh had left him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off. Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to be glad; and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.” Then the people saw him and praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has slain many of us.” So it happened when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. Then Samson called to Yahweh and said, “O Lord Yahweh, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house was established and supported himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with his strength so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he put to death by his death were more than those whom he put to death in his life. Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, carried him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.

~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and spoke of it in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; it was I who took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” And he then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly set apart the silver from my hand as holy to Yahweh for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; so now I will return them to you.” So he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith. And he made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols and ordained one of his sons, and he became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. And there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was sojourning there. Then the man went from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to sojourn wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn wherever I may find a place.” Micah then said to him, “Remain with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. And the Levite was willing to remain with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. So Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will prosper me because I have a Levite as priest.”
		
~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day the land among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them as an inheritance. So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. They were near the house of Micah, and they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” And he said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” And they said to him, “Ask of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” So the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going is before Yahweh.” Then the five men went forth and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no oppressive conqueror dishonoring them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. So they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you be silent? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. “When you enter, you will come to a secure people and a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.” Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war set out. And they went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. Then they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. And the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their relatives, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a molten image? So now, know what you should do.” Then they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. Now the 600 men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were standing by the entrance of the gate. Then the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image. And the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. Now these had entered into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” And they said to him, “Be silent; put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” And the priest’s heart was merry, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and entered among the people. Then they turned and went away and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. They had gone some distance from the house of Micah, and the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were summoned and then overtook the sons of Dan. And they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you were summoned together?” And he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men, bitter of soul, fall upon you and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.” So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. Now they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. And there was no one to deliver them because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. Then the sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.

~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ Now it happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah and was there for a period of four months. Then her husband arose and went after her to speak to her heart in order to bring her back, and his young man was with him as well as a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house, and the girl’s father saw him and was glad to meet him. And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. Now it happened on the fourth day that they got up early in the morning, and he arose to go; and the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Sustain yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be willing to spend the night, and let your heart be merry.” Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law pressed him so that he turned back and spent the night there. And on the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl’s father said, “Please sustain yourself and wait until afternoon”; so both of them ate. Then the man arose to go along with his concubine and young man, and his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go to your tent.” But the man was not willing to spend the night, so he arose and went and came to a place before Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. They were alongside of Jebus, and the day was almost gone. And the young man said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will pass on by until Gibeah.” Then he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. Then they turned aside there in order to enter and to spend the night in Gibeah. So they entered and sat down in the open square of the city. Now no one was taking them into his house to spend the night. But behold, an old man was coming from his work, from the field, at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to the house of Yahweh, and no man is taking me into his house. “Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” Then the old man said, “Peace be to you. Only let me take care of all that you lack; however, do not spend the night in the open square.” So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank. They were making their hearts merry, and behold, the men of the city, certain vile fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may know him.” Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not do evil. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this disgraceful act. “Behold, my daughter who is a virgin, and his concubine—please let me bring them out that you may violate them and do to them whatever is good in your eyes. But do not commit such a disgraceful act against this man.” But the men were not willing to listen to him. So the man took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them; and they knew her and abused her all night until morning, and they let her go at the breaking of dawn. As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight. Then her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, and behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. And he said to her, “Get up and let us go,” but there was no answer. Then he took her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his home. Then he entered his house and took a knife and took hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. And all who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it; take counsel and speak up!”

~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to Yahweh at Mizpah. And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who draw the sword. (Then the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil take place?” So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. “Then the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they violated my concubine, and she died. “And I seized my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. “Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here.” Then all the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us turn aside to his house. “But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. “And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 in order to take up provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do to them according to all the disgraceful acts that they have done in Israel.” Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man. Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has taken place among you? “So now, give up the men, the vile fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge this evil from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. Then the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. And from the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered, 700 choice men. Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. And the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war. Then the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked of God and said, “Who shall go up for us to begin the battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then Yahweh said, “Judah shall begin it.” So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arranged themselves for battle against them at Gibeah. Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel. But the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and arranged themselves for battle again in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day. And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until evening and asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall we again approach for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And Yahweh said, “Go up against him.” Then the sons of Israel drew near to the sons of Benjamin the second day. And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day and destroyed to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword. Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before Yahweh and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh. Then the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh (now the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And Yahweh said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.” So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times. So the sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike and slay some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. The sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at the first.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways.” Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush burst forth of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle became heavy; but Benjamin did not know that calamity was about to reach them. Then Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who drew the sword. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. Now the men of Israel had given ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. So the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah. Then the men in ambush deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. So the men of Israel had turned around in the battle, and Benjamin had begun to strike and slay about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” But the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, and Benjamin turned behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned around again, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that calamity had reached them. Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trod them down opposite Gibeah to the east toward the sunrise. Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant men. And the rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 of them. So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword; all these were valiant men. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. Now the men of Israel returned to the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. And they said, “Why, O Yahweh, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today from Israel?” Now it happened the next day that the people arose early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. “What shall we do for wives for those who are left? But we have sworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our daughters in marriage.” So they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. Indeed the people were numbered, but behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. And the congregation sent 12,000 of the men of valor there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. “Now this is the thing that you shall do: you shall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.” And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and called out peace to them. Then Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they did not find enough for them. And the people were sorry for Benjamin because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” And they said, “There must be a possession for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. “But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.” So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. “And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we shall say to them, ‘Be gracious to us concerning them because we did not take for each man of Benjamin a wife in the battle, and you did not give your daughters to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’” And the sons of Benjamin did so and carried away wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they stole away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. Then the sons of Israel went away from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
