BibleWare/BibWare.bin/bibtrans/darby.exe/JUD.DBY

Text File | 1996-06-12 | 103KB | 1,904 lines

1:1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua that the
 children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying, Which of us shall go
 up against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
1:2 And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have
 delivered the land into his hand.
1:3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into
 my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise
 will go with thee into thy lot; and Simeon went with him.
1:4 And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and
 the Perizzites into their hand, and they smote them in Bezek,
 ten thousand men.
1:5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him,
 and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
1:6 And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught
 him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
1:7 And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings, with their thumbs and
 their great toes cut off, gleaned under my table: as I have
 done, so God has requited me. And they brought him to
 Jerusalem, and there he died.
1:8 And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took
 it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city
 on fire.
1:9 And afterwards the children of Judah went down to fight
 against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the hill-country, and in
 the south, and in the lowland.
1:10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron
 -- the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; and they slew
 Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
1:11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir;
 now the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.
1:12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it,
 to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.
1:13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took
 it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
1:14 And it came to pass as she came, that she urged him to ask
 of her father the field; and she sprang down from the ass. And
 Caleb said to her, What wouldest thou?
1:15 And she said to him, Give me a blessing; for thou hast
 given me a southern land; give me also springs of water. And
 Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
1:16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, had
 gone up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of
 Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of
 Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.
1:17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the
 Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it;
 and they called the name of the city Hormah.
1:18 And Judah took Gazah and its border, and Ashkelon and its
 border, and Ekron and its border.
1:19 And Jehovah was with Judah; and he took possession of the
 hill-country, for he did not dispossess the inhabitants of the
 valley, because they had chariots of iron.
1:20 And they gave to Caleb Hebron, as Moses had said; and he
 dispossessed from thence the three sons of Anak.
1:21 And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the
 Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites
 dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
1:22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel;
 and Jehovah was with them.
1:23 And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the
 name of the city before was Luz.
1:24 And the guards saw a man come forth out of the city, and
 said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, how [we] may enter into
 the city, and we will shew thee kindness.
1:25 And he shewed them how to enter into the city. And they
 smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the
 man and all his family.
1:26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a
 city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
1:27 And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its
 dependent villages, nor Taanach and its dependent villages, nor
 the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, nor the
 inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent villages, nor the
 inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages; and the
 Canaanites would dwell in that land.
1:28 And it came to pass when Israel became strong, that they
 made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly
 dispossess them.
1:29 And Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites that dwelt in
 Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer.
1:30 Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron, nor
 the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among
 them, and became tributaries.
1:31 Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Accho, nor the
 inhabitants of Zidon, nor Ahlab, nor Achzib, nor Helbah, nor
 Aphik, nor Rehob;
1:32 and the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the
 inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them.
1:33 Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of
 Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; and he dwelt
 among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, but the
 inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became
 tributaries to them.
1:34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
 hill-country, for they would not suffer them to come down to
 the valley.
1:35 And the Amorites would dwell on mount Heres, in Ajalon and
 in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, and
 they became tributaries.
1:36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of
 Akrabbim, from the rock, and upwards.
2:1 And the Angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and
 said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to
 the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will
 never break my covenant with you; and as for you,
2:2 ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land;
 ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not hearkened
 unto my voice. Why have ye done this?
2:3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before
 you; but they shall be [scourges] in your sides, and their gods
 shall be a snare unto you.
2:4 And it came to pass, when the Angel of Jehovah spoke these
 words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up
 their voice and wept.
2:5 And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they
 sacrificed there to Jehovah.
2:6 And Joshua dismissed the people, and the children of Israel
 went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.
2:7 And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and
 all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after
 Joshua, who had seen all the great works of Jehovah, which he
 had done for Israel.
2:8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, a
 hundred and ten years old.
2:9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
 Timnath-Heres, in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the
 mountain of Gaash.
2:10 And also all that generation were gathered to their
 fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which
 knew not Jehovah, nor yet the works which he had done for
 Israel.
2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of
 Jehovah, and served the Baals.
2:12 And they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who had
 brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and followed other
 gods of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and
 bowed themselves to them, and provoked Jehovah to anger.
2:13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the
 Ashtoreths.
2:14 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he
 delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them,
 and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about;
 and they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
2:15 Whithersoever they went out the hand of Jehovah was against
 them for evil, as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had sworn
 unto them; and they were greatly distressed.
2:16 And Jehovah raised up judges, and they saved them out of
 the hand of those that spoiled them.
2:17 But they did not even hearken to their judges, for they
 went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves to them;
 they turned quickly out of the way that their fathers had
 walked in, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; they did not
 so.
2:18 And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was
 with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies
 all the days of the judge; for it repented Jehovah because of
 their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and
 crushed them.
2:19 And it came to pass when the judge died, that they turned
 back and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in
 following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them:
 they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn
 way.
2:20 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he
 said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I
 commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice,
2:21 I also will not henceforth dispossess from before them any
 of the nations that Joshua left when he died;
2:22 that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will
 keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did
 keep [it], or not.
2:23 Therefore Jehovah left those nations, without dispossessing
 them hastily, neither delivered he them into the hand of
 Joshua.
3:1 And these are the nations that Jehovah left, to prove Israel
 by them, all that had not known all the wars of Canaan;
3:2 only that the generations of the children of Israel might
 know war by learning it, at the least those who before had
 known nothing thereof:
3:3 five lord ships of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites,
 and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwell on mount Lebanon;
 from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
3:4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they
 would obey the commandments of Jehovah, which he commanded
 their fathers by the hand of Moses.
3:5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites:
 Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivites and Jebusites;
3:6 and they took their daughters as wives, and gave their
 daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah,
 and forgot Jehovah their God, and served the Baals and the
 Asherahs.
3:8 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold
 them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia;
 and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight
 years.
3:9 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; and Jehovah
 raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them,
 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
3:10 And the Spirit of Jehovah was upon him, and he judged
 Israel; and he went out to war, and Jehovah gave
 Chushan-rishathaim king of Syria into his hand; and his hand
 prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim.
3:11 And the land had rest forty years; and Othniel the son of
 Kenaz died.
3:12 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
 Jehovah; and Jehovah strengthened Eglon the king of Moab
 against Israel, because they did evil in the sight of Jehovah.
3:13 And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek and
 went and smote Israel, and they took possession of the city of
 palm-trees.
3:14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab
 eighteen years.
3:15 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah
 raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the
 Benjaminite, a man left-handed. And by him the children of
 Israel sent a gift to Eglon king of Moab.
3:16 And Ehud made him a sword having two edges, it was of a
 cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right
 hip.
3:17 And he brought the gift to Eglon king of Moab; now Eglon
 was a very fat man.
3:18 And it came to pass when he had ended offering the gift, he
 sent away the people that had borne the gift.
3:19 But he turned from the graven images that were by Gilgal,
 and said, I have a secret word unto thee, O king. And he said,
 Be silent! And all that stood by him went out from him.
3:20 And Ehud came to him; now he was sitting in the cool
 upper-chamber, which was for him alone. And Ehud said, I have a
 word from God unto thee. And he arose from the seat.
3:21 Then Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from
 his right hip, and thrust it into his belly;
3:22 and the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat
 closed upon the blade; for he did not draw the sword out of his
 belly, and it came out between the legs.
3:23 And Ehud went out into the portico, and shut the doors of
 the upper-chamber upon him, and bolted them.
3:24 And when he was gone out, the servants of the [king] came
 and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper-chamber were
 bolted. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the
 summer chamber.
3:25 And they waited till they were ashamed; and behold, he
 opened not the doors of the upper-chamber, and they took the
 key, and opened [them], and behold, their lord lay dead on the
 earth.
3:26 And Ehud had escaped while they lingered, and passed beyond
 the graven images, and escaped to Seirah.
3:27 And it came to pass when he was come, that he blew a
 trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the children of
 Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before
 them.
3:28 And he said to them, Follow after me, for Jehovah has
 delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they
 went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan toward
 Moab, and suffered no one to pass over.
3:29 And they slew the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand
 men, all fat, and all men of valour, and not a man escaped.
3:30 And Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And
 the land had rest eighty years.
3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath; and he smote
 the Philistines, six hundred men, with an ox-goad. And he also
 delivered Israel.
4:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
 Jehovah; now Ehud was dead.
4:2 And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan,
 who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army was Sisera,
 who dwelt in Harosheth-Goim.
4:3 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah; for he had nine
 hundred chariots of iron, and he mightily oppressed the
 children of Israel twenty years.
4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged
 Israel at that time.
4:5 And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah
 and Bethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up
 to her for judgment.
4:6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of
 Kedesh-Naphtali, and said to him, Hath not Jehovah the God of
 Israel commanded? Go and draw towards mount Tabor, and take
 with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of
 the children of Zebulun,
4:7 and I will draw unto thee, to the torrent Kishon, Sisera,
 the captain of Jabin's army, and his chariots and his
 multitude, and I will give him into thy hand.
4:8 And Barak said to her, If thou goest with me, then I will
 go, but if thou goest not with me, I will not go.
4:9 And she said, I will by all means go with thee, only that it
 will not be to thine honour upon the way which thou goest, for
 Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah
 arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
4:10 And Barak called together Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh;
 and there went up at his feet ten thousand men; and Deborah
 went up with him.
4:11 (Now Heber the Kenite had severed himself from the Kenites,
 from the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had
 pitched his tent as far as the oak of Zaannaim, which is by
 Kedesh.)
4:12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone
 up to mount Tabor.
4:13 Then Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine
 hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with
 him, from Harosheth-Goim to the torrent Kishon.
4:14 And Deborah said to Barak, Up; for this is the day in which
 Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand! Is not Jehovah gone
 out before thee? And Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten
 thousand men after him.
4:15 And Jehovah discomfited Sisera, and all the chariots, and
 all the army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and
 Sisera got down from [his] chariot, and fled on foot.
4:16 And Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army,
 to Harosheth-Goim; and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge
 of the sword; not one was left.
4:17 And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of
 Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of
 Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in,
 my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And he turned in to her, into
 the tent, and she covered him with the quilt.
4:19 And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to
 drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened the flask of milk, and
 gave him drink, and covered him.
4:20 And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it
 shall be if any one come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there
 any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
4:21 And Jael Heber's wife took a tent-pin, and took the hammer
 in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his
 temples, and it penetrated into the ground; for he had fallen
 into a deep sleep and was faint; and he died.
4:22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet
 him, and said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom
 thou seekest. And he went into her [tent], and behold, Sisera
 lay dead, and the pin was in his temples.
4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the
 children of Israel.
4:24 And the hand of the children of Israel ever advanced, and
 prevailed against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had cut off
 Jabin king of Canaan.
5:1 Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that
 day, saying,
5:2 For that leaders led in Israel, For that the people
 willingly offered themselves, Bless Jehovah!
5:3 Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, [even] I, will sing
 to Jehovah; I will hymn to Jehovah the God of Israel.
5:4 Jehovah, when thou wentest forth from Seir, When thou
 marchedst out of the fields of Edom, The earth trembled, and
 the heavens dropped, Yea, the clouds dropped water.
5:5 The mountains quaked before the face of Jehovah, That Sinai,
 from before Jehovah the God of Israel.
5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of
 Jael, The roads were unused, and the travellers on highways
 went by crooked paths.
5:7 The villages ceased in Israel, Ceased until that I Deborah
 arose, That I arose a mother in Israel.
5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: Was there a
 shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
5:9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, who offered
 themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah!
5:10 Ye that ride on white she-asses, ye that sit on carpets,
 and ye that walk by the way, consider.
5:11 Because of the voice of those who divide [the spoil] in the
 midst of the places of drawing water; There they rehearse the
 righteous acts of Jehovah, His righteous acts toward his
 villages in Israel. Then the people of Jehovah went down to the
 gates.
5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, utter a song! Arise,
 Barak, and lead captive thy captives, thou son of Abinoam!
5:13 Then come down, thou, the remnant of nobles, [as his]
 people; Jehovah! come down with me in the midst of the mighty
 ones.
5:14 Out of Ephraim [came] those whose root was in Amalek; After
 thee was Benjamin among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down
 governors, And out of Zebulun they that handled the staff of
 the ruler.
5:15 And the princes in Issachar were with Deborah; And
 Issachar, like Barak; They were sent into the valley at his
 feet. In the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of
 heart!
5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the bleating
 of the flocks? In the divisions of Reuben there were great
 deliberations of heart!
5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan; And Dan, why did he remain in
 ships? Asher sat on the sea-shore, And abode in his creeks.
5:18 Zebulun is a people [that] jeoparded their lives unto
 death, Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
5:19 Kings came, -- they fought; Then fought the kings of
 Canaan; At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no
 spoil of silver.
5:20 From heaven was the fight; The stars from their courses
 fought with Sisera.
5:21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient
 torrent, the torrent Kishon. My soul, thou hast trodden down
 strength!
5:22 Then did the horse-hoofs clatter with the coursings, The
 coursings of their steeds.
5:23 Curse Meroz, saith the Angel of Jehovah; Curse, curse the
 inhabitants thereof; For they came not to the help of Jehovah,
 To the help of Jehovah among the mighty.
5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite
 be, Blessed above women in the tent!
5:25 He asked water, she gave milk; In the nobles' bowl she
 brought forth cream.
5:26 She put her hand to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the
 workmen's hammer; And she smote Sisera, she struck through his
 head, Shattered and pierced through his temples.
5:27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: Between
 her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell,
 overcome.
5:28 Them other of Sisera looketh out at the window, And crieth
 through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why
 tarry the trampings of his chariots?
5:29 The wise amongst her ladies answer [her], Yea, she
 returneth answer to herself,
5:30 Have they not found, divided the booty, A damsel, two
 damsels, to each? A booty of dyed stuffs for Sisera, A booty of
 dyed stuffs of embroidery, Dyed stuff of double embroidery for
 the neck of a spoiler?
5:31 So let all thine enemies perish, Jehovah! But let them that
 love him be as the rising of the sun in its might. And the land
 had rest forty years.
6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah;
 and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of
 the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the
 dens that are in the mountains, and the caves, and the
 strongholds.
6:3 And it came to pass when Israel sowed, that Midian came up,
 and Amalek, and the children of the east, and came up against
 them.
6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of
 the land, until thou come to Gazah, and they left no sustenance
 in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they
 came as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were
 without number; and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian. And
 the children of Israel cried to Jehovah.
6:7 And it came to pass when the children of Israel cried to
 Jehovah because of Midian,
6:8 that Jehovah sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who
 said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I brought
 you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of
 bondage;
6:9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
 out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out
 from before you, and gave you their land,
6:10 and I said to you, I am Jehovah your God; fear not the gods
 of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not
 hearkened to my voice.
6:11 And an angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth
 that was in Ophrah, that [belonged] to Joash the Abi-ezrite.
 And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure
 [it] from the Midianites.
6:12 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him,
 Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
6:13 And Gideon said to him, Ah my Lord, if Jehovah be with us,
 why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his
 miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah
 bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and
 given us into the hand of Midian.
6:14 And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy
 might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have
 not I sent thee?
6:15 And he said to him, Ah Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?
 behold, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the
 least in my father's house.
6:16 And Jehovah said to him, I will certainly be with thee; and
 thou shalt smite Midian as one man.
6:17 And he said to him, If now I have found favour in thine
 eyes, shew me a sign that it is thou who talkest with me.
6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and
 bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I
 will tarry until thou come again.
6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and
 an ephah of flour in unleavened cakes: the flesh he put in a
 basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to
 him under the terebinth, and presented it.
6:20 And the Angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the
 unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the
 broth. And he did so.
6:21 And the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff
 that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened
 cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the
 flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the Angel of Jehovah
 departed out of his sight.
6:22 And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of Jehovah; and
 Gideon said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! for because I have seen an
 angel of Jehovah face to face ...
6:23 And Jehovah said to him, Peace be unto thee: fear not; thou
 shalt not die.
6:24 And Gideon built there an altar to Jehovah, and called it
 Jehovah-shalom. To this day it is yet in Ophrah of the
 Abi-ezrites.
6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to
 him, Take the young bullock, which thy father hath, even the
 second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of
 Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by
 it;
6:26 and build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this
 strong place in the ordered manner, and take the second
 bullock, and offer up a burnt-offering with the wood of the
 Asherah that thou shalt cut down.
6:27 And Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah
 had said to him. And it came to pass, because he feared his
 father's house, and the men of the city, if he did it by day,
 that he did it by night.
6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning,
 behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was
 cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered up
 upon the altar that was built.
6:29 And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And
 when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of
 Joash has done this thing.
6:30 And the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son,
 that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal,
 and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.
6:31 And Joash said to all that stood near him, Will *ye*
 contend for Baal? or will *ye* save him? he that contends for
 him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning. If he be
 a god, let him plead for himself, because they have broken down
 his altar.
6:32 And on that day they called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal
 plead with him, because he has broken down his altar.
6:33 And all Midian and Amalek and the children of the east were
 gathered together, and went over, and encamped in the valley of
 Jezreel.
6:34 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon, and he blew the
 trumpet, and the Abi-ezrites were gathered after him.
6:35 And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also
 were gathered after him; and he sent messengers to Asher, and
 to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
6:36 And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my
 hand, as thou hast said,
6:37 behold, I put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if
 dew shall be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the
 ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my
 hand, as thou hast said.
6:38 And it was so. And when he rose up early on the morrow, he
 pressed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, a
 bowl-full of water.
6:39 And Gideon said to God, Let not thine anger be hot against
 me, and I will speak but this once! Let me prove, I pray thee,
 but this once with the fleece; let it, I pray thee, be dry upon
 the fleece only, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
6:40 And God did so that night, and it was dry upon the fleece
 only, but on all the ground there was dew.
7:1 And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, arose early, and all the
 people that were with him, and they encamped beside the spring
 Harod; and he had the camp of Midian on the north by the hill
 of Moreh in the valley.
7:2 And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee
 are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel
 vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved
 me.
7:3 And now proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever
 is timid and afraid, let him go back and turn from mount
 Gilead. And there went back of the people twenty-two thousand;
 and there remained ten thousand.
7:4 And Jehovah said to Gideon, Still the people are many; bring
 them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there, and
 it shall be, that of whom I shall say unto thee, This shall go
 with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I
 shall say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same
 shall not go.
7:5 And he brought down the people to the water; and Jehovah
 said to Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his
 tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;
 likewise every one that boweth down on his knees to drink.
7:6 And the number of them that lapped, with their hand to their
 mouth, were three hundred men; and all the rest of the people
 bowed down on their knees to drink water.
7:7 And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that
 lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let
 all the people go every man to his place.
7:8 And they took the victuals of the people in their hand, and
 their trumpets; and all the men of Israel he sent away, every
 man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. Now the
 camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
7:9 And it came to pass in that night, that Jehovah said to him,
 Arise, go down to the camp; for I have given it into thy hand.
7:10 And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy
 servant down to the camp;
7:11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thy
 hand be strengthened, and thou shalt go down unto the camp. And
 he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the
 armed men that were in the camp.
7:12 And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east lay
 along in the valley as locusts for multitude; and their camels
 were without number, as the sand upon the sea-shore for
 multitude.
7:13 And Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to
 his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a
 cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came
 to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and
 the tent lay along.
7:14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save
 the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, the man of Israel: God
 hath given into his hand Midian and all the host.
7:15 And it came to pass when Gideon heard the telling of the
 dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. And he
 returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah
 hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.
7:16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies,
 and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, and empty pitchers,
 and torches within the pitchers.
7:17 And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold,
 when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as
 I do, so shall ye do.
7:18 And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me,
 ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and
 shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon!
7:19 And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to
 the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch;
 and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the
 trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
7:20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in
 pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand,
 and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and cried,
 The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!
7:21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp;
 and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled.
7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set
 every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp.
 And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the
 border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.
7:23 And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali,
 and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after
 Midian.
7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim,
 saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the
 waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of
 Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto
 Beth-barah, and the Jordan.
7:25 And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and
 they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the
 winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the
 heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
8:1 And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou
 hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest
 to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.
8:2 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with
 you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage
 of Abi-ezer?
8:3 Into your hands hath God delivered the princes of Midian,
 Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with
 you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said
 that word.
8:4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, [and] passed over, he and the
 three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
8:5 And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves
 of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and
 I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
8:6 And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah
 and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to
 thine army?
8:7 And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and
 Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of
 the wilderness and with briars.
8:8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like
 manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of
 Succoth had answered.
8:9 And he spoke also to 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 camp with
 them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of the
 whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a
 hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
8:11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents
 on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the
 camp was at its ease.
8:12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and
 he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
 discomfited all the camp.
8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from
 the ascent of Heres.
8:14 And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired
 of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and
 the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
8:15 And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah
 and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the
 hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should
 give bread to thy men that are weary?
8:16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
 wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of
 Succoth.
8:17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of
 the city.
8:18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were
 they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so
 were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.
8:19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother.
 [As] Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not
 slay you.
8:20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But
 the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet
 a youth.
8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us;
 for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and
 slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on
 their camels' necks.
8:22 And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both
 thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved
 us from the hand of Midian.
8:23 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither
 shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you.
8:24 And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you:
 give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had
 golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
8:25 And they said, We will willingly give [them]. And they
 spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of
 his booty.
8:26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was
 a thousand seven hundred [shekels] of gold; besides the moons,
 and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of
 Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels'
 necks.
8:27 And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city,
 in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and
 it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.
8:28 And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and
 they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty
 years in the days of Gideon.
8:29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.
8:30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins,
 for he had many wives.
8:31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a
 son, and he gave him the name of 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
 Abi-ezrites.
8:33 And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children
 of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and
 set up Baal-Berith as their god.
8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their
 God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their
 enemies on every side.
8:35 And they shewed no kindness to the house of
 Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to
 Israel.
9:1 And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his
 mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of
 the house of his mother's father, saying,
9:2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of
 Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all
 sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over
 you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh.
9:3 And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all
 the citizens of Shechem all these words. And their heart
 inclined after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.
9:4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house
 of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton
 men, and they followed him.
9:5 And he came to his father's house, to Ophrah, and slew his
 brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons upon one stone;
 but there remained Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal; for he
 had hid himself.
9:6 And all the citizens of Shechem gathered together, and all
 the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the
 memorial-oak that is in Shechem.
9:7 And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top
 of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said
 to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may
 hearken to you.
9:8 The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and
 they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us.
9:9 And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness,
 wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave over
 the trees?
9:10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over
 us.
9:11 But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness,
 and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?
9:12 Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.
9:13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine,
 which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?
9:14 Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign
 over us.
9:15 And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint
 me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if
 not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the
 cedars of Lebanon.
9:16 Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and sincerely in that
 ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with
 Jerubbaal and his house, and if ye have done to him according
 to the deserving of his hands;
9:17 -- for my father fought for you, and endangered his life,
 and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
9:18 but ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and
 have slain his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made
 Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of
 Shechem, because he is your brother;
9:19 -- if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal
 and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let
 him also rejoice in you;
9:20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour
 the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire
 come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of
 Millo, and devour Abimelech.
9:21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt
 there, because of Abimelech his brother.
9:22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.
9:23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
 citizens of Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem dealt
 treacherously with Abimelech,
9:24 that the violence [done] to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal
 might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their
 brother, who slew them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who
 had strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.
9:25 And the citizens of Shechem set liers in wait for him on
 the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along
 that way by them. And it was told Abimelech.
9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went
 over to Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem put confidence in
 him.
9:27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their
 vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made rejoicings, and
 went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, 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 he not the son of
 Jerubbaal? and Zebul his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor the
 father of Shechem! and why should *we* serve him?
9:29 Oh! would that this people were under my hand! then would I
 remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine
 army, and come out.
9:30 And Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the
 son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled;
9:31 and he sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying,
 Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to
 Shechem, and behold, they shut up the city against thee;
9:32 and now, rise up by night, thou and the people that are
 with thee, and lie in ambush in the fields.
9:33 And it shall be in the morning when the sun is up, thou
 shalt rise early, and fall upon the city; and behold, he and
 the people that is with him shall come out against thee, and
 thou shalt do with him as thou shalt find occasion.
9:34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with
 him, by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four
 companies.
9:35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the
 entrance of the gate of the city. Then Abimelech rose up, and
 the people that were with him, out of the ambush.
9:36 And Gaal saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, people
 are coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said
 to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men.
9:37 And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold, people are coming
 down from the high part of the land, and one company is coming
 along by the way of the Magician's oak.
9:38 Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that
 saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this
 the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and
 fight against them.
9:39 And Gaal went out before the citizens of Shechem, and
 fought against Abimelech.
9:40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and
 there fell many wounded, as far as the entrance of the gate.
9:41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and
 his brethren, that they might 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 lay in ambush in the field. And he looked, and
 behold, the people came forth out of the city; and he rose up
 against them and smote them.
9:44 And Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed
 forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and
 two of the companies ran upon all that were in the fields, and
 slew them.
9:45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he
 took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and broke
 down the city, and sowed it with salt.
9:46 And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [that], and
 they entered into the stronghold of the house of the ∙god
 Berith.
9:47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of
 Shechem had gathered together.
9:48 Then Abimelech went up to mount Zalmon, he and all the
 people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his
 hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up and
 laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that was with
 him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, do as I have done.
9:49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough,
 and they followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and
 burned the hold with fire upon them. And all the men of the
 tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
9:50 And Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez,
 and took it.
9:51 But there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and
 thither fled all the men and women, all the citizens of the
 city; and they shut it behind them, and went up to the roof of
 the tower.
9:52 And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and
 he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire;
9:53 and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on
 Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull.
9:54 Then he called hastily to the young man that carried his
 armour, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they
 say not of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him
 through, and he died.
9:55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,
 they went every man to his place.
9:56 And God rendered back the wickedness of Abimelech, which he
 did to his father in slaying his seventy brethren.
9:57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render back
 upon their heads; and upon them came the curse of Jotham the
 son of Jerubbaal.
10:1 And after Abimelech, there rose up to save Israel Tola the
 son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt
 in Shamir on mount Ephraim.
10:2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died, and
 was buried in Shamir.
10:3 And after him rose up Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged
 Israel twenty-two years.
10:4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and
 they had thirty cities, which are called the villages of Jair
 to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
10:5 And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
10:6 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
 Jehovah, and served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, 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 they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.
10:7 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he
 sold him into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of
 the children of Ammon.
10:8 And they oppressed and crushed the children of Israel in
 that year; eighteen years [they oppressed] all the children of
 Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites,
 which is in Gilead.
10:9 And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight
 also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house
 of Ephraim; and Israel was greatly distressed.
10:10 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, saying, We
 have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our
 God, and also served the Baals.
10:11 And Jehovah said to the children of Israel, Did I not
 [save you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the
 children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
10:12 The Zidonians also, and Amalek and Maon oppressed you, and
 ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand.
10:13 But ye have forsaken me, and served other gods; therefore
 I will save you no more.
10:14 Go and cry to the gods that ye have chosen: let them save
 you in the time of your trouble.
10:15 And the children of Israel said to Jehovah, We have
 sinned. Do thou unto us according to all that is good in thy
 sight; only deliver us, we pray thee, this day.
10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and
 served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of
 Israel.
10:17 And the children of Ammon were called together and
 encamped in Gilead; and the children of Israel gathered
 together and encamped in Mizpeh.
10:18 And the people, the chief men of Gilead, said one to
 another, Who is the man that will begin to fight against the
 children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of
 Gilead.
11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and
 he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah.
11:2 And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons
 were grown, they expelled Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shalt
 not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of
 another woman.
11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land
 of Tob. And vain men were gathered to Jephthah, and they made
 expeditions with him.
11:4 And it came to pass after some time, that the children of
 Ammon fought with Israel.
11:5 And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the
 elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.
11:6 And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that
 we may fight against the children of Ammon.
11:7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate
 me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come
 to me now when ye are in trouble?
11:8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we
 have returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and
 fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all of us
 the inhabitants of Gilead.
11:9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye take me
 back to fight against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah give
 them up before me, shall I be your head?
11:10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah 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 Jehovah in Mizpah.
11:12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children
 of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art
 come against me to fight against my land?
11:13 And the king of the children of Ammon said to the
 messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when
 they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok
 and unto the Jordan; and now restore it peaceably.
11:14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the
 children of Ammon,
11:15 and said to him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away
 the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
11:16 But when they came up from Egypt, then Israel walked
 through the wilderness as far as the Red sea, and came to
 Kadesh.
11:17 And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying,
 Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of
 Edom would not hearken. And they also sent to the king of Moab;
 and he would not. And Israel abode in Kadesh.
11:18 And they walked through the wilderness, and went round the
 land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east of the
 land of Moab, and encamped beyond the Arnon, but came not
 within the border of Moab, for the Arnon is the border of Moab.
11:19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites,
 the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we
 pray thee, through thy land unto my place.
11:20 But Sihon trusted not Israel, to let him pass through his
 border, and Sihon gathered all his people, and they encamped in
 Jahzah; and he fought with Israel.
11:21 And Jehovah the God of Israel gave Sihon and all his
 people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel
 took possession of the whole land of the Amorites, who dwelt in
 that country.
11:22 And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from
 the Arnon unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto the
 Jordan.
11:23 And now Jehovah the God of Israel has dispossessed the
 Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou take
 possession of it?
11:24 Dost not thou possess what Chemosh thy god puts thee in
 possession of? and whatever Jehovah our God has dispossessed
 before us, that will we possess.
11:25 And now art thou indeed better than Balak the son of
 Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive with Israel? did he
 ever fight against them?
11:26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its dependent villages,
 and in Aroer and its dependent villages, and in all the cities
 that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years --
 why did ye not recover [them] within that time?
11:27 So I have not sinned against thee, but it is thou who
 doest me wrong in making war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, be
 judge this day between the children of Israel and the children
 of Ammon!
11:28 But the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the
 words of Jephthah that he had sent him.
11:29 Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he
 passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed to Mizpeh of
 Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the
 children of Ammon.
11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou
 wilt without fail give the children of Ammon into my hand,
11:31 then shall that which cometh forth from the door of my
 house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of
 Ammon, be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a
 burnt-offering.
11:32 And Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight
 against them; and Jehovah gave them into his hand.
11:33 And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith,
 twenty cities, even unto Abel-Cheramim, with a very great
 slaughter; and the children of Ammon were subdued before the
 children of Israel.
11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and behold, his
 daughter came out to meet him with tambours and with dances;
 and she was an only child: besides her he had neither son nor
 daughter.
11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his
 garments, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me
 very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have
 opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.
11:36 And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy
 mouth to Jehovah, do to me according to that which has
 proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as Jehovah has taken
 vengeance for thee upon thine enemies, upon the children of
 Ammon.
11:37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me:
 leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to the
 mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
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 to her father, and he performed on her the vow that he
 had vowed; and she had known no man. And it became a fixed
 custom in Israel,
11:40 that from year to year the daughters of Israel go to
 celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in
 the year.
12:1 And the men of Ephraim were called together, and passed
 over northwards, and said to Jephthah, Why didst thou pass over
 to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us
 to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with fire.
12:2 And Jephthah said to them, I was at great strife, I and my
 people, with the children of Ammon; and I called you, but ye
 saved me not out of their hand.
12:3 And when I saw that ye would not save me, I put my life in
 my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and
 Jehovah gave them into my hand. Why then are ye come up to me
 this day, to fight against me?
12:4 And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and
 fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim,
 because they said, Ye, Gilead, ye are fugitives of Ephraim in
 the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.
12:5 And Gilead took the fords of the Jordan before Ephraim; and
 it came to pass that when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me
 go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Art thou an Ephraimite?
 and he said, No.
12:6 Then they said to him, Say now Shibboleth! and he said,
 Sibboleth, and did not manage to pronounce [it] rightly. Then
 they took him, and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan.
 And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.
12:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the
 Gileadite died, 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 he sent out of
 the house, and thirty daughters he took in from abroad for his
 sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
12:10 And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.
12:11 And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he
 judged Israel ten years.
12:12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon in
 the land of Zebulun.
12:13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite,
 judged Israel.
12:14 And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on
 seventy 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
 hill-country of the Amalekites.
13:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
 Jehovah; and Jehovah gave them into the hand of the Philistines
 forty years.
13:2 And there was a certain man of Zoreah, of the family of the
 Danites, and his name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and
 did not bear.
13:3 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman, and said to
 her, Behold now, thou art barren and bearest not; but thou
 shalt conceive and bear a son.
13:4 And now beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong
 drink, and eat nothing unclean.
13:5 For lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor
 shall come on his head; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of God
 from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the
 hand of the Philistines.
13:6 And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of
 God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of
 an angel of God, very terrible; but I did not ask him whence he
 was, neither did he tell me his name.
13:7 And he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a
 son; and now drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not
 anything unclean; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of God from
 the womb to the day of his death.
13:8 Then Manoah prayed to Jehovah, and said, Ah Lord! let the
 man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, I pray
 thee, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall
 be born.
13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of
 God came again to the woman whilst she sat in the field; but
 Manoah her husband was not with her.
13:10 Then the woman hasted and ran, and informed her husband,
 and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, that came
 to me that day.
13:11 And Manoah rose up and went after his wife, and came to
 the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that didst speak to
 the woman? And he said, I am.
13:12 And Manoah said, When thy words then come to pass, what
 shall be the child's manner and his doing?
13:13 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Of all that I
 said unto the woman let her beware:
13:14 she shall not eat of anything that cometh of the vine,
 neither shall she drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything
 unclean: all that I commanded her shall she observe.
13:15 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, I pray thee, let
 us detain thee, and we will make ready a kid of the goats for
 thee.
13:16 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Though thou
 shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou
 wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou shalt offer it up to Jehovah.
 For Manoah knew not that he was the Angel of Jehovah.
13:17 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, What is thy name,
 that when thy word cometh to pass we may do thee honour?
13:18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, How is it that thou
 askest after my name, seeing it is wonderful?
13:19 Then Manoah took the kid and the oblation, and offered it
 up to Jehovah upon the rock. And he did wondrously, and Manoah
 and his wife looked on.
13:20 And it came to pass, as the flame went up from off the
 altar towards the heavens, that the Angel of Jehovah ascended
 in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on,
 and fell on their faces to the ground.
13:21 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared no more to Manoah and to
 his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was the Angel of Jehovah.
13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because
 we have seen God.
13:23 But his wife said to him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill
 us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and an oblation
 at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things,
 nor would he at this time have told us [such things] as these.
13:24 And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And
 the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him.
13:25 And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him at
 Mahaneh-Dan, between Zoreah and Eshtaol.
14:1 And Samson went down to Timnathah, and saw a woman in
 Timnathah of the daughters of the Philistines.
14:2 And he went up, and told his father and his mother, and
 said, I have seen a woman in Timnathah of the daughters of the
 Philistines; and now take her for me as wife.
14:3 And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no
 woman among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my
 people, that thou goest to take a wife of the Philistines, the
 uncircumcised? And Samson said to his father, Take her for me,
 for she pleases me well.
14:4 And his father and his mother did not know that it was of
 Jehovah, that he was seeking an occasion against the
 Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over
 Israel.
14:5 And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to
 Timnathah; and they came to the vineyards of Timnathah. And
 behold, a young lion roared against him;
14:6 and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he rent it as
 one rends a kid, and nothing was in his hand. And he did not
 tell his father or his mother what he had done.
14:7 And he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased
 Samson well.
14:8 And he returned after a time to take her, and he turned
 aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, [there was] a
 swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey;
14:9 and he took it out in his hands, and went on, and ate as he
 went. And he came to his father and to his mother, and gave
 them, and they ate; but he did not tell them that he had taken
 the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
14:10 And his father went down to 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, and they were with him.
14:12 And Samson said to them, Let me now propound a riddle to
 you; if ye clearly explain it to me within the seven days of
 the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you thirty
 shirts, and thirty changes of garments.
14:13 But if ye cannot explain [it] to me, then shall ye give me
 thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. And they said to
 him, Propound thy riddle, that we may hear it.
14:14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, And
 out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in
 three days explain the riddle.
14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to
 Samson's wife, Persuade thy husband, that he may explain to us
 the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire.
 Have ye invited us to impoverish us, -- is it not [so]?
14:16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but
 hate me, and lovest me not. Thou hast propounded the riddle to
 the children of my people, and hast not explained it to me. And
 he said to her, Behold, I have not explained it to my father
 nor my mother, and shall I explain it to thee?
14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while they had the
 feast. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he
 explained it to her, for she pressed him. And she explained the
 riddle to the children of her people.
14:18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day
 before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, And what
 stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not
 ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.
14:19 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went down
 to Ashkelon, and slew of them thirty men, and took their spoil,
 and gave the changes of garments unto them that explained the
 riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
 father's house.
14:20 And Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he
 had made his friend.
15:1 And it came to pass after a time, in the days of the
 wheat-harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid of the
 goats. And he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber;
 but her father would not suffer him to go in.
15:2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst
 utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not
 her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be
 thine instead of her.
15:3 And Samson said to them, This time I am blameless toward
 the Philistines, though I do them harm.
15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took
 torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst
 between the two tails.
15:5 And he set the torches on fire, and let [them] run into the
 standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks,
 and also the standing corn, and the olive gardens.
15:6 And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they
 answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he
 took his wife and gave her to his companion. And the
 Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.
15:7 And Samson said to them, If ye act thus, for a certainty I
 will avenge myself on you, and then I will cease.
15:8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And
 he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the cliff Etam.
15:9 And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and
 spread themselves in Lehi.
15:10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us?
 And they said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as
 he has done to us.
15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of
 the cliff Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the
 Philistines rule over us? And what is this that thou hast done
 to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done
 to them.
15:12 And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee, that
 we may give thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson
 said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall on me
 yourselves.
15:13 And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee
 fast, and deliver thee into their hand; but we certainly shall
 not put thee to death. And they bound him with two new cords,
 and brought him up from the cliff.
15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him.
 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and the cords that
 were on his arms became as threads of flax that are burned with
 fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
15:15 And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his
 hand and took it, and slew with it a thousand men.
15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two
 heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
15:17 And it came to pass when he had ended speaking, that he
 cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place
 Ramath-Lehi.
15:18 And he was very thirsty, and called on Jehovah, and said,
 Thou hast given by the hand of thy servant this great
 deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the
 hand of the uncircumcised?
15:19 And God clave the hallow rock which was in Lehi, and water
 came out of it. And he drank, and his spirit came again, and he
 revived. Therefore its name was called En-hakkore, which is in
 Lehi to this day.
15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty
 years.
16:1 And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went
 in to her.
16:2 [And it was told] the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come
 hither. And they surrounded [him], and laid wait for him all
 night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,
 saying, In the morning light we will kill him.
16:3 And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and
 seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts,
 and tore them up with the bar, and put [them] upon his
 shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that
 is before Hebron.
16:4 And it came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the
 valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said
 to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is,
 and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him
 to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred
 silver-pieces.
16:6 Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what
 is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to
 overpower thee.
16:7 And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven
 fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak,
 and be as another man.
16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven
 fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with
 them.
16:9 Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she
 said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he
 broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches
 the fire; and his strength was not known.
16:10 And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me
 and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou
 mightest be bound.
16:11 And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new
 ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak,
 and be as another man.
16:12 And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and
 said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there
 were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them
 from off his arms like a thread.
16:13 And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me
 and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And
 he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my
 head with the web.
16:14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The
 Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his
 sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web.
16:15 Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee,
 when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou
 mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength.
16:16 And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her
 words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death;
16:17 and he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has
 not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from
 my mother's womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would
 go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind.
16:18 And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and
 she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying,
 Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the
 lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money
 in their hand.
16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man,
 and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head;
 and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him.
16:20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And
 he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at
 other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that
 Jehovah had departed from him.
16:21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and
 brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of
 bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.
16:22 But the hair of his head began to grow after he was
 shaved.
16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to
 sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice;
 for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our
 hands.
16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for
 they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the
 destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain.
16:25 And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that
 they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they
 called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he played before
 them; and they set him between the pillars.
16:26 And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let
 loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the
 house stands, that I may lean upon them.
16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords
 of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were
 about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson
 made sport.
16:28 And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah,
 remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only
 this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the
 Philistines for my two eyes.
16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which
 the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one
 with his right hand and the other with his left.
16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he
 bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and
 on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew
 at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his
 life.
16:31 And his brethren came down, and all the house of his
 father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him
 between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his
 father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
17:2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred silver-pieces
 that were taken from thee, and about which thou didst curse and
 speak of in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took
 it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah!
17:3 And he restored the eleven hundred silver-pieces to his
 mother; and his mother said, I had dedicated the silver to
 Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a
 molten image; and now I will restore it to thee.
17:4 Now he restored the silver to his mother; and his mother
 took two hundred silver-pieces and gave them to the founder,
 and he made of them a graven image and a molten image; and they
 were in the house of Micah.
17:5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod
 and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his
 priest.
17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did
 what was right in his own eyes.
17:7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehem-Judah of the
 family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
17:8 And the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem-Judah,
 to sojourn where he might find [a place]. And as he journeyed,
 he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah.
17:9 And Micah said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to
 him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-Judah, and I go to sojourn
 where I may find [a place].
17:10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a
 father and a priest, and I will give thee yearly ten
 silver-pieces, and a suit of garments, and thy victuals. And
 the Levite went in.
17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the
 young man was to him as one of his sons.
17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became
 his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
17:13 Then said Micah, Now I know that Jehovah will do me good,
 because I have the Levite for priest.
18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those
 days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an
 inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [their lot] had not
 fallen to them for inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men of
 their whole number, men of valour, from Zoreah and from
 Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to examine it; and they said
 to them, Go, examine the land. And they came to the
 hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged
 there.
18:3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice
 of the young man, the Levite; and they turned in thither, and
 said to him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in
 this [place]? and what hast thou here?
18:4 And he said to them, Thus and thus has Micah done to me;
 and he has hired me, and I am his priest.
18:5 And they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of God, that
 we may know whether our way on which we go shall be prosperous.
18:6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is
 your way on which ye go.
18:7 And the five men departed, and came to Laish; and they saw
 the people that were therein, dwelling securely, after the
 manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and no one was in
 the land who possessed authority, that might put [them] to
 shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and
 had nothing to do with [any] man.
18:8 -- And they came to their brethren at Zoreah and Eshtaol.
 And their brethren said to them, What [say] ye?
18:9 And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we
 have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and ye are
 still! Be not slothful to go, to enter to take possession of
 the land.
18:10 When ye go in, ye shall come to a people secure, and the
 land is spacious in every direction; for God has given it into
 your hands; [it is] a place where there is no want of anything
 that is on the earth.
18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites,
 out of Zoreah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with
 weapons of war.
18:12 And they went up and encamped in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah;
 therefore they call that place Mahaneh-Dan to this day: behold,
 it is behind Kirjath-jearim.
18:13 And they passed thence to mount Ephraim, and came to the
 house of Micah.
18:14 Then the five men that had gone to spy out the country of
 Laish spoke and said to their brethren, Do ye know that there
 is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image,
 and a molten image? And now ye know what to do.
18:15 And they turned thither, and came to the house of the
 young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and inquired after
 his welfare.
18:16 And the six hundred men of the children of Dan, girded
 with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.
18:17 And the five men that had gone to spy out the land went
 up, entered in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the
 ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest
 stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that
 were girded with weapons of war.
18:18 And these came into Micah's house, and took the carved
 image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And
 the priest said to them, What do ye?
18:19 And they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon
 thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest.
 Is it better for thee to be a priest for the house of one man,
 or to be priest for a tribe and a family in Israel?
18:20 Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod,
 and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst
 of the people.
18:21 And they turned and departed, and put the little ones and
 the cattle and the baggage before them.
18:22 They were already far from the house of Micah, when the
 men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered
 together, and overtook the children of Dan.
18:23 And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned
 their faces, and said to Micah, What aileth thee, that thou
 comest with such a company?
18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and
 the priest, and ye are gone away; and what have I more? and
 what is this that ye say to me, What aileth thee?
18:25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be
 heard among us, lest men of exasperated spirit run upon you,
 and thou lose thy life and the lives of thy household.
18:26 And the children of Dan went their way; and Micah saw that
 they were too strong for him, and he turned and went back to
 his house.
18:27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest
 that he had had, and came upon Laish, upon a people quiet and
 secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and
 burned the city with fire.
18:28 And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Zidon, and
 they had nothing to do with [any] man; and it [lay] in the
 valley that is by Beth-rehob. And they built the city and dwelt
 therein.
18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name
 of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; howbeit Laish was
 the name of the city at the first.
18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and
 Jehonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses; he and his
 sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
 captivity of the land.
18:31 And they set up for themselves Micah's graven image, which
 he had made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king
 in Israel, that a certain Levite, sojourning on the further
 side of mount Ephraim, took him a concubine out of
 Bethlehem-Judah.
19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went
 away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem-Judah, and was
 there some time, -- four months.
19:3 And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak kindly
 to her, to bring her again; and his servant was with him, and a
 couple of asses. And she brought him into her father's house;
 and when the father of the damsel saw him he rejoiced to meet
 him.
19:4 And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him,
 and he abode with him three days; and they ate and drank, and
 lodged there.
19:5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose
 early in the morning, and he rose up to depart; and the
 damsel's father said to his son-in-law, Refresh thy heart with
 a morsel of bread, and afterwards ye may go your way.
19:6 And they sat down, and ate and drank, both of them
 together. And the damsel's father said to the man, Be content,
 I pray thee, and pass the night, and let thy heart be glad.
19:7 And the man rose up to depart, but his father-in-law urged
 him, and he lodged there again.
19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to
 depart; but the damsel's father said, Refresh thy heart, I pray
 thee. And they lingered until the afternoon, and they did eat
 both of them.
19:9 And the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and
 his servant; and his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said
 to him, Behold now, the day draws toward evening -- I pray you
 stay all night; behold, the day is declining, lodge here, and
 let thy heart be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your
 way, that thou mayest go to thy tent.
19:10 But the man would not tarry the night; and he rose up and
 departed, and came opposite to Jebus, that is, Jerusalem; and
 there were with him two asses saddled, and his concubine was
 with him.
19:11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the
 servant said to his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn
 aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
19:12 But his master said to him, We will not turn aside into
 the city of a stranger, which is not of the children of Israel,
 but we will pass on to Gibeah.
19:13 And he said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to
 one of these places, and lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
19:14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went
 down upon them [when they were] by Gibeah, which belongs to
 Benjamin.
19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in, to lodge in
 Gibeah. And he went in, and sat down in the open place of the
 city; and there was no one that received him into his house to
 pass the night.
19:16 And behold, there came an old man from his work out of the
 field at even; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he
 sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were
 Benjaminites.
19:17 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in
 the open place of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest
 thou? and whence comest thou?
19:18 And he said to him, We are travelling from Bethlehem-Judah
 towards the further side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I;
 and I went to Bethlehem-Judah, and I have to do with the house
 of Jehovah; and there is no man that receives me into his
 house.
19:19 And we have both straw and provender for our asses; and I
 have bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for
 the young man with thy servants: there is no lack of anything.
19:20 Then the old man said, Peace be with thee; only let all
 thy wants lie on me; but lodge not in the street.
19:21 And he brought him into his house, and gave the asses
 provender; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
19:22 They were making their hearts merry, when behold, the men
 of the city, sons of Belial, surrounded the house, beating at
 the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old
 man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that
 we may know him.
19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them,
 and said to them, No, my brethren, I pray you, do not wickedly;
 seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this
 villany.
19:24 Behold, my daughter, who is a virgin, and his concubine;
 let me bring them out, and humble ye them, and do to them as is
 good in your sight; but to this man do not so vile a thing.
19:25 But the men would not hearken to him; and the man took his
 concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her,
 and abused her all the night until the morning; and let her go
 when the morning-dawn arose.
19:26 And the woman came at the dawning of the day, and fell
 down at the entrance of the man's house where her lord was,
 till it was light.
19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the door
 of the house, and went out to go his way, and behold, there lay
 the woman his concubine at the entrance of the house, and her
 hands were upon the threshold.
19:28 And he said to her, Up, and let us go; but no one
 answered. And he took her upon the ass; and the man rose up,
 and went to his place.
19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took the knife,
 and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, according to
 her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the
 borders of Israel.
19:30 And it came to pass that every one that saw it said, There
 was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children
 of Israel came out of Egypt to this day. Think it over, advise,
 and speak.
20:1 And all the children of Israel went forth, and the assembly
 gathered together as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the
 land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah.
20:2 And the heads of all the people, of all the tribes of
 Israel, presented themselves in the congregation of the people
 of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
20:3 And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of
 Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the children of Israel said,
 Tell [us], how was this wickedness?
20:4 Then the Levite, the husband of the woman that was
 murdered, answered and said, I came to Gibeah that [belongs] to
 Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
20:5 And the citizens of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded
 the house because of me, by night; they thought to slay me, and
 my concubine have they humbled so that she died.
20:6 Then I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent
 her throughout the country of the inheritance of Israel; for
 they have committed lewdness and villany in Israel.
20:7 Behold, all ye, children of Israel, deliberate and give
 here [your] counsel.
20:8 And all the people rose up as one man, saying, We will not
 any one go to his tent, neither will we any one turn into his
 house.
20:9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [we
 go] by lot against it;
20:10 and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the
 tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand
 of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they
 may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all
 the villany that they have wrought in Israel.
20:11 And all the men of Israel were gathered against the city,
 knit together as one man.
20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men to all the families of
 Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has been done
 among you?
20:13 And now give up the men, the sons of Belial, who are in
 Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from
 Israel. But [the children of] Benjamin would not hearken to the
 voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
20:14 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together
 out of the cities of Gibeah, to go out to battle against the
 children of Israel.
20:15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time
 out of the cities, twenty-six thousand men that drew sword,
 besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven
 hundred chosen men.
20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men
 left-handed; all these slang stones at a hair [breadth], and
 missed not.
20:17 And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered
 four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men
 of war.
20:18 And the children of Israel arose and went up to Bethel,
 and inquired of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to
 the battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said,
 Judah first.
20:19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and
 encamped against Gibeah.
20:20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin;
 and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against
 them at Gibeah.
20:21 And the children of Benjamin went forth out of Gibeah, and
 destroyed to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty-two
 thousand men.
20:22 And the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and set
 the battle again in array in the place where they put
 themselves in array the first day.
20:23 And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah
 until even, and inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up
 again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?
 And Jehovah said, Go up against him.
20:24 And the children of Israel came near against the children
 of Benjamin the second day.
20:25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the
 second day, and again destroyed to the ground of the children
 of Israel eighteen thousand men: all these drew the sword.
20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went
 up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before
 Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up
 burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
20:27 And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah (and the
 ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
20:28 and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood
 before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to
 battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I
 cease? And Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will give them
 into thy hand.
20:29 And Israel set liers in wait against Gibeah, round about.
20:30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of
 Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against
 Gibeah, as at the other times.
20:31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people,
 and were drawn away from the city, and began to smite of the
 people, slaying as at the former times, in the highways, of
 which one leads to Bethel and the other to Gibeah in the field,
 about thirty men of Israel.
20:32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down
 before us, as at the first. And the children of Israel said,
 Let us flee, that we may draw them from the city to the
 highways.
20:33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and
 put themselves in array at Baal-Tamar; and the ambush of Israel
 rushed forth out of their place, out of the meadows of Geba.
20:34 And there came from opposite Gibeah ten thousand chosen
 men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they knew
 not that disaster was coming upon them.
20:35 And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children
 of Israel destroyed of the Benjaminites that day twenty-five
 thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.
20:36 And the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten.
 -- And the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they
 trusted to the ambush that they had set against Gibeah.
20:37 And the ambush hasted, and fell upon Gibeah; and the
 ambush drew along, and smote the whole city with the edge of
 the sword.
20:38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel
 and the ambush, that they should make a thick column of smoke
 rise up out of the city.
20:39 And when the men of Israel turned back in the battle,
 Benjamin began to smite, slaying of the men of Israel about
 thirty men; for they said, Surely they are quite routed before
 us as in the first battle.
20:40 And when the burning began to rise up out of the city as a
 pillar of smoke, Benjamin looked behind, and behold, the whole
 city ascended [in smoke] to the heavens.
20:41 Then the men of Israel turned back, and the men of
 Benjamin were amazed, for they saw that disaster was come upon
 them.
20:42 And they turned before the men of Israel to the way of the
 wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came
 out of the cities destroyed them in their midst.
20:43 They encompassed the Benjaminites, chased them, trode them
 down at the resting-place over against Gibeah toward the
 sun-rising.
20:44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men: all
 these, men of valour.
20:45 And they turned and fled towards the wilderness to the
 cliff of Rimmon, and they gleaned of them in the highways five
 thousand men; and pursued hard after them to Gidom, and slew
 two thousand men of them.
20:46 So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five
 thousand men that drew the sword: all these, men of valour.
20:47 And six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to
 the cliff of Rimmon, and abode at the cliff of Rimmon four
 months.
20:48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of
 Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well
 the men of [every] city as the cattle, and all that was found;
 even all the cities that were found did they set on fire.
21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There
 shall not any of us give his daughter to the Benjaminites as
 wife.
21:2 And the people came to Bethel, and abode there till even
 before God, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly,
21:3 and said, Jehovah, God of Israel, why is it come to pass in
 Israel, that there should be this day one tribe lacking in
 Israel?
21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose
 early, and built there an altar, and offered up burnt-offerings
 and peace-offerings.
21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the
 tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation to
 Jehovah? For they had [made] a great oath concerning him that
 came not up to Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall certainly be
 put to death.
21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their
 brother, and said, To-day is one tribe extirpated from Israel.
21:7 What shall we do for wives for them that remain? since we
 have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our
 daughters for wives.
21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel
 that came not up to Mizpah to Jehovah? And behold, there came
 none to the camp from Jabesh-Gilead, to the congregation;
21:9 for the people were numbered, and behold, there were none
 of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there.
21:10 And the assembly sent thither twelve thousand men of the
 most valiant and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the
 inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, and
 the women and the children.
21:11 And this is the thing which ye shall do: ye shall utterly
 destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain with man.
21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four
 hundred young women that were virgins, who had known no man by
 lying with any male, and they brought them to the camp, to
 Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
21:13 And the whole assembly sent to speak to the children of
 Benjamin that were at the cliff of Rimmon, and to proclaim
 peace to them.
21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them
 the wives whom they had saved alive of the women of
 Jabesh-Gilead; but even so they found not enough for them.
21:15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because Jehovah
 had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
21:16 And the elders of the assembly said, What shall we do for
 wives for them that remain? for the women have been destroyed
 out of Benjamin.
21:17 And they said, There must be a possession for those of
 Benjamin that have escaped, that a tribe be not blotted out of
 Israel.
21:18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the
 children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth
 a wife to the Benjaminites!
21:19 And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from
 year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel,
 toward the sun-rising of the highway that goes up from Bethel
 to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
21:20 And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and
 lie in wait in the vineyards;
21:21 and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out
 to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and
 catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go
 to the land of Benjamin.
21:22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come
 to complain to us, that we will say to them, Gratify us with
 them, because we did not take each man his wife in the war; for
 ye did not give them to them, that ye should now be guilty.
21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives,
 according to their number, of them that danced, whom they
 caught; and they went and returned to their inheritance, and
 built the cities, and dwelt in them.
21:24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time,
 every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out
 from thence every man to his inheritance.
21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did
 what was right in his own eyes.