Judges

(Judges 1:1) Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying, Who shall first go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?

(Judges 1:2) And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up. Behold I have delivered the land into his hand.

(Judges 1:3) And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory. And Simeon went with him.

(Judges 1:4) And Judah went up, and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they struck ten thousand men at Bezek.

(Judges 1:5) And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

(Judges 1:6) And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

(Judges 1:7) And Adoni-Bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me. Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

(Judges 1:8) Now the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

(Judges 1:9) And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the south, and in the lowlands.

(Judges 1:10) Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

(Judges 1:11) From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)

(Judges 1:12) And Caleb said, Whoever strikes Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.

(Judges 1:13) And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.

(Judges 1:14) And it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you wish?

(Judges 1:15) And she said to him, Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the south, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

(Judges 1:16) Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, had gone up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

(Judges 1:17) And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah.

(Judges 1:18) Judah also took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

(Judges 1:19) Thus Jehovah was with Judah. And they dispossessed the mountains, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron.

(Judges 1:20) And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak.

(Judges 1:21) But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

(Judges 1:22) And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and Jehovah was with them.

(Judges 1:23) And the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.)

(Judges 1:24) And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will deal kindly with you.

(Judges 1:25) So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.

(Judges 1:26) And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

(Judges 1:27) However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its daughter-villages, or Taanach and its daughter-villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its daughter-villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its daughter-villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its daughter-villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.

(Judges 1:28) And it came to pass, when Israel had become strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not drive out to dispossess them.

(Judges 1:29) Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

(Judges 1:30) Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put to tribute.

(Judges 1:31) Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

(Judges 1:32) But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

(Judges 1:33) Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put to tribute under them.

(Judges 1:34) And the Amorites squeezed the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;

(Judges 1:35) but the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the hand of the house of Joseph became heavy, they were put to tribute.

(Judges 1:36) And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

(Judges 2:1) And the Angel of Jehovah came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: I led you up from Egypt and brought you into the land of which I had sworn to your fathers; and I said, I will never break My covenant with you.

(Judges 2:2) And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall pull down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?

(Judges 2:3) Therefore I also have said, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.

(Judges 2:4) And it came about, when the Angel of Jehovah spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

(Judges 2:5) Thus they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there unto Jehovah.

(Judges 2:6) And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.

(Judges 2:7) Thus the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged their days after Joshua, who had seen all the great works of Jehovah which He had done for Israel.

(Judges 2:8) And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.

(Judges 2:9) And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

(Judges 2:10) When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who had not known Jehovah nor the work which He had done for Israel.

(Judges 2:11) And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and served the Baals;

(Judges 2:12) and they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they went after other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked Jehovah to anger.

(Judges 2:13) They forsook Jehovah and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

(Judges 2:14) And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

(Judges 2:15) Wherever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had said, and as Jehovah had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

(Judges 2:16) Nevertheless, Jehovah raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

(Judges 2:17) Yet they would not heed their judges, but they committed adultery with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked, to obey the commandments of Jehovah; they did not do so.

(Judges 2:18) And when Jehovah raised up judges for them, Jehovah was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Jehovah was moved to pity before their groaning because of those oppressing and thrusting at them.

(Judges 2:19) And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, by going after other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They have not failed from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

(Judges 2:20) And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel; and He said, Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I have commanded their fathers, and has not obeyed My voice,

(Judges 2:21) I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua has left when he died,

(Judges 2:22) so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah, to walk in it as their fathers have kept it, or not.

(Judges 2:23) Therefore Jehovah left those nations, without driving them out quickly; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

(Judges 3:1) Now these are the nations which Jehovah left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan

(Judges 3:2) (only so that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),

(Judges 3:3) namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

(Judges 3:4) And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of Jehovah, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

(Judges 3:5) Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

(Judges 3:6) And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

(Judges 3:7) And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah. They forgot Jehovah their God, and served the Baals and groves.

(Judges 3:8) Therefore the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.

(Judges 3:9) And when the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

(Judges 3:10) And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and Jehovah delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim.

(Judges 3:11) And the land had rest for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

(Judges 3:12) And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of Jehovah. So Jehovah strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah.

(Judges 3:13) And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek, went and struck Israel, and took possession of the City of Palm Trees.

(Judges 3:14) And the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

(Judges 3:15) And when the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man with his right hand impeded. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

(Judges 3:16) Now Ehud made himself a sword (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and girded it under his clothes on his right thigh.

(Judges 3:17) And he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

(Judges 3:18) And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who were carrying the tribute.

(Judges 3:19) But he himself turned back from the graven images that were at Gilgal, and said, I have a secret matter for you, O king. He said, Keep silence. And all who were standing by him went out from him.

(Judges 3:20) And Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool roof chamber). And Ehud said, I have a word from God for you. So he arose from his seat.

(Judges 3:21) And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

(Judges 3:22) And the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and his excrement came out.

(Judges 3:23) Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

(Judges 3:24) And when he had gone out, his servants came to look, and behold, the doors of the upper room were locked. And they thought, Surely he is covering his feet in the cool chamber.

(Judges 3:25) So they waited till they were ashamed, and behold he was not opening the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And behold, their master was fallen dead on the floor.

(Judges 3:26) And Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the graven images and slipped away to Seirah.

(Judges 3:27) And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the shofar in the mountains of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel came down with him from the mountains, with him before them.

(Judges 3:28) And he said to them, Follow me, for Jehovah has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.

(Judges 3:29) And at that time they struck about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.

(Judges 3:30) So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.

(Judges 3:31) After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.

(Judges 4:1) When Ehud was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of Jehovah.

(Judges 4:2) And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.

(Judges 4:3) And the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

(Judges 4:4) Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

(Judges 4:5) And she was dwelling under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel went up to her for judgment.

(Judges 4:6) And she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, Has not Jehovah the God of Israel commanded: Go and proceed to Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun;

(Judges 4:7) and I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand.

(Judges 4:8) And Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!

(Judges 4:9) And she said, I will walk to go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for Jehovah will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

(Judges 4:10) And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.

(Judges 4:11) Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the plain at Zaanaim, near Kedesh.

(Judges 4:12) And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

(Judges 4:13) And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon.

(Judges 4:14) And Deborah said to Barak, Up! For this is the day in which Jehovah has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not Jehovah gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men behind him.

(Judges 4:15) And Jehovah routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

(Judges 4:16) But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not one was left.

(Judges 4:17) However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

(Judges 4:18) And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear. And when he had turned aside to her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.

(Judges 4:19) And he said to her, Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. So she opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him.

(Judges 4:20) And he said to her, Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, Is there any man here? you shall say, No.

(Judges 4:21) Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. Thus he died.

(Judges 4:22) And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, I will show you the man whom you are seeking. And when he went into her tent, behold, Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple.

(Judges 4:23) So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.

(Judges 4:24) And the hand of the sons of Israel continued and proceeded to grow stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had cut off Jabin king of Canaan.

(Judges 5:1) Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:

(Judges 5:2) When commanders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless Jehovah!

(Judges 5:3) Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing unto Jehovah; I will make music unto Jehovah the God of Israel.

(Judges 5:4) Jehovah, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, even the clouds dropped water;

(Judges 5:5) the mountains flowed before Jehovah, this Sinai, before Jehovah the God of Israel.

(Judges 5:6) In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, and the travelers walked along the byways.

(Judges 5:7) Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.

(Judges 5:8) They chose new gods; then there was war in the gates; not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

(Judges 5:9) My heart is with the governors of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless Jehovah!

(Judges 5:10) Sing out, you who ride on white donkeys, who sit on carpets, and who walk along the road.

(Judges 5:11) At the sound where they divide the flocks among the places to draw water, there they shall recount the righteous acts of Jehovah, the righteous acts to His village dwellers in Israel; then the people of Jehovah shall go down to the gates.

(Judges 5:12) Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives captive, O son of Abinoam!

(Judges 5:13) Then the remnant came down and had dominion over the kings of the nations; for me Jehovah trod down the mighty.

(Judges 5:14) Out of Ephraim were those whose roots were in Amalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, from Machir came down governors, and from Zebulun those who bear the staff of scribes.

(Judges 5:15) And the commanders of Issachar were with Deborah; as was Issachar, so was Barak, sent on foot into the valley. Among the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart.

(Judges 5:16) Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, to hear the pipings for the flocks? At the divisions of Reuben were great searchings of heart.

(Judges 5:17) Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, and why did Dan remain on ships? Asher continued at the seashore, and stayed by his landings.

(Judges 5:18) Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their souls even to death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the field.

(Judges 5:19) The kings came and fought, then the kings of Canaan fought in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of silver.

(Judges 5:20) They fought from the heavens; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.

(Judges 5:21) The torrent of Kishon swept them away, that ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, tread on in strength!

(Judges 5:22) Then the horses’ hooves pounded, the galloping, galloping of his steeds.

(Judges 5:23) Curse Meroz, said the Angel of Jehovah, curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of Jehovah, to the help of Jehovah against the mighty.

(Judges 5:24) Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; blessed is she among women in the tent.

(Judges 5:25) He asked for water, she gave milk; she brought out curds in a lordly bowl.

(Judges 5:26) She stretched her hand to the tent peg, her right hand to the workman’s hammer; she has hammered Sisera, she has destroyed his head, she has pierced and struck through his temple.

(Judges 5:27) At her feet he has bowed down, he has fallen, he has lain down; at her feet he has bowed down, he has fallen; where he has bowed down, there he has fallen destroyed.

(Judges 5:28) The mother of Sisera has looked through the window, and cried out through the lattice, Why has his chariot delayed to come? Why have the hoof beats of his chariot waited?

(Judges 5:29) Her wise ladies answered her, Yea, she answers herself:

(Judges 5:30) Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: to each chief warrior a girl to love; for Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, two pieces of dyed embroidery for the necks of the plunderers?

(Judges 5:31) Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Jehovah! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it goes forth in its might. Thus the land was quiet forty years.

(Judges 6:1) And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah. So Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years,

(Judges 6:2) and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. In the face of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.

(Judges 6:3) So it was that when Israel had sown, the Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the sons of the East would come up against them.

(Judges 6:4) And they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

(Judges 6:5) For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as the abundance of locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.

(Judges 6:6) And Israel was brought exceedingly low before Midian, and the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah.

(Judges 6:7) And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to Jehovah because of the Midianites,

(Judges 6:8) that Jehovah sent a man who was a prophet unto the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: I have brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage;

(Judges 6:9) and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.

(Judges 6:10) Also I said to you, I am Jehovah your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed My voice.

(Judges 6:11) And the Angel of Jehovah came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from before the Midianites.

(Judges 6:12) And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with you, you mighty man of valor!

(Judges 6:13) Gideon said to Him, O my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? But now Jehovah has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

(Judges 6:14) And Jehovah turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours, and you shall deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?

(Judges 6:15) And he said to Him, O my Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold my company is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

(Judges 6:16) And Jehovah said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.

(Judges 6:17) And he said to Him, If now I have found favor in Your eyes, then perform a sign for me, that it is You speaking with me.

(Judges 6:18) Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You. And He said, I will wait until you come back.

(Judges 6:19) And Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and brought them near.

(Judges 6:20) And the Angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

(Judges 6:21) Then the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight.

(Judges 6:22) And Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of Jehovah. And Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! For I have seen the Angel of Jehovah face to face.

(Judges 6:23) And Jehovah said to him, Peace unto you; do not fear, you shall not die.

(Judges 6:24) And Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it Jehovah Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

(Judges 6:25) Now it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said to him, Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and chop down the grove that is beside it;

(Judges 6:26) and build an altar unto Jehovah your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the grove which you shall chop down.

(Judges 6:27) And Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as Jehovah had spoken to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

(Judges 6:28) And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the grove that was beside it was chopped down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built.

(Judges 6:29) And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And when they had inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

(Judges 6:30) Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has chopped down the grove that was beside it.

(Judges 6:31) And Joash said to all who stood against him, Would you plead for Baal? Would you deliver him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been torn down!

(Judges 6:32) Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he has torn down his altar.

(Judges 6:33) Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the sons of the east, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

(Judges 6:34) And the Spirit of Jehovah clothed Gideon; and he blew the shofar, and the Abiezrites assembled behind him.

(Judges 6:35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also assembled behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

(Judges 6:36) And Gideon said to God, If You are delivering Israel by my hand as You have said,

(Judges 6:37) behold, I am putting a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You have spoken.

(Judges 6:38) And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

(Judges 6:39) Then Gideon said to God, Do not let Your anger burn against me, but let me speak just once more: Let me prove, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.

(Judges 6:40) And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

(Judges 7:1) Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him arose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

(Judges 7:2) And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, that Israel not glorify itself against Me, saying, My own hand has delivered me.

(Judges 7:3) Now therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him turn back and depart early from Mount Gilead. And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

(Judges 7:4) And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it shall be, that of whom I say to you, This one shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, This one shall not go with you, the same shall not go.

(Judges 7:5) So he brought the people down to the water. And Jehovah said to Gideon, Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.

(Judges 7:6) And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.

(Judges 7:7) And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.

(Judges 7:8) So the people took provisions and their shofars in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

(Judges 7:9) And it came to pass on the same night that Jehovah said to him, Rise up, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.

(Judges 7:10) But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant,

(Judges 7:11) and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. And he went down with Purah his servant to the extremity of the armed men who were in the camp.

(Judges 7:12) Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the sons of the east, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore for multitude.

(Judges 7:13) And when Gideon came, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, I have dreamed a dream: Behold, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent lay flat.

(Judges 7:14) And his companion answered and said, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.

(Judges 7:15) And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he bowed down. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Arise, for Jehovah has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.

(Judges 7:16) And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a shofar into each man’s hand, with empty jars, and torches inside the jars.

(Judges 7:17) And he said to them, Look at me and do likewise; and behold, when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do:

(Judges 7:18) When I blow the shofar, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the shofars on every side of the whole camp, and say, For Jehovah and for Gideon!

(Judges 7:19) So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the shofars and shattered the jars that were in their hands.

(Judges 7:20) And the three companies blew the shofars and shattered the jars; they held the torches in their left hands and the shofars in their right hands for blowing; and they cried out, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!

(Judges 7:21) And each man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.

(Judges 7:22) And when the three hundred blew the shofars, Jehovah set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

(Judges 7:23) And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and chased after the Midianites.

(Judges 7:24) And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the waters as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the waters as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.

(Judges 7:25) And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

(Judges 8:1) Now the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they strongly complained against him.

(Judges 8:2) So he said to them, What have I done now in comparison to you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

(Judges 8:3) God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison to you? Then their anger toward him subsided when he spoke those words.

(Judges 8:4) And when Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men with him crossed over, exhausted but still pursuing.

(Judges 8:5) And he said to the men of Succoth, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

(Judges 8:6) And the rulers of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?

(Judges 8:7) And Gideon said, Therefore, when Jehovah has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!

(Judges 8:8) And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

(Judges 8:9) So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come back in peace, I will tear down this tower!

(Judges 8:10) Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the sons of the east; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen.

(Judges 8:11) And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he struck the army while the camp felt secure.

(Judges 8:12) And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

(Judges 8:13) Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle at sunrise.

(Judges 8:14) And he seized a young man of the men of Succoth and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the rulers of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

(Judges 8:15) And he came to the men of Succoth and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you have taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?

(Judges 8:16) And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he gave knowledge to the men of Succoth.

(Judges 8:17) And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

(Judges 8:18) And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor? And they answered, As you are, so were they; each one with the appearance of the son of a king.

(Judges 8:19) And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Jehovah lives, if you had let them live, I would not have killed you.

(Judges 8:20) And he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise up and kill them! But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

(Judges 8:21) So Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise up yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength. So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

(Judges 8:22) Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both you and your son, and your son’s son also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.

(Judges 8:23) And Gideon said to them, I shall not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Jehovah shall rule over you.

(Judges 8:24) And Gideon said to them, I would make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder. For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

(Judges 8:25) And they answered, We will extend to give them. And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder.

(Judges 8:26) And the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple garments which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks.

(Judges 8:27) And Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel committed adultery with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

(Judges 8:28) Thus Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. And the land was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

(Judges 8:29) And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

(Judges 8:30) And Gideon had seventy sons proceeding from his loins, for he had many wives.

(Judges 8:31) And his concubine in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

(Judges 8:32) And Gideon the son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

(Judges 8:33) And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned back and committed adultery with the Baals, and established Baal-Berith as their god.

(Judges 8:34) Thus the children of Israel did not remember Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies all around;

(Judges 8:35) nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) according to all the good he had done for Israel.

(Judges 9:1) Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,

(Judges 9:2) Please speak in the ears of all the lords of Shechem: Which is better for you, for all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal to rule over you, or for one to rule over you? Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.

(Judges 9:3) And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem; and their heart was inclined after Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother.

(Judges 9:4) And they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the house of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men, who went after him.

(Judges 9:5) And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he had hidden himself.

(Judges 9:6) And all the lords of Shechem gathered together, all the house of Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree that was situated at Shechem.

(Judges 9:7) Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, that God may listen to you!

(Judges 9:8) The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, Reign over us!

(Judges 9:9) But the olive tree said to them, Should I cease from my fatness, with which they honor God and men, and go to sway over the trees?

(Judges 9:10) Then the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us!

(Judges 9:11) But the fig tree said to them, Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over the trees?

(Judges 9:12) Then the trees said to the vine, You come and reign over us!

(Judges 9:13) But the vine said to them, Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway over the trees?

(Judges 9:14) Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign over us!

(Judges 9:15) And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and seek refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon!

(Judges 9:16) Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the dealings of his hands;

(Judges 9:17) for my father fought for you, cast aside his own soul, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

(Judges 9:18) but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your brother;

(Judges 9:19) if then you have dealt in truth and integrity towards Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

(Judges 9:20) But if not, let fire come from Abimelech and devour the lords of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come from the lords of Shechem and from the house of Millo and devour Abimelech!

(Judges 9:21) And Jotham fled and escaped; and he went to Beer and dwelt there, away from the face of Abimelech his brother.

(Judges 9:22) After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years,

(Judges 9:23) God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

(Judges 9:24) that the wrong done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and upon the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

(Judges 9:25) And the lords of Shechem set an ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was reported to Abimelech.

(Judges 9:26) Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the lords of Shechem trusted him.

(Judges 9:27) And they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and rejoiced. And they went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

(Judges 9:28) And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him?

(Judges 9:29) Would therefore that this people were given into my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. So he said to Abimelech, Increase your army and come out!

(Judges 9:30) And when Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger burned.

(Judges 9:31) And he sent messengers to Abimelech deceitfully, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and behold, they are fortifying the city against you.

(Judges 9:32) Now therefore, rise up by night, you and the people with you, and lie in wait in the field.

(Judges 9:33) And it shall be in the morning as the sun rises, that you shall rise up early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people with him come out against you, you shall do to them as your hand shall find to do.

(Judges 9:34) So Abimelech and all the people with him rose by night, and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

(Judges 9:35) When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people with him rose up from the ambush.

(Judges 9:36) And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains! But Zebul said to him, You are seeing the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.

(Judges 9:37) And Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, people are coming down from the midst of the land, and another company is coming from the plain by way of the fortunetellers.

(Judges 9:38) Then Zebul said to him, Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Are not these the people whom you have despised? Go out now and fight with them.

(Judges 9:39) So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

(Judges 9:40) And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; and many fell wounded, to the entrance of the gate.

(Judges 9:41) Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, so as to not dwell in Shechem.

(Judges 9:42) And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they reported to Abimelech.

(Judges 9:43) And he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field, watching. And behold, the people were coming out of the city; and he rose up against them and struck them.

(Judges 9:44) And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and struck them.

(Judges 9:45) And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he broke down the city and sowed it with salt.

(Judges 9:46) And when all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard it, they entered the underground chambers of the house of the god Berith.

(Judges 9:47) And it was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem had gathered together.

(Judges 9:48) And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people with him, What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.

(Judges 9:49) So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

(Judges 9:50) Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it.

(Judges 9:51) But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women, all the lords of the city, fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up to the top of the tower.

(Judges 9:52) So Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

(Judges 9:53) And a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.

(Judges 9:54) And he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, Draw your sword and kill me, that they not say of me, A woman killed him. So his young man thrust him through, and he died.

(Judges 9:55) And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.

(Judges 9:56) Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers.

(Judges 9:57) And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned upon their own heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

(Judges 10:1) After Abimelech there arose to deliver Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim.

(Judges 10:2) He judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died and was buried in Shamir.

(Judges 10:3) After him arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.

(Judges 10:4) And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, which are called Havoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

(Judges 10:5) And Jair died and was buried in Camon.

(Judges 10:6) And the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and served the Baals and Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah and did not serve Him.

(Judges 10:7) So the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.

(Judges 10:8) And that year they shattered and oppressed the children of Israel; for eighteen years, all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, in Gilead.

(Judges 10:9) Moreover the sons of Ammon also crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah, against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

(Judges 10:10) And the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!

(Judges 10:11) So Jehovah said to the children of Israel, Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the sons of Ammon and from the Philistines?

(Judges 10:12) Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and Maonites have oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand.

(Judges 10:13) Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more.

(Judges 10:14) Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.

(Judges 10:15) And the children of Israel said to Jehovah, We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only deliver us this day, we pray.

(Judges 10:16) And they put away the foreign gods from among them and served Jehovah. And His soul was grieved because of Israel’s troubles.

(Judges 10:17) Then the sons of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel assembled together and encamped in Mizpah.

(Judges 10:18) And the people, the rulers of Gilead, said to one another, Who is the man who will begin the fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

(Judges 11:1) Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a woman of prostitution; and Gilead begot Jephthah.

(Judges 11:2) Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.

(Judges 11:3) And Jephthah fled from before his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

(Judges 11:4) It came to pass after a time that the sons of Ammon made war against Israel.

(Judges 11:5) And so it was, when the sons of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

(Judges 11:6) And then they said to Jephthah, Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.

(Judges 11:7) So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me, and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?

(Judges 11:8) And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

(Judges 11:9) And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah delivers them up before me, shall I be your head?

(Judges 11:10) And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Jehovah is witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.

(Judges 11:11) Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.

(Judges 11:12) And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against my land?

(Judges 11:13) And the king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.

(Judges 11:14) And Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon,

(Judges 11:15) and said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon;

(Judges 11:16) for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

(Judges 11:17) Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pass through your land. But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh.

(Judges 11:18) And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

(Judges 11:19) Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Please let us pass through your land into our place.

(Judges 11:20) But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

(Judges 11:21) And Jehovah the God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that land.

(Judges 11:22) They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

(Judges 11:23) And now Jehovah the God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites before His people Israel; should you then possess it?

(Judges 11:24) Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? Thus, whatever Jehovah our God dispossesses before us, we will possess.

(Judges 11:25) And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

(Judges 11:26) While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why have you not recovered them within that time?

(Judges 11:27) Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you are wronging me by fighting against me. May Jehovah, the Judge, render judgment this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.

(Judges 11:28) However, the king of the children of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah had sent him.

(Judges 11:29) Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on over toward the sons of Ammon.

(Judges 11:30) And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If You will give over to deliver up the sons of Ammon into my hands,

(Judges 11:31) then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, shall surely be Jehovah’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.

(Judges 11:32) So Jephthah passed over toward the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah delivered them into his hands.

(Judges 11:33) And he struck them from Aroer as far as Minnith; twenty cities; and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

(Judges 11:34) And when Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

(Judges 11:35) And it came to pass when he saw her, that he tore his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back on it.

(Judges 11:36) So she said to him, My father, if you have opened your mouth unto Jehovah, do unto me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because Jehovah has taken vengeance upon your enemies, the sons of Ammon.

(Judges 11:37) And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.

(Judges 11:38) And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.

(Judges 11:39) And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had vowed. She had known no man. And it became a custom in Israel,

(Judges 11:40) that the daughters of Israel went four days each year, year after year, to recount the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

(Judges 12:1) Then the men of Ephraim gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!

(Judges 12:2) And Jephthah said to them, My people and I were in a great struggle with the sons of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.

(Judges 12:3) So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I put my soul into my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon; and Jehovah delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?

(Judges 12:4) Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.

(Judges 12:5) The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, Let me cross over, the men of Gilead would say to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No,

(Judges 12:6) then they would say to him, Then say, Shibboleth! And he would say, Sibboleth, for he could not speak it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim.

(Judges 12:7) And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

(Judges 12:8) After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

(Judges 12:9) He had thirty sons. And he sent thirty daughters in marriage outside, and brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

(Judges 12:10) Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

(Judges 12:11) After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years.

(Judges 12:12) And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

(Judges 12:13) After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

(Judges 12:14) He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy young donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

(Judges 12:15) Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mountains of the Amalekites.

(Judges 13:1) Again the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

(Judges 13:2) Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

(Judges 13:3) And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

(Judges 13:4) Now therefore, take heed and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean.

(Judges 13:5) For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

(Judges 13:6) And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A Man of God has come to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.

(Judges 13:7) And He said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb to the day of his death.

(Judges 13:8) Then Manoah prayed to Jehovah, and said, O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the boy who is to be born.

(Judges 13:9) And God heeded the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her.

(Judges 13:10) And the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the Man who came to me the other day has appeared to me!

(Judges 13:11) And Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, Are You the Man who spoke to the woman? And He said, I am.

(Judges 13:12) And Manoah said, Now let Your words come to pass! What are the ordinances for the boy, and what are his works?

(Judges 13:13) And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Of all that I have said to the woman let her take heed.

(Judges 13:14) She shall not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor shall she drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I have commanded her let her take heed.

(Judges 13:15) And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.

(Judges 13:16) And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you shall offer it unto Jehovah. (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of Jehovah.)

(Judges 13:17) And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?

(Judges 13:18) And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Why do you ask after My name, seeing it is incomprehensible?

(Judges 13:19) So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock unto Jehovah. And He did an extraordinary thing while Manoah and his wife were watching;

(Judges 13:20) it happened as the flame went up toward the heavens from the altar; that the Angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar! And Manoah and his wife were watching this, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

(Judges 13:21) And the Angel of Jehovah appeared no more to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of Jehovah.

(Judges 13:22) And Manoah said to his wife, We shall die the death, because we have seen God!

(Judges 13:23) But his wife said to him, If Jehovah had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.

(Judges 13:24) And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him.

(Judges 13:25) And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move upon him at the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

(Judges 14:1) Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.

(Judges 14:2) So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.

(Judges 14:3) Then his father and mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.

(Judges 14:4) But his father and mother did not know that it was of Jehovah, that He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

(Judges 14:5) So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came roaring toward him.

(Judges 14:6) And the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

(Judges 14:7) Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she was pleasing in the eyes of Samson.

(Judges 14:8) After some days, when he returned to take her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.

(Judges 14:9) And he took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. And when he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

(Judges 14:10) So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men usually did this.

(Judges 14:11) And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

(Judges 14:12) And Samson said to them, Let me propound a riddle to you. If you expound to declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.

(Judges 14:13) But if you are not able to declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. And they said to him, Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.

(Judges 14:14) And he said to them: Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And for three days they were not able to expound the riddle.

(Judges 14:15) But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, Entice your husband, that he may expound the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to make us poor? Is that not so?

(Judges 14:16) Then Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, You only hate me! You do not love me! You have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not expounded it to my father or my mother; so should I declare it to you?

(Judges 14:17) And she wept before him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. And she declared the riddle to the sons of her people.

(Judges 14:18) And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle!

(Judges 14:19) And the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had declared the riddle; thus his anger burned. And he went up to his father’s house.

(Judges 14:20) And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

(Judges 15:1) After some days, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, Let me go in to my wife, into her room. But her father would not permit him to go in.

(Judges 15:2) Her father said, I thought in my heart that you hated her like an enemy; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.

(Judges 15:3) And Samson said to them, This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines when I am doing evil to them!

(Judges 15:4) And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned tail to tail, and put a torch between the two tails.

(Judges 15:5) When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

(Judges 15:6) Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion. So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

(Judges 15:7) And Samson said to them, Since you did a thing like this, I shall avenge myself on you, and after that I will cease.

(Judges 15:8) And he struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

(Judges 15:9) And the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and were spread out at Lehi.

(Judges 15:10) And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? So they answered, We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.

(Judges 15:11) Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so I have done to them.

(Judges 15:12) But they said to him, We have come down to bind you, to deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.

(Judges 15:13) And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will tie to bind you and deliver you into their hand; but we will not put you to death. And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

(Judges 15:14) When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds melted from his hands.

(Judges 15:15) And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck a thousand men with it.

(Judges 15:16) Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!

(Judges 15:17) And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.

(Judges 15:18) And he became very thirsty; so he cried out to Jehovah and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

(Judges 15:19) And God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

(Judges 15:20) And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

(Judges 16:1) Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot woman there, and went in to her.

(Judges 16:2) When the Gazites were told, saying, Samson has come here! they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, In the morning, when it is daylight, we shall kill him.

(Judges 16:3) And Samson lay down till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is before Hebron.

(Judges 16:4) Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

(Judges 16:5) And the rulers of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and each of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.

(Judges 16:6) And Delilah said to Samson, Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.

(Judges 16:7) And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh shoots, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

(Judges 16:8) So the rulers of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh shoots, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.

(Judges 16:9) Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! But he broke the shoots as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

(Judges 16:10) Then Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me with what you may be bound.

(Judges 16:11) So he said to her, If they bind to tie me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

(Judges 16:12) Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like thread.

(Judges 16:13) Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you may be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom;

(Judges 16:14) so she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.

(Judges 16:15) Then she said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.

(Judges 16:16) And it came to pass, when she had pressed upon him daily with her words and urged him, so that his soul was vexed to death,

(Judges 16:17) that he told her all his heart, and said to her, No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

(Judges 16:18) And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and summoned the rulers of the Philistines, saying, Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart. So the rulers of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

(Judges 16:19) And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. And she began to afflict him, and his strength depart from him.

(Judges 16:20) And she said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! So he awoke from his sleep, and thought, I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free! But he had not perceived that Jehovah had departed from him.

(Judges 16:21) And the Philistines took him and bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he was grinding in the prison house.

(Judges 16:22) However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

(Judges 16:23) Now the rulers of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands!

(Judges 16:24) And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the destroyer of our land, and the one who multiplied our dead.

(Judges 16:25) And it happened, when their hearts were feeling good, that they said, Summon Samson, that he may play for us. So they summoned Samson from the prison house, and he made sport before them. And they made him stand between the pillars.

(Judges 16:26) And Samson said to the lad who held his hand, Let me feel the pillars which support the house, that I may lean on them.

(Judges 16:27) Now the house was full of men and women. All the rulers of the Philistines were there; about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson made sport.

(Judges 16:28) And Samson called out to Jehovah, saying, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, only this once, O God, that I may once take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!

(Judges 16:29) And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left.

(Judges 16:30) And Samson said, Let my soul die with the Philistines! And he pushed with all his might, and the house fell upon the rulers and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

(Judges 16:31) And his brothers and all his father’s house came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.

(Judges 17:1) Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

(Judges 17:2) And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and about which you had sworn an oath, even saying it in my ears; behold the silver is with me, I have taken it. And his mother said, Blessed of Jehovah are you, my son!

(Judges 17:3) So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly consecrated the silver from my hand unto Jehovah for my son, to make a graven image, and a molten image; now therefore, I will return it to you.

(Judges 17:4) Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a graven image, and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.

(Judges 17:5) And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household idols; and he confirmed the hand of one of his sons, who became his priest.

(Judges 17:6) In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

(Judges 17:7) Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and sojourned there.

(Judges 17:8) And the man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn wherever he could find a place. And he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he made his way.

(Judges 17:9) And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn wherever I may find.

(Judges 17:10) And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance. So the Levite went in.

(Judges 17:11) And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him.

(Judges 17:12) And Micah confirmed the hand of the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

(Judges 17:13) Then Micah said, Now I know that Jehovah will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest!

(Judges 18:1) In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them.

(Judges 18:2) So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, Go, search the land. So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

(Judges 18:3) While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, Who has brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?

(Judges 18:4) And he said to them, Thus and so has Micah done for me. He hired me, and I am his priest.

(Judges 18:5) So they said to him, Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.

(Judges 18:6) And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The way in which you go is before Jehovah.

(Judges 18:7) So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There was no possession of restraint putting them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no business with anyone.

(Judges 18:8) And the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, What is your report?

(Judges 18:9) So they said, Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and behold it is very good. Will you sit still? Do not be sluggish to go to enter to possess the land.

(Judges 18:10) When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.

(Judges 18:11) And six hundred men of the family of the Danites set out from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

(Judges 18:12) And they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kirjath Jearim.)

(Judges 18:13) And they passed on from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

(Judges 18:14) Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish answered and said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.

(Judges 18:15) And they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man, to the house of Micah, and asked after his welfare.

(Judges 18:16) And the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

(Judges 18:17) And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up, entered there, took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten image. And the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war.

(Judges 18:18) And when these went into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?

(Judges 18:19) And they said to him, Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

(Judges 18:20) So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went among the people.

(Judges 18:21) Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods before them.

(Judges 18:22) When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

(Judges 18:23) And they called out to the sons of Dan. So they turned their faces and said to Micah, What ails you, that you have assembled together?

(Judges 18:24) And he said, You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, What ails you?

(Judges 18:25) And the sons of Dan said to him, Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men of bitter souls fall upon you, and you lose your soul, with the souls of your household!

(Judges 18:26) And the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

(Judges 18:27) And they took what Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

(Judges 18:28) There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with anyone. It was in the valley next to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.

(Judges 18:29) And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

(Judges 18:30) And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

(Judges 18:31) And they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the days the house of God was in Shiloh.

(Judges 19:1) And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning in the remote areas of the mountains of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself, a woman from Bethlehem in Judah.

(Judges 19:2) But his concubine committed adultery against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four months of days.

(Judges 19:3) And her husband rose up and went after her, to speak to her heart, to bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.

(Judges 19:4) And his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

(Judges 19:5) And it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, Sustain your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

(Judges 19:6) So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, Please accept my invitation to stay the night, and let your heart be merry.

(Judges 19:7) And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law pressed upon him; so he turned back and lodged there.

(Judges 19:8) And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, Please sustain your heart. So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.

(Judges 19:9) And when the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, Behold, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go your way early, so that you may go to your tent.

(Judges 19:10) However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose up and departed, and came to a place opposite Jebus (which is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.

(Judges 19:11) They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.

(Judges 19:12) But his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.

(Judges 19:13) And he said to his servant, Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah.

(Judges 19:14) And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

(Judges 19:15) And they turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open place of the city, for no one received them into his house to lodge.

(Judges 19:16) And behold, an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was sojourning in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.

(Judges 19:17) And when he lifted up his eyes, he saw the traveling man in the open place of the city; and the old man said, Where are you going, and where do you come from?

(Judges 19:18) And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote areas of the mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of Jehovah. But no one is receiving me into his house,

(Judges 19:19) even though we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.

(Judges 19:20) And the old man said, Peace to you! However, let all your needs be upon me; only do not spend the night in the open place.

(Judges 19:21) So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

(Judges 19:22) Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, certain men of the city, sons of wickedness surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring out the man who has come to your house, that we may know him.

(Judges 19:23) And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not do this disgraceful folly.

(Judges 19:24) Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them whatever seems good to your eyes; but to this man do not do such a disgraceful thing!

(Judges 19:25) But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her wantonly all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.

(Judges 19:26) Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.

(Judges 19:27) And when her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, behold the woman, his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.

(Judges 19:28) And he said to her, Get up and let us be going. But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man rose up and went to his place.

(Judges 19:29) And when he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces with her bones, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

(Judges 19:30) And so it was that all who saw it said, No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Determine, take counsel, and speak up!

(Judges 20:1) So all the sons of Israel came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man, unto Jehovah at Mizpah.

(Judges 20:2) And the chiefs of all the people of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew the sword.

(Judges 20:3) (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, Tell us, how did this wickedness happen?

(Judges 20:4) And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to lodge.

(Judges 20:5) And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They had thought to kill me, but instead they have humbled my concubine so that she died.

(Judges 20:6) So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the land of the inheritance of Israel, because they have committed lewdness and disgraceful folly in Israel.

(Judges 20:7) Behold, all of you are sons of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.

(Judges 20:8) And all the people rose up as one man, saying, None of us shall go to his tent, nor shall any turn away to his house;

(Judges 20:9) but now this is the thing which we shall do to Gibeah: We shall go up against it by lot.

(Judges 20:10) We shall take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to carry provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the disgrace that they have done in Israel.

(Judges 20:11) So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.

(Judges 20:12) And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this evil that has been done among you?

(Judges 20:13) Now therefore, deliver up the men, the sons of wickedness who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel! But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel.

(Judges 20:14) And the sons of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the sons of Israel.

(Judges 20:15) And from their cities at that time the sons of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred choice men.

(Judges 20:16) Among all this people were seven hundred choice men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

(Judges 20:17) Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

(Judges 20:18) And the sons of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, Which of us shall go up first to battle against the sons of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah first!

(Judges 20:19) And the sons of Israel arose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.

(Judges 20:20) And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.

(Judges 20:21) And the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day destroyed down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of Israel.

(Judges 20:22) And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again set the battle in array at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day.

(Judges 20:23) And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until evening, and asked counsel of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw near for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.

(Judges 20:24) So the sons of Israel approached the sons of Benjamin on the second day.

(Judges 20:25) And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed down to the ground eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword.

(Judges 20:26) And all the children of Israel, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before Jehovah and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Jehovah.

(Judges 20:27) And the sons of Israel inquired of Jehovah (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

(Judges 20:28) and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease? And Jehovah said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.

(Judges 20:29) And Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah.

(Judges 20:30) And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times.

(Judges 20:31) And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

(Judges 20:32) And the sons of Benjamin thought, They are struck down before us, as at first. But the sons of Israel had said, Let us flee and draw them away from the city into the highways.

(Judges 20:33) So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their places in the plain of Geba.

(Judges 20:34) And ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was heavy. But the Benjamites did not know that evil was upon them.

(Judges 20:35) And Jehovah struck down Benjamin before Israel. And the sons of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred of Benjamin; all who drew the sword.

(Judges 20:36) So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were struck down. And the men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they had trusted on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

(Judges 20:37) And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush drew out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword.

(Judges 20:38) Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city,

(Judges 20:39) whereupon the men of Israel turned around in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they thought, Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.

(Judges 20:40) But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold the whole city had gone up in smoke to the heavens.

(Judges 20:41) And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that evil had come upon them.

(Judges 20:42) Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; and the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst.

(Judges 20:43) They surrounded Benjamin, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the rising sun.

(Judges 20:44) And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor.

(Judges 20:45) And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they thrust upon five thousand of them on the highways; and pursued them to Gidom, and killed two thousand men.

(Judges 20:46) So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

(Judges 20:47) But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months.

(Judges 20:48) And the men of Israel turned back against the sons of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword; entire cities, beasts, and all who were found. They also set fire to every city they found.

(Judges 21:1) Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.

(Judges 21:2) And the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening, and lifted up their voices and wept with great weeping,

(Judges 21:3) and said, O Jehovah the God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?

(Judges 21:4) And it came to pass the next morning, that the people arose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

(Judges 21:5) And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who did not come up to Jehovah at Mizpah, saying, He shall die the death.

(Judges 21:6) And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, One tribe is cut off from Israel today.

(Judges 21:7) What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by Jehovah not to give them our daughters as wives?

(Judges 21:8) And they said, What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to Jehovah? And, behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.

(Judges 21:9) For when the people were numbered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there.

(Judges 21:10) And the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children.

(Judges 21:11) And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man by lying with him.

(Judges 21:12) And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

(Judges 21:13) And the whole congregation sent word to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

(Judges 21:14) And Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them.

(Judges 21:15) And the people grieved for Benjamin, because Jehovah had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

(Judges 21:16) And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?

(Judges 21:17) And they said, There must be an inheritance for the remnant of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel.

(Judges 21:18) However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

(Judges 21:19) Then they said, Behold, there is a yearly feast of Jehovah in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.

(Judges 21:20) Therefore they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,

(Judges 21:21) and watch; and when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; and go to the land of Benjamin.

(Judges 21:22) And it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, Be gracious to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, thus making yourselves guilty of your oath.

(Judges 21:23) And the sons of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.

(Judges 21:24) So the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they departed from there, every man to his inheritance.

(Judges 21:25) In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes.