Judges 7; Judges 8; Judges 9; Judges 10; Judges 11; Judges 12; Judges 13; Judges 14; Judges 15; Judges 16; Judges 17; Judges 18

Judges 7

1 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and everyone who was with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

2 The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you, or else Israel might brag: 'I did it myself.'

3 Now announce in the presence of the people: 'Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So 22,000 of the people turned back, but 10,000 remained.

4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, 'This one can go with you,' he can go. But if I say about anyone, 'This one cannot go with you,' he cannot go."

5 So he brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, "Separate everyone who laps water with his tongue like a dog. Do the same with everyone who kneels to drink."

6 The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was 300 men, and all the rest of the people knelt to drink water.

7 The Lord said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home."

8 So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents, but kept the 300 who took the people's provisions and their trumpets. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

9 That night the Lord said to him, "Get up and go into the camp, for I have given it into your hand.

10 But if you are afraid to go to the camp, go with Purah your servant.

11 Listen to what they say, and then you will be strengthened to go to the camp." So he went with Purah his servant to the outpost of the troops who were in the camp.

12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Qedemites had settled down in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.

13 When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend [about] a dream. He said, "Listen, I had a dream: a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed."

14 His friend answered: "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has handed the entire Midianite camp over to him."

15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to Israel's camp and said, "Get up, for the Lord has handed the Midianite camp over to you."

16 Then he divided the 300 men into three companies and gave each of the men a trumpet in one hand and an empty pitcher with a torch inside it [in the other].

17 "Watch me," he said, "and do the same. When I come to the outpost of the camp, do as I do.

18 When I and everyone with me blow our trumpets, you are also to blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then you will say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' "

19 Gideon and the 100 men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

20 The three companies blew their trumpets and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets in their right hands, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"

21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire [Midianite] army fled, and cried out as they ran.

22 When Gideon's men blew their 300 trumpets, the Lord set the swords of each man in the army against each other. They fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

23 Then the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.

24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: "Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

25 They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, while they were pursuing the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

Judges 8

1 The men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they argued with him violently.

2 So he said to them, "What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

3 God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you?" When he said this, their anger against him subsided.

4 Gideon and the 300 men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted, but still in pursuit.

5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give some loaves of bread to the people who are following me, because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

6 But the princes of Succoth asked, "Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?"

7 Gideon replied, "Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will trample your flesh on thorns and briers from the wilderness!"

8 He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel answered just as the men of Succoth had answered.

9 He also told the men of Penuel, "When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower!"

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about 15,000 men, who were all those left of the entire army of the Qedemites. Those who had been killed were 120,000 warriors.

11 Gideon traveled on the caravan route, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked their army while the army was unsuspecting.

12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.

13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

14 He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the [names of the] 77 princes and elders of Succoth.

15 Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, 'Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men?' "

16 So he took the elders of the city, as well as some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

18 He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" "They were like you," they said. "Each resembled the son of a king."

19 So he said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother! As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you."

20 Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up and kill them." The youth did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, for he was still a youth.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up and kill us yourself, for a man is judged by his strength." So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian."

23 But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you."

24 Then he said to them, "Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder." Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.

25 They said, "We agree to give them." So they spread out a mantle, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it.

26 The weight of the gold earrings he requested was about 43 pounds of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels.

27 Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

28 So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land was peaceful 40 years during the days of Gideon.

29 Jerubbaal [(that is, Gideon)] son of Joash went back to live at his house.

30 Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives.

31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

32 Then Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the power of the enemies around them.

35 They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal ([that is,] Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.

Judges 9

1 Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother's brothers at Shechem and spoke to them and to all his maternal grandfather's clan, saying,

2 "Please speak in the presence of all the lords of Shechem, 'Is it better for you that 70 men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you?' Remember that I am your own flesh and blood."

3 His mother's relatives spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the lords of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother."

4 So they gave him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith. Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men with this money, and they followed him.

5 He went to his father's house in Ophrah and killed his 70 brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on top of a large stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

6 Then all the lords of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

7 When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them: Listen to me, lords of Shechem, and may God listen to you:

8 The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree, "Reign over us."

9 But the olive tree said to them, "Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, and rule over the trees?"

10 Then the trees said to the fig tree, "Come and reign over us."

11 But the fig tree said to them, "Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?"

12 Later, the trees said to the grapevine, "Come and reign over us."

13 But the grapevine said to them, "Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?"

14 Finally, all the trees said to the bramble, "Come and reign over us."

15 The bramble said to the trees, "If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon."

16 "Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did-

17 for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you from the hand of Midian,

18 and now you have attacked my father's house today, killed his 70 sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave, king over the lords of Shechem 'because he is your brother'-

19 if then, you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.

20 But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech."

21 Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.

22 When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years,

23 God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,

24 so that the crime against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers.

25 The lords of Shechem rebelled against him by putting people on the tops of the mountains to ambush and rob everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

26 Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem trusted him.

27 So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trod the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

28 Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn't Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

29 If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech." So he said to Abimelech, "Gather your army and come out."

30 When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was angry.

31 So he sent messengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, "Look, Gaal son of Ebed, with his brothers, have come to Shechem and are turning the city against you.

32 Now tonight, you and the people with you are to come wait in ambush in the countryside.

33 Then get up early and at sunrise, charge the city. When he and the people who are with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can."

34 So Abimelech and all the people with him got up at night and waited in ambush for Shechem in four units.

35 Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. Then Abimelech and the people who were with him got up from their ambush.

36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!" But Zebul said to him, "The shadows of the mountains look like men to you."

37 Then Gaal spoke again: "Look, people are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak."

38 Zebul replied, "Where is your mouthing off now? You said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Aren't these the people you despised? Now go and fight them!"

39 So Gaal went out leading the lords of Shechem and fought against Abimelech,

40 but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Many wounded died as far as the entrance of the gate.

41 Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.

42 The next day when the people went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech.

43 He took the people, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.

44 Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down.

45 So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

46 When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith.

47 Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem had gathered together.

48 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the people who were with him, "Hurry and do what you have seen me do."

49 Each person also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire around the people, and all the people in the Tower of Shechem died-about 1,000 men and women.

50 Abimelech went to Thebez, camped against it, and captured it.

51 There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.

52 When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

53 But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech's head and fractured his skull.

54 He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, or they'll say about me, 'A woman killed him.' " So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died.

55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

56 In this way, the evil that Abimelech had done against his father, by killing his 70 brothers, God turned back on him.

57 And God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came on them.

Judges 10

1 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo [became judge] and began to deliver Israel. He was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.

2 Tola judged Israel 23 years, and when he died, was buried in Shamir.

3 After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel 22 years.

4 He had 30 sons who rode on 30 young donkeys. They had 30 towns in Gilead, which are called Jair's Villages to this day.

5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

6 Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship Him.

7 So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

8 They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for 18 years [they did the same to] all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead.

9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed,

10 so they cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned against You. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals."

11 The Lord said to the Israelites, "When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines,

12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to Me, did I not deliver you from their power?

13 But you have abandoned Me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again.

14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your oppression."

15 But the Israelites said, "We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today!"

16 So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, but He became weary of Israel's misery.

17 The Ammonites were called together, and they camped in Gilead. So the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

18 The rulers of Gilead said to one another, "Which man will lead the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

Judges 11

1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a great warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.

2 Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, "You will have no inheritance in our father's house, because you are the son of another woman."

3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Then some lawless men joined Jephthah and traveled with him.

4 Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel.

5 When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

6 They said to him, "Come, be our commander, and let's fight against the Ammonites."

7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why then have you come to me now when you're in trouble?"

8 They answered Jephthah, "Since that's true, we now turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

9 So Jephthah said to them, "If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader."

10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The Lord is our witness if we don't do as you say."

11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people put him over themselves as leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, "What do you have against me that you have come to fight against me in my land?"

13 The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably."

14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites

15 to tell him, "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.

16 But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Please let us travel through your land,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent [messengers] to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

18 "Then they traveled through the wilderness and around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

19 "Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, 'Please let us travel through your land to our country,'

20 but Sihon did not trust Israel. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people, camped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

21 Then the Lord God of Israel handed over Sihon and all his people to Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of the entire land of the Amorites who lived in that country.

22 They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

23 "The Lord God of Israel has now driven out the Amorites before His people Israel, but will you drive us out?

24 Isn't it true that you may possess whatever your god Chemosh drives out for you, and we may possess everything the Lord our God drives out before us?

25 Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

26 While Israel lived 300 years in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn't you take them back at that time?

27 I have not sinned against you, but you have wronged me by fighting against me. Let the Lord [who is] the Judge decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

28 But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to Jephthah's message that he sent him.

29 The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead.

30 Jephthah made this vow to the Lord: "If You will hand over the Ammonites to me,

31 whatever comes out of the doors of my house to greet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it as a burnt offering."

32 Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord handed them over to him.

33 He defeated 20 of their cities with a great slaughter from Aroer all the way to the entrance of Minnith and to Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

34 When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her.

35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "No! [Not] my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me. I have given my word to the Lord and cannot take [it] back."

36 Then she said to him, "My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me as you have said, for the Lord brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites."

37 She also said to her father, "Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity."

38 "Go," he said. And he sent her away two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity as she wandered through the mountains.

39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel

40 [that] four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Judges 12

1 The men of Ephraim were called together and crossed [the Jordan] to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why have you crossed over to fight against the Ammonites but didn't call us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you [in it]!"

2 Then Jephthah said to them, "My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites. So I called for you, but you didn't deliver me from their power.

3 When I saw that you weren't going to deliver me, I took my life in my own hands and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why then have you come today to fight against me?"

4 Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, "You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in [the territories of] Ephraim and Manasseh."

5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the Gileadites asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he answered, "No,"

6 they told him, "Please say Shibboleth." If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, 42,000 from Ephraim died.

7 Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

8 Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem, judged Israel after Jephthah

9 and had 30 sons. He gave his 30 daughters in marriage [to men] outside the tribe and brought back 30 wives for his sons from outside [the tribe]. Ibzan judged Israel seven years,

10 and when he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.

11 Elon, who was from Zebulun, judged Israel after Ibzan. He judged Israel 10 years,

12 and when he died, he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, who was from Pirathon, judged Israel.

14 He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, who rode on 70 donkeys. Abdon judged Israel eight years,

15 and when he died, he was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Judges 13

1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines 40 years.

2 There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was barren and had no children.

3 The Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "It is true that you are barren and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or other alcoholic beverages, or to eat anything unclean;

5 for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines."

6 Then the woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn't ask Him where He came from, and He didn't tell me His name.

7 He said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or other alcoholic beverages, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.' "

8 Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, "Please Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born."

9 God listened to Manoah, and the Angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband Manoah was not with her.

10 The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, "The man who came to me today has just come back!"

11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, "Are You the man who spoke to my wife?" "I am," He said.

12 Then Manoah asked, "When Your words come true, what will the boy's responsibilities and mission be?"

13 The Angel of the Lord answered Manoah, "Your wife needs to do everything I told her.

14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or other alcoholic beverages. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her."

15 "Please stay here," Manoah told Him, "and we will prepare a young goat for You."

16 The Angel of the Lord said to him, "If I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord." For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.

17 Then Manoah said to Him, "What is Your name, so that we may honor You when Your words come true?"

18 "Why do you ask My name," the Angel of the Lord asked him, "since it is wonderful."

19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord, and He did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching.

20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the Angel of the Lord went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw [this], they fell facedown on the ground.

21 The Angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the Angel of the Lord.

22 "We're going to die," he said to his wife, "because we have seen God!"

23 But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had intended to kill us, He wouldn't have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and He would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us now like this."

24 So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.

25 Then the Spirit of the Lord began to direct him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 14

1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw a young Philistine woman there.

2 He went back and told his father and his mother: "I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife."

3 But his father and mother said to him, "Can't you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?" But Samson told his father, "Get her for me, because I want her."

4 Now his father and mother did not know this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. At that time, the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

5 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,

6 the Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

7 Then he went and spoke to the woman, because Samson wanted her.

8 After some time, when he returned to get her, he left [the road] to see the lion's carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass.

9 He scooped [some honey] into his hands and ate [it] as he went along. When he returned to his father and mother, he gave [some] to them and they ate [it]. But he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey from the lion's carcass.

10 His father went [to visit] the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as young men were accustomed to do.

11 When the Philistines saw him, they brought 30 men to accompany him.

12 "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.

13 But if you can't explain it to me, you must give me 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes." "Tell us your riddle," they replied. "Let's hear it."

14 So he said to them: Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. After three days, they were unable to explain the riddle.

15 On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, "Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"

16 So Samson's wife came to him, weeping, and said, "You hate me and don't love me! You told my people the riddle, but haven't explained it to me." "Look," he said, "I haven't even explained it to my father or mother, so [why] should I explain it to you?"

17 She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people.

18 On the seventh day before sunset, the men of the city said to him: What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion? So he said to them: If you hadn't plowed with my young cow, you wouldn't know my riddle now!

19 The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father's house,

20 and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Judges 15

1 Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson [took] a young goat [as a gift] and visited his wife. "I want to go to my wife in her room," he said. But her father would not let him enter.

2 "I was sure you hated her," her father said, "so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?"

3 Samson said to them, "This time I won't be responsible when I harm the Philistines."

4 So he went out and caught 300 foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.

5 Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

6 Then the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "[It was] Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because he has taken Samson's wife and given her to another man." So the Philistines went to her and her father and burned [them] to death.

7 Then Samson told them, "Because you did this, I swear that I won't rest until I have taken vengeance on you."

8 He tore them limb from limb with a great slaughter, and he went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

9 The Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and raided Lehi.

10 So the men of Judah said, "Why have you attacked us?" They replied, "We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he did to us."

11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?" "I have done to them what they did to me," he answered.

12 They said to him, "We've come to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines." Then Samson told them, "Swear to me that you yourselves won't kill me."

13 "No," they said, "we won't kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them." So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like burnt flax and his bonds fell off his wrists.

15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed 1,000 men with it.

16 Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them in a heap. With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed 1,000 men.

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Ramath-lehi.

18 He became very thirsty and called out to the Lord: "You have accomplished this great victory through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

19 So God split a hollow place [in the ground] at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

20 And he judged Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines.

Judges 16

1 Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her.

2 When the Gazites [heard] that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. While they were waiting quietly, they said, "Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him."

3 But Samson stayed in bed until midnight when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

5 The Philistine leaders went to her and said, "Persuade him to tell you where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me, where does your great strength [come from]? How could [someone] tie you up and make you helpless?"

7 Samson told her, "If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be like any other man."

8 The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.

9 While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. [The secret of] his strength remained unknown.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have mocked me and told me lies! Won't you please tell me how you can be tied up?"

11 He told her, "If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become weak and be like any other man."

12 Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" But while the men in ambush were waiting in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

13 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have mocked me all along and told me lies! Tell me how you can be tied up." He told her, "If you weave the seven braids on my head with the web of a loom-"

14 She fastened the braids with a pin and called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin, with the loom and the web.

15 "How can you say, 'I love you,' " she told him, "when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and not told me what makes your strength so great!"

16 Because she nagged him day after day and pled with him until she wore him out,

17 he told her the whole truth and said to her, "My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man."

18 When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: "Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth." The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the money with them.

19 Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she rendered him helpless, and his strength left him.

20 Then she cried, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" When he awoke from his sleep, he said, "I will escape as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

21 The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison.

22 But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved.

23 Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said: Our god has handed over our enemy Samson to us.

24 When the people saw him, they praised their god and said: Our god has handed over to us our enemy who destroyed our land and who multiplied our dead.

25 When they were drunk, they said, "Bring Samson here to entertain us." So they brought Samson from prison, and he entertained them. They had him stand between the pillars.

26 Samson said to the young man who was leading him by the hand, "Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them."

27 The temple was full of men and women; all the leaders of the Philistines were there, and about 3,000 men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain [them].

28 He called out to the Lord: "Lord God , please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes."

29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left.

30 Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And the dead he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.

31 Then his brothers and his father's family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he judged Israel 20 years.

Judges 17

1 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah.

2 He said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you utter a curse about-here, I have the silver with me. I took it. So now I return it to you." Then his mother said, "My son, you are blessed by the Lord!"

3 He returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I personally consecrate the silver to the Lord for my son's benefit to make a carved image overlaid with silver."

4 So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image overlaid with silver, and it was in Micah's house.

5 This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.

6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.

7 There was a young man, a Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah.

8 The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah's home in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 "Where do you come from?" Micah asked him. He answered him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm going to settle wherever I can find a place.

10 Micah replied, "Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions." So the Levite went in

11 and agreed to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons.

12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house.

13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest."

Judges 18

1 In those days, there was no king in Israel, and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy. Up to that time no territory had been captured [by them] among the tribes of Israel.

2 So the Danites sent out five brave men from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They told them, "Go and explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there.

3 While they were near Micah's home, they recognized the speech of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here?"

4 He told them what Micah had done for him and that he had hired him as his priest.

5 Then they said to him, "Please inquire of God so we will know if we will have a successful journey."

6 The priest told them, "Go in peace. The Lord is watching over the journey you are going on."

7 The five men left and came to Laish. They saw that the people who were there were living securely, in the same way as the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. They were far from the Sidonians, having no alliance with anyone.

8 When the men went back to their clans at Zorah and Eshtaol, their people asked them, "What did you find out?"

9 They answered, "Come on, let's go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don't hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!

10 When you get there, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a wide-open land, for God has handed it over to you. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking."

11 Six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol armed with weapons of war.

12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is called the Camp of Dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

13 From there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and arrived at Micah's house.

14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish told their brothers, "Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image overlaid with silver in these houses? Now think about what you should do."

15 So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him.

16 The 600 Danite men were standing by the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

17 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went in and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.

18 When they entered Micah's house and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

19 They told him, "Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut. Come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?"

20 So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people.

21 They prepared to leave, putting their small children, livestock, and possessions in front of them.

22 After they were some distance from Micah's house, the men who were in the houses near it mobilized and caught up with the Danites.

23 They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, "What's the matter with you that you mobilized [the men]?"

24 He said, "You took the gods I had made and the priest, and went away. What do I have left? How can you say to me, 'What's the matter with you?' "

25 The Danites said to him, "Don't raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives."

26 The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was.

27 After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned down the city.

28 There was no one to save them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.

29 They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish.

30 The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land.

31 So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image that he had made, [and it was there] as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.