United Public Domain Gold 2/United Public Domain Gold 2.iso/religious/rel002.dms/rel002.adf/Judg8-14/Judg8-14

Text File | 1990-12-27 | 35KB | 652 lines

 8:1  And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou
served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to
fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
 8:2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison
of you? [Is] not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better
than the vintage of Abiezer?
 8:3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian,
Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
 8:4  And Gideon came to Jordan, [and] passed over, he, and the
three hundred men that [were] with him, faint, yet pursuing
[them].
 8:5  And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you,
loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be]
faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of
Midian.
 8:6  And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebah
and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto
thine army?
 8:7  And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered
Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh
with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
 8:8  And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them
likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of
Succoth had answered [him].
 8:9  And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I
come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
 8:10  Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their hosts
with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of
all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an
hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
 8:11  And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in
tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host:
for the host was secure.
 8:12  And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them,
and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
discomfited all the host.
 8:13  And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before
the sun [was up],
 8:14  And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and
inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of
Succoth, and the elders thereof, [even] threescore and
seventeen men.
 8:15  And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold
Zebah and Zalmunna with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, [Are]
the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we
should give bread unto thy men [that are] weary?
 8:16  And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth.
 8:17  And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men
of the city.
 8:18  Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men
[were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou
[art], so [were] they; each one resembled the children of a
king.
 8:19  And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of
my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I
would not slay you.
 8:20  And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, [and] slay
them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because
he [was] yet a youth.
 8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon
us: for as the man [is, so is] his strength. And Gideon arose,
and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that
[were] on their camels' necks.
 8:22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over
us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou
hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
 8:23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,
neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over
you.
 8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of
you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey.
(For they had golden earrings, because they [were]
Ishmaelites.)
 8:25  And they answered, We will willingly give [them]. And
they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the
earrings of his prey.
 8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested
was a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold; beside
ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that [was] on the
kings of Midian, and beside the chains that [were] about their
camels' necks.
 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his
city, [even] in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring
after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
 8:28  Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel,
so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was
in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
 8:29  And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own
house.
 8:30  And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body
begotten: for he had many wives.
 8:31  And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare
him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
 8:32  And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and
was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
 8:33  And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that
the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after
Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
 8:34  And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their
God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their
enemies on every side:
 8:35  Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal,
[namely], Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had
showed unto Israel.
 9:1  And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto
his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the
family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
 9:2  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem,
Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over
you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I [am] your
bone and your flesh.
 9:3  And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all
the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined
to follow Abimelech; for they said, He [is] our brother.
 9:4  And they gave him threescore and ten [pieces] of silver
out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain
and light persons, which followed him.
 9:5  And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew
his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, [being] threescore and ten
persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the
youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
 9:6  And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the
house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain
of the pillar that [was] in Shechem.
 9:7  And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in
the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried,
and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that
God may hearken unto you.
 9:8  The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over
them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
 9:9  But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my
fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be
promoted over the trees?
 9:10  And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and]
reign over us.
 9:11  But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my
sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
 9:12  Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and]
reign over us.
 9:13  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine,
which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
 9:14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou,
[and] reign over us.
 9:15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye
anoint me king over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my
shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and
devour the cedars of Lebanon.
 9:16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in
that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well
with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according
to the deserving of his hands;
 9:17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life
far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
 9:18  And ye are risen up against my father's house this day,
and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one
stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant,
king over the men of Shechem, because he [is] your brother;)
 9:19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal
and with his house this day, [then] rejoice ye in Abimelech,
and let him also rejoice in you:
 9:20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour
the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come
out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and
devour Abimelech.
 9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and
dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
 9:22  When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
 9:23  Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with
Abimelech:
 9:24  That the cruelty [done] to the threescore and ten sons
of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech
their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem,
which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
 9:25  And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the
top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that
way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
 9:26  And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and
went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their
confidence in him.
 9:27  And they went out into the fields, and gathered their
vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made merry, and went
into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed
Abimelech.
 9:28  And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who [is] Abimelech, and
who [is] Shechem, that we should serve him? [is] not [he] the
son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor
the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
 9:29  And would to God this people were under my hand! then
would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase
thine army, and come out.
 9:30  And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of
Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
 9:31  And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying,
Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to
Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.
 9:32  Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that [is]
with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
 9:33  And it shall be, [that] in the morning, as soon as the
sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and,
behold, [when] he and the people that [is] with him come out
against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find
occasion.
 9:34  And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that [were]
with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four
companies.
 9:35  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the
entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and
the people that [were] with him, from lying in wait.
 9:36  And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold,
there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul
said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as [if
they were] men.
 9:37  And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people
down by the middle of the land, and another company come along
by the plain of Meonenim.
 9:38  Then said Zebul unto him, Where [is] now thy mouth,
wherewith thou saidst, Who [is] Abimelech, that we should serve
him? [is] not this the people that thou hast despised? go out,
I pray now, and fight with them.
 9:39  And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought
with Abimelech.
 9:40  And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and
many were overthrown [and] wounded, [even] unto the entering of
the gate.
 9:41  And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal
and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
 9:42  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went
out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
 9:43  And he took the people, and divided them into three
companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold,
the people [were] come forth out of the city; and he rose up
against them, and smote them.
 9:44  And Abimelech, and the company that [was] with him,
rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the
city: and the two [other] companies ran upon all [the people]
that [were] in the fields, and slew them.
 9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and
he took the city, and slew the people that [was] therein, and
beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
 9:46  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard
[that], they entered into an hold of the house of the god
Berith.
 9:47  And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower
of Shechem were gathered together.
 9:48  And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the
people that [were] with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his
hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and
laid [it] on his shoulder, and said unto the people that [were]
with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, [and] do as I
[have done].
 9:49  And all the people likewise cut down every man his
bough, and followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and
set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the
tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
 9:50  Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against
Thebez, and took it.
 9:51  But there was a strong tower within the city, and
thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city,
and shut [it] to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.
 9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against
it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with
fire.
 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon
Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
 9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his
armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me,
that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man
thrust him through, and he died.
 9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,
they departed every man unto his place.
 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he
did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:
 9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render
upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the
son of Jerubbaal.
 10:1  And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola
the son of Puah the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he
dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
 10:2  And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died,
and was buried in Shamir.
 10:3  And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel
twenty and two years.
 10:4  And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts,
and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto
this day, which [are] in the land of Gilead.
 10:5  And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
 10:6  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of
Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the
gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines,
and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
 10:7  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he
sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands
of the children of Ammon.
 10:8  And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of
Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that [were]
on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which
[is] in Gilead.
 10:9  Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to
fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the
house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
 10:10  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying,
We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our
God, and also served Baalim.
 10:11  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, [Did]
not [I deliver you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites,
from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
 10:12  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the
Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered
you out of their hand.
 10:13  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods:
wherefore I will deliver you no more.
 10:14  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them
deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
 10:15  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have
sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;
deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
 10:16  And they put away the strange gods from among them, and
served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of
Israel.
 10:17  Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and
encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled
themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
 10:18  And the people [and] princes of Gilead said one to
another, What man [is he] that will begin to fight against the
children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of
Gilead.
 11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour,
and he [was] the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
 11:2  And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons
grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou
shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou [art] the son
of a strange woman.
 11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the
land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and
went out with him.
 11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the
children of Ammon made war against Israel.
 11:5  And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war
against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out
of the land of Tob:
 11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain,
that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
 11:7  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye
hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye
come unto me now when ye are in distress?
 11:8  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore
we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and
fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all
the inhabitants of Gilead.
 11:9  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring
me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the
LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD
be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
 11:11  Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the
people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah
uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
 11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the
children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that
thou art come against me to fight in my land?
 11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the
messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when
they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and
unto Jordan: now therefore restore those [lands] again
peaceably.
 11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the
children of Ammon:
 11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not
away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
 11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through
the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
 11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,
saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the
king of Edom would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner
they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not [consent]:
and Israel abode in Kadesh.
 11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and
compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by
the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other
side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for
Arnon [was] the border of Moab.
 11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the
Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us
pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
 11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast:
but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in
Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
 11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his
people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel
possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that
country.
 11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from
Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto
Jordan.
 11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the
Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou
possess it?
 11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth
thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out
from before us, them will we possess.
 11:25  And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son
of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or
did he ever fight against them,
 11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in
Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that [be] along by
the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye
not recover [them] within that time?
 11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou
doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge
this day between the children of Israel and the children of
Ammon.
 11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not
unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
 11:29  Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he
passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of
Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over [unto] the
children of Ammon.
 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If
thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine
hands,
 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the
doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the
children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer
it up for a burnt offering.
 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to
fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to
Minnith, [even] twenty cities, and unto the plain of the
vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of
Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and,
behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and
with dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he had
neither son nor daughter.
 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his
clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very
low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have
opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, [if] thou hast opened
thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath
proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken
vengeance for thee of thine enemies, [even] of the children of
Ammon.
 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done
for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon
the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away [for] two months:
and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity
upon the mountains.
 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she
returned unto her father, who did with her [according] to his
vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a
custom in Israel,
 11:40  [That] the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament
the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
 12:1  And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and
went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou
over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call
us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with
fire.
 12:2  And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at
great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you,
ye delivered me not out of their hands.
 12:3  And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life
in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and
the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye
come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
 12:4  Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead,
and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim,
because they said, Ye Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim
among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.
 12:5  And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before
the Ephraimites: and it was [so] that when those Ephraimites
which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead
said unto him, [Art] thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
 12:6  Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said
Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then
they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and
there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two
thousand.
 12:7  And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah
the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.
 12:8  And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
 12:9  And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, [whom] he
sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his
sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
 12:10  Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
 12:11  And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he
judged Israel ten years.
 12:12  And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon
in the country of Zebulun.
 12:13  And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite,
judged Israel.
 12:14  And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on
threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
 12:15  And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and
was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of
the Amalekites.
 13:1  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the
Philistines forty years.
 13:2  And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of
the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was]
barren, and bare not.
 13:3  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and
said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not:
but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
 13:4  Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine
nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:
 13:5  For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no
razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite
unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines.
 13:6  Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man
of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him
not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
 13:7  But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and
bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat
any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God
from the womb to the day of his death.
 13:8  Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let
the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and
teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
 13:9  And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel
of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but
Manoah her husband [was] not with her.
 13:10  And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her
husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto
me, that came unto me the [other] day.
 13:11  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to
the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest
unto the woman? And he said, I [am].
 13:12  And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How
shall we order the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?
 13:13  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that
I said unto the woman let her beware.
 13:14  She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
[thing]: all that I commanded her let her observe.
 13:15  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray
thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid
for thee.
 13:16  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou
detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer
a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah
knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD.
 13:17  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is]
thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee
honour?
 13:18  And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest
thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?
 13:19  So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered
[it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did
wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
 13:20  For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward
heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended
in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on
[it], and fell on their faces to the ground.
 13:21  But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah
and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the
LORD.
 13:22  And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die,
because we have seen God.
 13:23  But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to
kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat
offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all
these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such
things] as these.
 13:24  And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson:
and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
 13:25  And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times
in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in
Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and
said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there]
never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all
my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me;
for she pleaseth me well.
 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of
the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
 14:5  Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a
young lion roared against him.
 14:6  And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and
he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing
in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he
had done.
 14:7  And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she
pleased Samson well.
 14:8  And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned
aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was]
a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
 14:9  And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating,
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they
did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out
of the carcase of the lion.
 14:10  So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made
there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
 14:11  And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they
brought thirty companions to be with him.
 14:12  And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a
riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the
seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give
you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
 14:13  But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto
him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
 14:14  And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they
could not in three days expound the riddle.
 14:15  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said
unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare
unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house
with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? [is it] not
[so]?
 14:16  And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost
but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle
unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And
he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
 14:17  And she wept before him the seven days, while their
feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he
told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the
riddle to the children of her people.
 14:18  And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh
day before the sun went down, What [is] sweeter than honey? and
what [is] stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye
had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
 14:19  And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went
down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their
spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
father's house.
 14:20  But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he
had used as his friend.