1 It came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, Which of us will go up first to fight against the Canaanites?
2 And the LORD said, Judah will go up; Behold, I have given the land into his hands.
3 And Judah said to his brother Simeon, Go up with me to the territory allotted to me, and let us fight against the Canaanites, and I will also go with you to yours. And Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up, and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; and they wounded ten thousand of them in Bezek.
5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they followed him and seized him, and cut off the thumbs of his hands and his toes.
7 Then Adoni-bezek said: Seventy kings, having cut off the thumbs of their hands and feet, were collecting the crumbs under my table; As I did, so God has repaid me. And they took him to Jerusalem, where he died.
8 And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it, and put its inhabitants to the edge of the sword and set fire to the city.
9 Then the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the mountains, in the Negev, and on the plains.
10 And Judah marched against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron, which was formerly called Kiriath-arba; and they smote Shesai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 From there he went to those who lived in Debir, which was formerly called Kiriath-sepher.
12 And Caleb said, Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him Achsa my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, took her; and he gave him Achsha her daughter to wife.
14 And when she was going with him, he persuaded her to ask her father for a field. And she got off the donkey, and Caleb said to her, What have you got?
15 She then answered him: Grant me a gift; Since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also fountains of water. So Caleb gave him the upper pans and the lower pans.
16 And the sons of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev near Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
17 And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and defeated the Canaanite that dwelt in Shephat, and laid waste it; and they named the city Horma.
18 Judah also took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
19 And the LORD was with Judah, who drove them out of the mountains; but he could not drive out those who lived on the plains, who had iron chariots.
20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out the three sons of Anak from there.
21 But the Jebusite who lived in Jerusalem was not driven out by the children of Benjamin, and the Jebusite lived with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the Lord was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph stationed spies in Bethel, a city that was formerly called Luz.
24 And those who were spying saw a man coming out of the city, and said to him, Show us now the entrance of the city, and we will show you mercy.
25 And he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck it with the edge of the sword; but they let that man go with all his family.
26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city which he called Luz; and this is his name to this day.
27 Nor did Manasseh drive out those from Beth-shean, nor those from its villages, nor those from Taanach and its villages, nor those from Dor and its villages, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, nor those who They live in Megiddo and in its villages; and the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.
28 But when Israel felt strong he made the Canaanites tributary, but did not throw them out.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanite who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanite lived among them in Gezer.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out those who lived in Chitron, nor those who lived in Naalal, but the Canaanite dwelt in its midst, and was a tributary to it.
31 Nor did Asher drive out those who lived in Aco, nor those who lived in Sidon, in Ahlab, in Achzib, in Helba, in Aphek and in Rehob.
32 And Asher dwelt among the Canaanites that dwelt in the land; for he did not throw them away.
33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those who lived in Beth-shemesh, nor those who lived in Beth-anath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites who lived in the land; but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-anath were tributary to him.
34 The Amorites pressed the children of Dan to the mountain, and did not let them go down to the plains.
35 And the Amorite continued to live in Mount Herez, in Aijalon, and in Saalbim; but when the house of Joseph gained strength, he made him a tributary.
36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Acrabim, from Shelah upward.
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim, and said, I brought you out of Egypt, and brought you into the land of which I swore to your fathers, saying, I will never break my covenant with you,
2 provided you do not make a pact with the inhabitants of this land, whose altars you must tear down; but you have not heeded my voice. Why have you done this?
3 Therefore I also say, I will not drive them out from before you, but they will be scourges to your sides, and their gods will be a stumbling block to you.
4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bokim, and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord.
6 For Joshua had already sent away the people, and the children of Israel had gone, each one to his field to possess it.
7 And the people had served the LORD all the time of Joshua, and all the time of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, which he had done for Israel.
8 But Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him in his field at Timnath-sera, in mount Ephraim, north of mount Gaash.
10 And all that generation was also gathered to his fathers. And another generation arose after them that did not know the Lord, nor the work that he had done for Israel.
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim.
12 They left the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went after other gods, the gods of the peoples that were around them, whom they worshiped; and they provoked Jehovah to anger.
13 And they left Jehovah, and worshiped Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of robbers, who plundered them, and sold them into the hand of the enemies around him; and they could no longer face his enemies.
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them; and they had great affliction.
16 And the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the hand of those who plundered them;
17 But they did not listen to their judges either, but went after other gods, whom they worshiped; They soon departed from the path in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; they didn’t do like that.
18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he delivered them out of the hand of the enemies all the time of that judge; for Jehovah was moved to mercy by his groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.
19 But it came to pass, when the judge died, that they turned back, and became more corrupt than their fathers, following other gods to serve them, and bowing down before them; and they did not depart from their works, nor from their obstinate path.
20 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this people transgresses my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and obeyeth not my voice,
21 neither will I again drive out any of the nations from before them. that Joshua left when he died;
22 to test Israel with them, whether or not they would seek to follow the way of the Lord, walking in it, as his parents followed.
23 For this reason the LORD left those nations, without driving them out at once, and did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
1 These, then, are the nations that Jehovah left to test Israel with them, all those who had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2 only that the race of the children of Israel might know war, that they might teach it to those who had not known it before:
3 the five princes of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon to Hamath.
4 And they went to test Israel with them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had given to their parents by the hand of Moses.
5 So the children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
6 And they took their daughters as wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.
7 So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baalim and the Asherah images.
8 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-risataim king of Mesopotamia; And the children of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
9 Then the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; and the LORD raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel and delivered them; that is, Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb.
10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and he went out to battle, and the LORD delivered Cushan-risataim king of Syria into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Cushan-risataim.
11 And he rested the land forty years; and Othniel son of Kenaz died.
12 The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
13 He gathered with him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and came and smote Israel, and took the city of palm trees.
14 And the children of Israel served Eglon king of the Moabites eighteen years.
15 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord; and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was left-handed. And the children of Israel sent with him a gift to Eglon king of Moab.
16 And Ehud had made himself a two-edged dagger, a cubit long; and he girded it under his clothes on his right side.
17 And he gave the present to Eglon king of Moab; and Eglon was a very thick man.
18 And after he had delivered the present, he dismissed the people who had brought it.
19 But he turned from the idols that are in Gilgal, and said, King, I have a secret word to tell you. He then said: Be silent. And all who were with him left before him.
20 And Ehud came to him, as he sat alone in his summer room. And Ehud said: I have the word of God for you. He then got up from the chair.
21 Then Ehud stretched out his left hand, and took the dagger from his right side, and thrust it into his belly,
22 so that the hilt also entered behind the blade, and the fat covered the blade, because he did not draw out the dagger. from her belly; and the manure came out.
23 And Ehud went out into the hall, and he closed the doors of the room behind him and bolted them.
24 When he had gone out, the king’s servants came, and seeing the doors of the room closed, they said, Surely he covers his feet in the summer room.
25 And having waited until they were confused, because he did not open the doors of the room, they took the key and opened; and behold, his master fell to the ground, dead.
26 But while they stopped, Ehud escaped, and passing the idols, he took refuge in Seirat.
27 And when he was come in, he blew the horn on mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came down with him from the mount, and he went before them.
28 Then he said to them, Follow me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan to Moab, and let none pass by.
29 And at that time they killed of the Moabites about ten thousand men, all mighty men and all men of war; none escaped.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel; and he rested the land eighty years.
31 After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also saved Israel.
1 After the death of Ehud, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord.
2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the captain of his army was named Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-goim.
3 Then the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, because he had nine hundred iron chariots, and had cruelly oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
4 At that time a woman ruled over Israel, Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth;
5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, on Mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel went up to it for judgment.
6 And she sent for Barak the son of Abinoam, of Kedesh of Naphtali, and said unto him, Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded thee, saying, Go, gather thy people to mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand? men from the tribe of Naphtali and from the tribe of Zebulun;
7 And I will draw to you Sisera, captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his army, to the brook Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hands?
8 Barak answered him, If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.
9 She said, I will go with you; But the glory of the journey you undertake will not be yours, because the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak gathered Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and went up with ten thousand men under him; and Deborah went up with him.
11 And Eber the Kenite, of the sons of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law, had separated from the Kenites, and had pitched his tents in the valley of Zaanaim, which is near Kedesh.
12 So news came to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-goim to the brook Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord come out before you? And Barak came down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men followed him.
15 And the LORD smote Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from the chariot, and fled on foot.
16 But Barak followed the chariots and the army to Harosheth-goim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword, until not one was left.
17 And Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Eber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Eber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, Come, my lord, come to me, do not be afraid. And he came to her into the tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
19 And he said to her, Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink, and covered him again.
20 And he said to him, Stand at the door of the tent; and if any man come and ask you, saying, Is there any here? you will answer no.
21 But Jael, Eber’s wife, took a tent peg, and putting a mallet in her hand, she quietly approached him and thrust the peg into his temples, and drove it into the ground, for he was heavy with sleep and tired; and so he died.
22 And Barak followed Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek. And he entered where she was, and, behold, Sisera lay dead with the stake through his temple.
23 Thus God struck down Jabin king of Canaan that day before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel grew harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan, until they destroyed him.
1 That day Deborah sang with Barak son of Abinoam, saying:
2 Because the leaders in Israel have taken the lead, because the people have offered themselves voluntarily, Praise the Lord.
3 Hear, ye kings; Listen, oh princes; I will sing to the Lord, I will sing praises to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 When you left Seir, O Lord, When you left the fields of Edom, The earth shook, and the heavens dropped, And the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains trembled before the Lord, that Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the roads were abandoned, And those who walked in the paths turned aside into crooked paths.
7 The villages were abandoned in Israel, they had decayed, Until I Deborah arose, I arose as a mother in Israel.
8 When they chose new gods, War was at the doors; Was a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is for you, leaders of Israel, For those who volunteered yourselves among the people. Load to Jehovah.
10 You who ride on white donkeys, You who preside in judgment, And you who travel, speak.
11 Far from the noise of the archers, in the watering holes, There they will repeat the triumphs of the Lord, The triumphs of his villages in Israel; Then the people of Jehovah will march toward the gates.
12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah; Wake up, wake up, sing a song. Arise, Barak, and take your captives, son of Abinoam.
13 Then the rest of the nobles marched; Jehovah’s people marched for him against the powerful.
14 From Ephraim came those who settled in Amalek, Following you, Benjamin, among your people; From Machir came princes, and from Zebulun those who had a rod of command.
15 Leaders also of Issachar went with Deborah; And like Barak, Issachar also rushed on foot into the valley. Among Rubén’s families there were great resolutions of the heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheepfolds, To hear the bleating of the flocks? Among Rubén’s families there were great purposes of the heart.
17 Gilead remained on the other side of the Jordan; And Dan, why did he stay next to the ships? He stayed at Asher by the sea, and he stayed in his harbors.
18 The people of Zebulun exposed their lives to death, and Naphtali in the high places of the field.
19 Kings came and fought; Then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanak by the waters of Megiddo, but they did not gain any money.
twentyFrom the heavens the stars fought; From their orbits they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. March, oh my soul, with power.
22 Then the horses’ hooves resounded For the galloping, for the galloping of their mighty men.
23 Curse Meroz, said the angel of the Lord; Severely curse the inhabitants of it, Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the strong.
24 Blessed be Jael among women, wife of Heber the Kenite; On the blessed women in the tent.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; In a noble bowl she presented him with cream.
26 He stretched out his hand to the stake, And his right hand to the workers’ hammer, And he struck Sisera; she smote her head, and pierced him, and pierced her temples.
27 He fell bent over between her feet and lay there; Between his feet he fell bent over; Where he bowed, there he fell dead.
28 Sisera’s mother looks out of the window, And through the lattices she shouts: Why is her chariot late in coming? Why do the wheels of your cars stop?
29 The wisest of her ladies answered her, And she even answered herself:
30 Have they not found booty, and are they dividing it? To each one a maiden, or two; The colored garments for Sisera, The colored embroidered garments; The colored clothing embroidered on both sides, for the leaders of those who took the loot.
31 So may all your enemies perish, O Jehovah; But those who love you, be like the sun when it rises in its strength. And the earth rested forty years.
1 The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And the children of Israel, because of the Midianites, made for themselves caves in the mountains, and caverns, and fortified places.
3 For when Israel had sown, the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east came up against them; They went up and attacked them.
4 And encamping against them they destroyed the fruits of the land, until they came to Gaza; and they left nothing to eat in Israel, neither sheep, nor oxen, nor donkeys.
5 For they and their cattle came up, and came with their tents in great multitudes like locusts; They and their camels were innumerable; So they came to the earth to devastate it.
6 Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to the Lord.
7 And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 the LORD sent to the children of Israel a man prophet, who said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought you out of Egypt, and I brought you out of the house of bondage.
9 I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all those who afflicted you, whom I drove out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 and I said to you, I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live; but you have not obeyed my voice.
11 And the angel of the LORD came, and sat under the oak that is in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, The Lord is with you, mighty and mighty man.
13 And Gideon answered him, Ah, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this come upon us? And where are all the wonders of him, which our fathers told us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt? And now the LORD has forsaken us, and he has delivered us into the hand of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him and said to him, Go with this thy strength, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Am I not sending you?
15 Then he answered him, Ah, my lord, with what shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.
16 The LORD said to him, “I will surely be with you, and you will defeat the Midianites as one man.
17 And he answered, I pray thee, if I have found favor with thee, give me a sign that thou hast spoken with me.
18Please do not depart from here until I return to you, and take out my offering and set it before you. And he answered: I will wait until you return.
19 And Gideon came in, and prepared a goat, and unleavened bread of an ephah of flour; And he put the meat in a basket, and the broth in a pot, and taking it out he presented it to her under that oak tree.
20 Then the angel of God said to him, Take the meat and the unleavened bread, and put them on this rock, and pour in the broth. And he did so.
21 And the angel of the LORD stretched out the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread with its point; and fire came up from the rock, and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared from his sight.
22 Then Gideon saw that it was the angel of the Lord, and he said, Ah, Lord Jehovah, I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.
23 But the LORD said to him, Peace be with you; Do not be afraid, you will not die.
24 And Gideon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it Jehovah-salom; which remains to this day in Ophrah of the Abiezerites.
25 It came to pass on the same night that the LORD said to him, Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second bull of seven years old, and break down the altar of Baal that your father has, and also cut down the Asherah image that is next to it;
26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock in a convenient place; and take the second bull, sacrifice it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah image that you have cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord told him. But fearing to do it during the day, for the sake of his father’s family and for the men of the city, he did it at night.
28 In the morning, when those of the city arose, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah image that was next to it was cut down, and the second bull had been offered as a burnt offering on the altar that had been built.
29 And they said to one another: Who has done this? And searching and inquiring, they said to them, Gideon the son of Joash has done it. Then the men of the city said to Joash,
30 Bring out your son to die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah image that was next to it.
31 And Joash said to all those standing by him, Will you contend for Baal? Will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him, let him die this morning. If he be a god, let him contend for himself with him who tore down his altar.
32 That day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is, Baal fought against him, because he broke down his altar.
33 But all the Midianites and Amalekites and those from the east gathered together, and passed on and camped in the valley of Jezreel.
34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and when he blew the horn, the Abiezrites gathered around him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also gathered together with him; He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, who went out to meet them.
36 And Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,
37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; and if the dew is only on the fleece, and all the other land remains dry, then I will understand that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.
38 And so it came to pass, for when he arose early in the morning, he wrung the fleece and brought out the dew from it, a bowl full of water.
39 But Gideon said to God, Let not your anger burn against me, if I speak again this time; I’ll just try the fleece again now. I pray that only the fleece may remain dry, and the dew on the earth.
40 And that night God did it like this; Only the fleece remained dry, and there was dew throughout the land.
1 So Jerobaal, who is Gideon, got up early in the morning, and all the people who were with him, and camped at the fountain of Harod; and he had the camp of the Midianites to the north, beyond the hill of More, in the valley.
2 And the LORD said to Gideon, The people that are with you are too many for me to deliver the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast against me, saying, My hand has saved me.
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying: He who fears and trembles, let him get up early and return from Mount Gilead. And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 And the LORD said to Gideon, The people are still many; take them to the waters, and there I will test them for you; and whoever I say to you: This one goes with you, he will go with you; But whoever I say to you: This one does not go with you, this one will not go.
5 Then he led the people to the waters; and the LORD said to Gideon, “Whoever laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, him you shall set apart; likewise to anyone who bows on his knees to drink.
6 And the number of those who lapped, bringing the water with their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed on their knees to drink the waters.
7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, With these three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you, and I will deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the other people go, each one to his place.
8 And having taken provisions for the people, and their trumpets, he sent all the Israelites each to his tent, and retained those three hundred men; and he had the camp of Midian down in the valley.
9 It came to pass that night that the LORD said to him, Arise, and go down to the camp; because I have delivered it into your hands.
10 And if you are afraid to go down, go down with Fura your servant to the camp,
11 and you will hear what they say; and then your hands will be strong, and you will go down to the camp. And he went down with Fura his servant to the outposts of the armed people that were in the camp.
12 And the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east were lying in the valley like locusts in multitude, and their camels were innumerable as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude.
13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling his companion a dream, saying, Behold, I dreamed a dream: I saw a loaf of barley rolling to the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent, and struck it down. so that it fell, and overturned it from top to bottom, and the tent fell.
14And his companion answered and said, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has delivered the Midianites and the entire camp into their hands.
15 When Gideon heard the story of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; And returning to the camp of Israel, he said, Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hands.
16 And dividing the three hundred men into three squads, he gave to all of them trumpets in their hands, and empty jars with burning brands inside the jars.
17 And he said unto them, Look unto me, and do as I do; Behold, when I come to the end of the camp, you will do as I do.
18 I will blow the trumpet, and all those who will be with me; and you shall then blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and say, By the Lord and by Gideon!
19 So Gideon and the hundred men he had with him arrived at the edge of the camp at the beginning of the midnight watch, when the sentinels had just been renewed; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
20 And the three squads blew the trumpets, and breaking the pitchers, they took the torches in their left hands, and in their right the trumpets with which they blew, and shouted: By the sword of the Lord and of Gideon!
21 And they stood fast, each one at his post around the camp; Then the whole army began to run, shouting and fleeing.
22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets; and the LORD set each man’s sword against his companion throughout the camp. And the army fled to Beth-sita, toward Zerera, and to the border of Abel-mehola in Tabat.
23 And they gathered together from Israel, from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all Manasseh, and followed the Midianites.
24 Gideon also sent messengers throughout Mount Ephraim, saying, Go down to meet the Midianites, and take the fords of Bethbara and the Jordan before they come. And together all the men of Ephraim took the fords of Bethbara and the Jordan.
25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they killed Oreb in the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed in the winepress of Zeeb; and after they followed the Midianites, they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
1 But the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this that you have done to us, not calling us when you went to war against Midian? And they reprimanded him strongly.
2 To whom he answered, What have I done now compared to you? Is not Ephraim’s gleaning better than Abiezer’s harvest?
3 God has given Oreb and Zeeb, princes of Midian, into your hands; And what have I been able to do compared to you? Then their anger against him was appeased after he had spoken this word.
4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, and he and the three hundred men he had with him passed over, tired, but still pursuing.
5 And he said to those of Sukkot: I pray you, give to the people who follow me a few morsels of bread; for they are tired, and I pursue Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 And the rulers of Sukkot answered, Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we may give bread to your army?
7 And Gideon said, When the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns and thistles of the desert.
8 From there he went up to Peniel, and he spoke the same words to them. And those of Peniel answered him as those of Sukkot had answered.
9 And he also spoke to those of Peniel, saying: When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower.
10 And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Carcor, and with them their army of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the whole army of the children of the east; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew swords had fallen.
11 So Gideon went up by the way of the tent-dwellers east of Noba and Jogbeha, and attacked the camp, because the army was not on guard.
12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he followed them; and he arrested the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and terrified the whole army.
13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle before the sun rose,
14 and he took a young man from the men of Succoth, and asked him: and he gave him in writing the names of the rulers and elders of Sukkot, seventy-seven men.
15 And he went in to the men of Sukkot and said, Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you reproached me, saying, Are Zebah and Zalmunnah already in your hand, that we may give bread to your weary men?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns and thistles of the desert, and punished those of Sukkot with them.
17 He also tore down the tower of Peniel, and killed those in the city.
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna: What did those men look like that you killed at Tabor? And they answered: Like you, so were they; each one looked like the son of a king.
19 And he said, They were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As Jehovah lives, if you had preserved their lives, I would not have killed you!
20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, and kill them. But the young man did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, since he was still a boy.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunnah said to us, Arise and kill us; because as the man is, such is his courage. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the ornaments of moons that his camels were carrying around his neck.
22 And the Israelites said to Gideon, Be our lord, you, and your son, and your grandson; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.
23 But Gideon said, I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you: the Lord will rule over you.
24 And Gideon said to them, I want to make a request of you; Let each one give me the earrings of his spoils (for they brought earrings of gold, because they were Ishmaelites).
25 They answered, We will give them to you gladly. And spreading a cloak, each one threw there the tendrils of his spoil.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he asked for was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, without the plates and jewels and purple garments that the kings of Midian wore, and without the necklaces that their camels wore around their necks.
27 And Gideon made them an ephod, which he kept in his city of Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves after that ephod in that place; and he became a stumbling block to Gideon and to his house.
28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and he never raised his head again. And he rested the land forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 Then Jerobaal the son of Joash went and lived in his house.
30 And Gideon had seventy sons who were his descendants, for he had many wives.
31 Also his concubine who was in Shechem bore him a son, and she named him Abimelech.
32 And Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 But it came to pass, when Gideon died, that the children of Israel again became prostitutes, going after the Baals, and they chose Baal-berith as their god.
34 And the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all his enemies around;
35 nor were they grateful to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.
1 Abimelech the son of Jerobaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of his mother’s father’s house, saying,
2 I pray you, say in the ears of all the people of Shechem : Which do you think is better, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerobaal, govern you, or that one man govern you? Remember that I am your bone and your flesh.
3 And his mother’s brothers spoke through him in the ears of all the people of Shechem all these words; and their hearts turned toward Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother.
4 And they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired idle and wandering men, who followed him.
5 And coming to his father’s house at Ophrah, he slew his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; But Jotham the youngest son of Jerobaal remained, and he hid.
6 Then all the people of Shechem gathered together with all the house of Milo, and went and chose Abimelech as king, near the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
7 When they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifting up his voice he cried out and said to them, Hear me, men of Shechem, that God may hear you.
8 Once the trees went to choose a king over themselves, and they said to the olive tree: Queen over us.
9 But the olive tree answered: Shall I leave my oil, with which in me God and men are honored, to go and be great above the trees?
10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Go, reign over us.
11 And the fig tree answered: Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be great above the trees?
12 Then the trees said to the vine, Come, reign over us.
13 And the vine answered them: Should I leave my wine, which brings joy to God and men, to go and be great above the trees?
14 Then all the trees said to the bush: Go, reign over us.
15 And the bush answered the trees: If you truly choose me to be king over you, come, take shelter under my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
16 Now therefore, if you have done truthfully and with integrity to make Abimelech king, and if you have done well to Jerubbaal and to his house, and if you have repaid him according to the work of his hands
17 (for my father fought for 18
​and you have risen up today against my father’s house, and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone; and you have made Abimelech the son of his maidservant king over Shechem, because he is your brother;
19 If you have dealt with Jerobaal and his house with truth and integrity today, may you enjoy Abimelech, and he may enjoy you.
20 And if not, let fire come out of Abimelech and consume the people of Shechem and the house of Milo, and fire come out of the people of Shechem and the house of Milo and consume Abimelech.
21 And Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer, and stayed there for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22 After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years,
23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem rose up against Abimelech;
24 so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, and their blood, would fall on Abimelech his brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
25 And the people of Shechem set traps on the tops of the mountains to rob all who passed by them on the way; of which notice was given to Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem, and those of Shechem put their trust in him.
27 And they went out into the field, they harvested their vineyards, and they trodden the grapes and celebrated; And entering the temple of their gods, they ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and what is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his helper? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?
29 If only this people were under my hand, then I would drive out Abimelech, and I would say to Abimelech, Increase your armies, and go out.
30 When Zebul, the governor of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, he was enraged.
31 And he secretly sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem, and behold, they are revolting the city against you.
32 So get up now at night, you and the people who are with you, and set up ambushes in the field.
33 And in the morning at sunrise the sun rises early and falls on the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall deal with him as the occasion arises.
34 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him arose in the night and laid an ambush against Shechem with four companies.
35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood at the entrance of the city gate; and Abimelech and all the people who were with him arose from the ambush.
36 And Gaal saw the people, and he said to Zebul, Behold, there are people coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul answered him: You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.
37 Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, people are coming down from the middle of the earth, and a troop is coming by the way of the oak of the diviners.
38 And Zebul answered him, Where is your mouth now, whereby you said, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Isn’t this the town you thought little of? So go out now and fight with him.
39 And Gaal went out before the people of Shechem, and fought against Abimelech.
40 But Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him; and many fell wounded until the entrance of the gate.
41 And Abimelech stayed in Aruma; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.
42 It came to pass the next day that the people went out into the field; and it was reported to Abimelech,
43 who, taking men, divided them into three companies, and set ambushes in the field; and when he looked, behold, the people came out of the city; and he rose up against them and attacked them.
44 For Abimelech and the company that was with him attacked with might, and stopped at the entrance to the city gate, and the other two companies attacked all those who were in the field, and killed them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and took the city, and slew the people that were in it; and he laid waste the city, and sowed it with salt.
46 When all those who were in the tower of Shechem heard this, they went into the stronghold of the temple of the god Berith.
47 And it was reported to Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were assembled.
48 Then Abimelech went up to Mount Salmon, he and all the people who were with him; And Abimelech took an ax in his hand, and cut off a branch from the trees, and lifting it up he put it on his shoulders, saying to the people who were with him, What you have seen me do, hasten to do it as I did. .
49 And all the people also cut off each one his branch, and followed Abimelech, and placed them by the fortress, and set fire to the fortress with them, so that all those in the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men. and women.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and laid siege to Thebez, and took it.
51In the middle of that city there was a fortified tower, to which all the men and women, and all the lords of the city, retired; and closing the doors behind them, they climbed to the roof of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came to the tower, and fighting against it, he came to the door of the tower to set it on fire.
53 But a woman dropped a piece of a millstone on Abimelech’s head, and she broke his skull.
54 Then he quickly called his armor bearer and said to her, Draw your sword and kill me, so that it may not be said about me, A woman killed him. And his armor bearer pierced him, and he died.
55 And when the Israelites saw Abimelech dead, they each went to his house.
56 Thus God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did against his father, by killing his seventy brothers.
57 And God turned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
1 After Abimelech, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived in Samir in mount Ephraim, arose to deliver Israel.
2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died, and was buried in Samir.
3 After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel for twenty-two years.
4 This man had thirty sons, who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty cities, which are called the cities of Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
6 But the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim and Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the children of Amon and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord, and did not serve him.
7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon;
8 who oppressed and crushed the children of Israel at that time eighteen years, all the children of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 And the children of Ammon crossed the Jordan to make war also against Judah and against Benjamin and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was greatly afflicted.
10 Then the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee; for we have forsaken our God, and served the Baalim.
11 And the LORD said to the children of Israel, Have you not been oppressed by Egypt, by the Amorites, by the Ammonites, by the Philistines,
12 by the people of Sidon, by Amalek, and by Maon, and when you cried to me I did not deliver you from her hands?
13 But you have forsaken me, and have served other gods; therefore I will not deliver you any more.
14 Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen for yourselves; May they deliver you in the time of your affliction.
15 And the children of Israel answered Jehovah, We have sinned; Do with us as you see fit; We only pray that you deliver us on this day.
16 And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served the Lord; and he was distressed because of the affliction of Israel.
17 Then the children of Ammon gathered together and camped in Gilead; The children of Israel also gathered together and camped at Mizpah.
18 And the princes and the people of Gilead said one to another, Who will begin the battle against the children of Ammon? He will be ruler over all those who live in Gilead.
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was mighty and courageous; He was the son of a harlot woman, and Jephthah’s father was Gilead.
2 But Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they cast out Jephthah, saying, “You will not inherit in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and idle men gathered with him, and they went out with him.
4 As time went on, the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah out of the land of Tob;
6 And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our leader, that we may fight against the children of Ammon.
7 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why then do you come to me now when you are in affliction?
8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, For this very cause we now return to you, that you may come with us and fight against the children of Ammon, and be leader of all us who dwell in Gilead.
9 Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me back to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them before me, shall I be your leader?
10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, The Lord be a witness among us, if we do not do as you say.
11 Then Jephthah came with the elders of Gilead, and the people elected him their leader and chief; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, What have you to do with me, that you have come to me to make war against my land?
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers: Because Israel took my land when it came up out of Egypt, from Arnon to Jabbok and the Jordan; now, therefore, give her back in peace.
14 And Jephthah again sent other messengers to the king of the Ammonites,
15 to say to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.
16 For when Israel came up from Egypt, she walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh.
17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I pray you, let me pass through your land; but the king of Edom did not listen to them. He also sent the king of Moab, who also did not want to; Therefore Israel remained in Kadesh.
18Then, going through the wilderness, he went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and coming along the east side of the land of Moab, he camped on the other side of Arnon, and did not enter the territory of Moab; for Arnon is the territory of Moab.
19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, saying, Please let me pass through your land to my place.
20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to give him passage through his territory, but Sihon gathered all his people, and he camped in Jahaza, and fought against Israel.
21 But the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and defeated them; and he took possession of Israel all the land of the Amorites who dwelt in that country.
22 They also took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from Arnon to Jabbok, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
23 Therefore, what the Lord God of Israel dispossessed the Amorite before his people Israel, do you intend to take possession of it?
24 Whatever makes you possess Quemos your god, would you not possess it? Thus, everything that Jehovah our God dispossessed before us, we will possess.
25 Are you now better in anything than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he have an issue against Israel, or did he make war against them?
26 When Israel has been inhabiting Heshbon and its towns for three hundred years, Aroer and its towns, and all the cities that are in the territory of Arnon, why have you not recovered them during that time?
27 Therefore I have sinned nothing against you, but you do evil to me by fighting against me. Jehovah, who is the judge, judge today between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words that Jephthah sent him.
29 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah; and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and from there he passed to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed to the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, If you deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
31 whoever comes out of the gates of my house to meet me, when I return victoriously from the Ammonites, will be the LORD’s, and I will offer him as a burnt offering.
32 And Jephthah went to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hand.
33 And from Aroer to Minith, twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards, he defeated them with very great destruction. Thus the Ammonites were subdued by the children of Israel.
34 Then Jephthah returned to Mizpah, to his house; and here was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing, and she was alone, his only daughter; She had no son or daughter outside of her.
35 And when he saw her, he tore her clothes, saying, Alas, my daughter! You have truly brought me down, and you yourself have become the cause of my pain; because I have given my word to the Lord, and I will not be able to take it back.
36 Then she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what you promised, since the LORD has taken revenge on your enemies, the children of Ammon.”
37 And he said again to her father: Grant me this: let me go for two months and go down the mountains, and mourn my virginity, I and my companions.
38 He then said, Go. And he left her for two months. And she went with her companions, and she wept for her virginity on the mountains.
39 After two months he returned to her father, who took care of her according to the vow he had made for her. And she never knew a man.
40 And it became a custom in Israel, that from year to year the maidens of Israel went to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in the year.
1 Then the men of Ephraim gathered together and passed on to the north, and said to Jephthah, Why did you go to war against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house with you.
2 And Jephthah answered them, I and my people had a great quarrel with the children of Ammon, and I called you, and you did not defend me from his hand.
3 Seeing therefore that you did not defend me, I risked my life, and passed against the children of Ammon, and the Lord handed them over to me; Why then have you come up against me today to fight with me?
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fought against Ephraim; and they of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they had said, You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.
5 And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan from those of Ephraim; And it came to pass, when the fugitives of Ephraim said, I want to pass over, the men of Gilead asked them, Are you an Ephrathite? If he answered: No,
6 then they said to him: Now, therefore, say Shibolet. And he said Sibolet; because he couldn’t pronounce it correctly. Then they laid hands on him and slew his throat at the fords of the Jordan. And then forty-two thousand of Ephraim died.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years; and Jephthah the Gileadite died, and he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel,
9 who had thirty sons and thirty daughters, whom he married outside, and took thirty daughters from abroad for his sons; and he judged Israel seven years.
10 And Ibzan died, and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulonite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years.
12 And Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Ajalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
14 This man had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel eight years.
15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in mount Amalek.
1 The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 And there was a man from Zorah, of the tribe of Dan, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and she had never had children.
3 The angel of the LORD appeared to this woman and said, Behold, you are barren, and have never had children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
4 Now therefore do not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean.
5 For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son; and no razor will pass on his head, because the child will be a Nazarite to God from his birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
6 And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, whose appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, greatly feared; and I did not ask him where he was from or who he was, nor did he tell me his name.
7 And he said to me, Behold, you will conceive and bear a son; Therefore now do not drink wine or strong drink or eat anything unclean, for this child will be a Nazarite to God from his birth until the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, Ah, my Lord, I pray thee, that the man of God whom thou hast sent, may now come again to us, and teach us what we should do with the child that is to be born.
9 And God heard the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God returned again to the woman, while she was in the field; But her husband Manoah was not with her.
10 And the woman ran quickly to tell her husband, saying, Look, that man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.
11 And Manoah arose, and followed his wife; and he came to the man and said to him, Are you that man who spoke to the woman? And he said: I am.
12 Then Manoah said, When your words come true, what should the child’s way of life be, and what should we do with him?
13 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, The woman shall keep from all that I told her.
14 He shall not take anything that comes from the vine; he will not drink wine or strong drink, and will not eat anything unclean; He will keep everything I commanded him.
15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, Please allow us to detain you, and we will prepare a kid for you.
16 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, Even if you stop me, I will not eat your bread; But if you want to make a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord. And Manoah did not know that he was an angel of the Lord.
17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, What is your name, that when your word is fulfilled we may honor you?
18 And the angel of the LORD answered, Why do you ask about my name, which is admirable?
19 And Manoah took a goat and an offering, and offered them on a rock to the Lord; and the angel performed a miracle in the eyes of Manoah and his wife.
20 For it came to pass, as the flame ascended from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar before the eyes of Manoah and his wife, and they bowed down to the ground.
21 And the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah or to his wife. Then he knew Manoah, who was the angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, We will surely die, because we have seen God.
23 And his wife answered him, If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not accept the burnt offering and the offering at our hands, nor would he have shown us all these things, nor would he now have announced this to us.
24 And the woman gave birth to a son, and she named him Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to manifest itself in him in the camps of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
1 Samson went down to Timnath, and saw in Timnath a woman of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he went up and told his father and his mother, saying, I have seen in Timnath a woman of the daughters of the Philistines; I beg you to take her as your wife.
3 And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among your brothers’ daughters, nor in all our people, that you should go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Take me this to be your wife, for she pleases me.
4 But his father and his mother did not know that this was from the Lord, because he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
5 And Samson went down with his father and his mother to Timnath; And when they came to the vineyards of Timnath, behold, a young lion came roaring toward him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and he tore the lion as one would tear a goat, having nothing in his hand; and he did not declare to either his father or his mother what he had done.
7 So he went down and spoke to the woman; and she pleased Samson.
8 And returning after some days to take it, he turned aside from the way to see the dead body of the lion; and behold, in the body of the lion there was a swarm of bees, and a honeycomb.
9 And taking it in his hands, he went eating it along the way; and when he reached his father and his mother, he gave them also to eat; but he did not reveal to them that he had taken that honey from the lion’s body.
10 So his father came to the woman, and Samson made a banquet there; because that’s what young people used to do.
11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they took thirty companions to be with him.
12 And Samson said to them, I will now tell you a riddle, and if in the seven days of the banquet you tell it to me and decipher it, I will give you thirty linen dresses and thirty festive dresses.
13 But if you cannot tell me, then you will give me the thirty linen dresses and the festive dresses. And they answered: Propose your riddle, and we will hear it.
14 Then he said to them, Out of the devourer came food, And out of the strong came sweetness. And they could not explain the riddle to him in three days.
15 On the seventh day they said to Samson’s wife, Induce your husband to tell us this riddle, so that we may not burn you and your father’s house. Have you called us here to despoil us?
16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, You only hate me, and do not love me, because you do not explain to me the riddle that you proposed to the children of my people. And he answered: Behold, I have not declared it to my father nor to my mother, and should I declare it to you?
17 And she wept before him the seven days that they had a banquet; but on the seventh day he told her, because she pressured him; and she declared it to the children of her people.
18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, those of the city said to him: What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than the lion? And he answered them: If you had not plowed my heifer, you would never have discovered my riddle.
19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and slew thirty of their men; and taking the spoils from him, he gave the changes of clothes to those who had explained the riddle; and in anger he returned to his father’s house.
20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had treated as his friend.
1 It came to pass after some time, that in the days of the wheat harvest Samson visited his wife with a goat, saying, I will bring my wife into the chamber. But her father did not let him enter.
2 And her father said, I was persuaded that you hated her, and I gave her to your companion. But isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Take her, then, in her place.
3 Then Samson said to him, “I will be blameless this time toward the Philistines, if I do harm to them.”
4 And Samson went and hunted three hundred foxes, and took brands, and put tail to tail, and put a brand between each two tails.
5 Then, lighting the brands, he released the foxes into the fields of the Philistines, and burned the heaped and standing crops, vineyards and olive groves.
6 And the Philistines said, Who did this? And they said to them, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnatete, because he took her wife from him and gave her to his companion. And the Philistines came and burned her and her father.
7 Then Samson said to them, Since you have done this, I swear that I will take revenge on you, and then I will desist.
8 And he struck them hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and dwelt in the cave of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread throughout Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said to them, Why have you come up against us? And they answered, We have gone up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.
11 And three thousand men of Judah came to the cave of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this? And he answered them: I have done to them as they have done to me.
12 Then they said to him: We have come to arrest you and deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson answered them: Swear to me that you will not kill me.
13 And they answered him, saying, No; We will only seize you, and deliver you into his hands; but we will not kill you. Then they tied him with two new ropes, and made him come from the rock.
14 And as soon as he came to Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting to meet him; But the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax burned with fire, and the bands fell from his hands.
15 And finding a fresh donkey’s jawbone still fresh, he stretched out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
16 Then Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, a heap, two heaps; With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men.
17 And when he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramat-lehi.
18 And being greatly thirsty, he immediately cried unto the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great salvation by the hand of thy servant; and shall I now die of thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 Then God opened the basin that is in Lehi; and water came out from there, and he drank, and his spirit recovered, and he revived. Therefore he called the name of that place, En-hacore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
1 Samson went to Gaza, and saw a harlot woman there, and he came to her.
2 And it was said to those of Gaza, Samson has come hither. And they surrounded him, and lay in wait all that night at the gate of the city; and they were silent all that night, saying, Until the morning light; then we will kill him.
3 But Samson slept until midnight; and at midnight he arose, and taking the gates of the city with their two pillars and their bolt, he put them on his shoulder, and went and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
4 After this it happened that he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorech, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the princes of the Philistines came to her and said to her, Deceive him and find out what his great strength consists of, and how we could overcome him, so that we may bind him and dominate him; and each of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson: I pray you, tell me what your great strength consists of, and how you can be bound to be dominated.
7 And Samson said to him, If they bind me with seven green osiers that are not yet dry, then I will become weak and will be like any of the men.
8 And the princes of the Philistines brought her seven green osiers that were not yet dry, and she tied him with them.
9 And she had men lying in wait in the room. Then she said to him, Samson, the Philistines are against you! And he broke the osiers, as a tow rope breaks when it touches the fire; and the secret of his strength was not known.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have deceived me, and told me lies; Tell me now, I pray you, how you can be bound.
11 And he said to him, If they bind me tightly with new ropes that have not been used, I will become weak, and I will be like any other man.
12 And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, Samson, the Philistines are upon you! And the spies were in the room. But he tore them from his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said to Samson, Until now you deceive me, and deal with me with lies. Tell me now, then, how you can be bound. He then said to her: If you weave seven locks of my head with the cloth and secure them with the stake.
14 And she secured them with the stake, and said to him, Samson, the Philistines are upon you! But when he awoke from her sleep, she tore out the loom stake with the cloth.
15 And she said to him: How do you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have already deceived me three times, and you have not yet revealed to me what your great strength consists of.
16 And it came to pass, as she pressed him daily with her words and pestered him about her, that her soul was reduced to mortal anguish.
17 She therefore revealed to him all her heart, and said to him: No razor ever came to my head; because I am a Nazarite of God from my mother’s womb. If I be shaved, my strength will depart from me, and I will become weak and will be like all men.
18 When Delilah saw that he had revealed all her heart to her, she sent for the leaders of the Philistines, saying, Come this time, for he has revealed all his heart to me. And the leaders of the Philistines came to her, carrying her money in her hand.
19 And she made him fall asleep on her knees, and called a man, who shaved the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, for her strength departed from him.
20 And he said to him, Samson, the Philistines are upon you! And as soon as he woke up from his dream, he said to himself: This time I will go out like the others and I will escape. But he did not know that Jehovah had already departed from him.
21 But the Philistines laid hands on him, and put out his eyes, and took him to Gaza; and they tied him with chains so that he could grind in prison.
22 And the hair on his head began to grow after he was shaved.
23 Then the leaders of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice; and they said, Our god delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.
24 And when the people saw it, they praised their god, saying, Our god delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our land, who had slain many of us.
25 And it came to pass, when they felt joy in his heart, that they said, Call Samson, that he may entertain us. And they called Samson out of prison, and he served as a plaything before them; and they put him between the pillars.
26 Then Samson said to the young man who was leading him by the hand: Bring me near, and make me feel the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean on them.
27 And the house was full of men and women, and all the leaders of the Philistines were there; and on the upper floor there were about three thousand men and women, who were watching Samson’s mockery.
28 Then Samson cried unto the Lord, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me now, and strengthen me, I pray thee, this once only, O God, that I may at once take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 Then Samson took hold of the two middle columns, on which the house rested, and he put all his weight on them, his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. Then he bowed down with all his strength, and the house fell on the rulers, and on all the people that were in it. And those he killed when he died were many more than those he had killed during his lifetime.
31 And his brothers and all the house of his father went down, and took him, and carried him away, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he judged Israel twenty years.
1 There was a man from Mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah,
2 who said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were stolen from you, about which you cursed, and about which you told me, behold the money It is in my power; I take it. Then the mother said: Blessed are you from the Lord, my son.
3 And he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother; and his mother said, Truly I have dedicated the money to the Lord for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image; Now, then, I give it back to you.
4 But he returned the money to his mother, and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the caster, who made of them a graven image and a molten image, which was placed in Micah’s house. .
5 And this man Micaiah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons to be his priest.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; each one did what seemed right to him.
7 And there was a young man of Bethlehem of Judah, of the tribe of Judah, who was a Levite, and a stranger there.
8 This man left the city of Bethlehem of Judah to go live where he could find a place; And when he was on his way to Mount Ephraim, he came to Micah’s house.
9 And Micaiah said to him, Where do you come from? And the Levite answered him, I am from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live where I can find a place.
10 Then Micaiah said to him, Stay in my house, and you will be a father and priest to me; and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year, clothing and food. And the Levite stayed.
11 So it pleased the Levite to live with that man, and he became like one of his sons to him.
12 And Micah consecrated the Levite, and that young man served as priest, and he remained in Micah’s house.
13 And Micaiah said, Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite for a priest.
1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of Dan sought possession for themselves to live in, because until then they had had no possession among the tribes of Israel.
2 And the sons of Dan sent from his tribe five men from among them, mighty men, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to reconnoitre and explore the land well; and they said to them, Go and explore the land. These came to Mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; And when they came there, they said to him: Who brought you here? and what are you doing here? and what do you have here?
4 He answered them: In this and this way he has done to me Micaiah, and he has taken me to be his priest.
5 And they said to him, Ask God now, that we may know whether this journey that we are making will prosper.
6 And the priest answered them, Go in peace; Your way in which you walk is before the Lord.
7 Then those five men went out, and came to Laish; and they saw that the people who lived there were safe, idle and confident, according to the custom of those of Sidon, without anyone in that region disturbing them in any way, nor was there anyone who possessed the kingdom. And they were far from the Sidonians, and had no business with anyone.
8 So they returned to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, What is there? And they answered:
9 Arise, let us go up against them; because we have explored the region, and we have seen that it is very good; and you won’t do anything? Do not be lazy to set out to take possession of the land.
10 When you go, you will come to a trusting people and a very spacious land, for God has given it into your hands; place where there is no lack of anything on earth.
11 Then there came out from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men of the family of Dan, armed with weapons of war.
12 They went and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah, so they called that place the camp of Dan, to this day; It is west of Kiriath-jearim.
13 And from there they passed on to Mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14 Then those five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, Do you not know that in these houses there are ephods and teraphim, and a graven image and a molten image? Consider, therefore, what you must do.
15 When they arrived there, they came to the house of the young Levite, in Micah’s house, and asked him how he was.
16And the six hundred men, who were of the children of Dan, were armed with their weapons of war at the entrance of the gate.
17 And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and went in there and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.
18 So they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest said to them: What do you do?
19 And they answered him, Be silent, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, that you may be our father and priest. Is it better that you be a priest in the house of one man, than in a tribe and family of Israel?
20 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod and the teraphim and the image, and went among the people.
21 And they turned and departed, and put the children, the cattle, and the baggage ahead.
22 When they had left Micah’s house, the men who lived in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and followed the sons of Dan.
23 And they cried out to the people of Dan, and they turned their faces, and said to Micaiah, What is the matter, that you have gathered people together?
24 He answered: You took my gods that I made and the priest, and you are leaving; What else do I have left? Why then do you say to me: What do you have?
25 And the sons of Dan said to him, Do not shout after us, lest those of angry spirit attack you, and you also lose your life and the lives of yours.
26 And the sons of Dan continued on his way, and Micaiah, seeing that they were stronger than him, turned and returned to his house.
27 And they, carrying the things that Micaiah had done, together with the priest he had, came to Laish, to the people calm and confident; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city.
28 And there was no one to defend them, because they were far from Sidon, and they had no business with anyone. And the city was in the valley by Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.
29 And they called the name of that city Dan, after the name of his father Dan, the son of Israel, although before the city was called Laish.
30 And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests in the tribe of Dan, until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 So they had the carved image that Micaiah had made set up among them all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a Levite living as a stranger in the remotest part of Mount Ephraim, who had taken to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
2 And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went from him to his father’s house, to Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four months.
3 And her husband arose and followed her, to speak lovingly to her and to bring her back; and she had with her a servant, and a pair of donkeys; and she brought him into her father’s house.
4 And when the father of the young woman saw him, he went out to meet him rejoicing; and her father-in-law, the father of the young woman, detained him, and she stayed in her house three days, eating and drinking and staying there.
5 On the fourth day, when they got up early in the morning, the Levite also got up to leave; and the father of the young woman said to his son-in-law, Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread, and then you will go.
6 And they two sat together, and ate and drank. And the father of the young woman said to the man: I beg you to spend the night here, and your heart will be glad.
7 And the man got up to leave, but his father-in-law insisted, and he spent the night there again.
8 On the fifth day, getting up early in the morning to go, the girl’s father said to her, Comfort your heart now, and wait until the day declines. And they both ate together.
9 Then the man got up to leave, he and his concubine and his servant. Then his father-in-law, the father of the young woman, said to him: Behold, the day is already declining towards evening, I beg you to spend the night here; Behold, the day is ending, sleep here, so that your heart may be glad; and tomorrow you will get up early on your way and go home.
10 But the man did not want to spend the night there, but he got up and went, and came to Jebus, which is Jerusalem, with his pair of saddled donkeys, and his concubine.
11 And when they were near Jebus, the day had declined greatly; And the servant said to his master, Come now, and let us go to this city of the Jebusites, that we may spend the night there.
12 And his lord answered him, We will not go to any foreign city, that is not of the children of Israel, but we will go over to Gibeah. And he said to his servant,
13 Come, let us proceed to one of those places, to spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.
14 So they passed on, and the sun set near Gibeah, which belonged to Benjamin.
15 And they left the way to spend the night there at Gibeah; And when they entered, they sat down in the city square, because there was no one to welcome them home for the night.
16And behold, there was an old man coming from his work in the field in the evening, who was from Mount Ephraim, and was living as a stranger in Gibeah; but the inhabitants of that place were children of Benjamin.
17 And the old man lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the city square, and said to him, Where are you going, and where are you coming from?
18 And he answered, We went from Bethlehem of Judah to the remotest part of mount Ephraim, where I am from; and he had gone to Bethlehem of Judah; but now I go to the house of the Lord, and there is no one to welcome me into the house.
19 We have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and we also have bread and wine for me and for your maidservant, and for the servant who is with your servant; We don’t need anything.
20 And the old man said, Peace be with you; All your needs are left to me alone, as long as you do not spend the night in the square.
21 And he brought them into his house, and fed his donkeys; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
22 But when they were rejoicing, behold, the men of that city, wicked men, surrounded the house, knocking at the door; and they spoke to the old man, the owner of the house, saying, Bring out the man who has entered your house, that we may know him.
23 And the owner of the house came out to them and said, No, my brothers, please do not do this evil; Since this man has entered my house, do not do this evil.
24 Behold my virgin daughter, and his concubine; I will take them out for you now; Humiliate them and do with them as you see fit, and do not do such a vile thing to this man.
25 But those men would not listen to him; so that man took her concubine, and he took her out of her; and they entered into it, and abused it all night until morning, and left it at dawn.
26 And when it was already dawn, the woman came, and she fell before the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was day.
27 And her master got up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go on her way; And behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying before the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
28 He said to him, Get up, and let us go; but she didn’t answer. Then the man lifted her up, and putting her on her donkey, he arose and went to her place.
29 And when he came to her house, he took a knife, and laid hold of her concubine, and cut her by the bones into twelve parts, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.
30 And everyone who saw it said, “No such thing has ever been done or seen, from the time when the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day.” Consider this, take advice, and speak.
1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation gathered together as one man, from Dan to Beersheba and the land of Gilead, to the Lord in Mizpah.
2 And the leaders of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, were present at the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew swords.
3 And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the children of Israel said, Tell how this wickedness was.
4 Then the Levite man, the husband of the dead woman, answered and said, I came to Gibeah of Benjamin with my concubine, to spend the night there.
5 And the people of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house against me at night, intending to kill me, and they humiliated my concubine in such a way that she died.
6 Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel’s possession, because they have done evil and crime in Israel.
7 Behold, you are all children of Israel; Give your opinion and advice here.
8 Then all the people, as one man, stood up and said, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house.”
9 But this is now what we will do to Gibeah: against it we will go up by lot.
10 We will take ten men out of a hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, so that when they go to Gibeah of Benjamin they will do to him according to all the abomination that has been done. committed in Israel.
11 And all the men of Israel gathered together against the city, united as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What evil is this that has been done among you?
13 Now therefore hand over those wicked men who are in Gibeah, so that we may kill them and remove the evil from Israel. But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children of Israel,
14 but the Benjaminites gathered together from the cities to Gibeah to go out to fight against the children of Israel.
15 And at that time the children of Benjamin were numbered from the cities, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides those who lived in Gibeah, who were counted seven hundred chosen men.
16 Of all those people there were seven hundred chosen men, who were left-handed, all of whom could throw a stone with a sling at a hair’s breadth, and did not miss.
17 And the men of Israel were numbered outside of Benjamin four hundred thousand men who drew the sword, all these men of war.
18Then the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and inquired of God, saying, Who shall go up among us first in war against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD answered, Judah will be the first.
19 So the children of Israel rose up in the morning against Gibeah.
20 And the children of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel ordered battle against them at Gibeah.
21 Then the children of Benjamin went out from Gibeah and struck down to the ground that day twenty-two thousand men of the children of Israel.
22 But when the people revived, the men of Israel again ordered battle in the same place where they had ordered it on the first day.
23 For the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until the evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall we fight again with the children of Benjamin our brethren? And the LORD answered them: Go up against them.
24 Therefore the children of Israel approached against the children of Benjamin on the second day.
25 And on that second day, when Benjamin went out from Gibeah against them, they struck down to the ground another eighteen thousand men of the children of Israel, all of whom drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to the house of God; and they wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until the evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
27 And the children of Israel asked the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), and said, Shall we still return to go out against the sons of Benjamin our brothers, to fight, or will we desist? And the LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them to you.
29 And Israel set ambushes around Gibeah.
30 So the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and they arrayed the battle before Gibeah, as at other times.
31 And the sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people, leaving the city; and they began to strike some of the people, killing them as at other times along the roads, one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah in the countryside; and they killed about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are defeated before us, as before. But the children of Israel said, We will flee, and we will drive them away from the city to the roads.
33 Then all Israel arose from their place, and arrayed themselves in battle array at Baal-tamar; and the ambushes of Israel also came out of their place, from the plain of Gibeah.
34 And ten thousand chosen men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle raged; but they did not know that the disaster was already approaching them.
35 And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel; And the children of Israel killed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of whom drew the sword.
36 And the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated; and the children of Israel gave way to Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambushes they had set behind Gibeah.
37 And the men from the ambushes quickly attacked Gibeah, and advanced and smote the whole city with the edge of the sword.
38 And it was the signal arranged between the men of Israel and the ambushes, that they should cause a great smoke to rise from the city.
39 So then, when the Israelites had retreated from the battle, the Benjaminites began to strike and kill the people of Israel about thirty men, and they were already saying, “Surely they have fallen before us, as in the first battle.”
40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the people of Benjamin looked back; and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven.
41 Then the men of Israel turned back, and the men of Benjamin were filled with fear, because they saw that disaster had come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before Israel toward the way of the wilderness; But the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in their midst.
43 So they surrounded the people of Benjamin, and harassed them and trampled them from Menuha to opposite Gibeah toward where the sun rises.
44 And eighteen thousand men fell from Benjamin, all of them men of war.
Four. FiveThen they turned and fled into the desert, to the rock of Rimmon, and of them five thousand men were killed on the roads; and they pursued them even as far as Gidom, and killed two thousand of them.
46 All those of Benjamin died that day, twenty-five thousand men who drew swords, all of them men of war.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, who remained in the rock of Rimmon four months.
48 And the men of Israel returned upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the men of each city and the beasts and everything that was found; They also set fire to all the cities they found.
1 The men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, None of us will give his daughter to the people of Benjamin as a wife.
2 And the people came to the house of God, and remained there until evening in the presence of God; And they lifted up their voices and wept loudly, and said,
3 O LORD God of Israel, why has this thing come to pass in Israel, that there is one tribe missing from Israel today?
4 And the next day the people arose early, and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who of all the tribes of Israel did not come up to the meeting before the Lord? For a great oath had been sworn against anyone who did not go up to the Lord in Mizpah, saying: He will suffer death.
6 And the children of Israel repented because of his brother Benjamin, and said, This day a tribe is cut off from Israel.
7 What shall we do regarding women for those who are left? We have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them our daughters as wives.
8 And they said, Is there any of the tribes of Israel that has not gone up to the Lord in Mizpah? And they found that none of Jabeshgilead had come to the camp to the meeting.
9 For the people were numbered, and there was not a man of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
10 Then the congregation sent there twelve thousand of the bravest men, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike down the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and children.
11 But you will do this: you will kill every male, and every woman who has known the relationship of a man.
12 And they found of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred maidens who had not known a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole congregation sent to speak to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and called them to peace.
14 And then the men of Benjamin returned, and gave them as wives those whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabeshgilead; but these were not enough for them.
15 And the people had compassion on Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach between the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do about women for those who are left? Because the wives of Benjamin were killed.
17 And they said, Let Benjamin have an inheritance among those who have escaped, and let no tribe of Israel be destroyed.
18 But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, because the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to the Benjamites.
19 Now, they said, behold, every year there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, and on the east side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.
20 And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go, and lay ambushes in the vineyards,
21 and be alert; And when you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in circles, go out from the vineyards, and each of you take a wife for yourself from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 And if their parents or their brothers come to demand them from us, we will tell them: Do us the favor of granting them to us, since in war we do not take women for everyone; Furthermore, it is not you who gave it to them, so that now you should be blamed.
23 And the sons of Benjamin did so; and they took women according to their number, stealing them from those who danced; and they went away, and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities, and dwelt in them.
24 Then the children of Israel also departed from there, each one to his tribe and to his family, each one going out from there to his inheritance.
25 In these days there was no king in Israel; each one did what seemed right to him.
