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 And Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, arose early, and all the people that were with him, and they encamped beside the spring Harod; and he had the camp of Midian on the north by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

2 And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

3 And now proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is timid and afraid, let him go back and turn from mount Gilead. And there went back of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

4 And Jehovah said to Gideon, Still the people are many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there, and it shall be, that of whom I shall say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

5 And he brought down the people to the water; and Jehovah said to Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down on his knees to drink.

6 And the number of them that lapped, with their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men; and all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.

7 And Jehovah said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and give Midian into thy hand; and let all the people go every man to his place.

8 And they took the victuals of the people in their hand, and their trumpets; and all the men of Israel he sent away, every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

9 And it came to pass in that night, that Jehovah said to him, Arise, go down to the camp; for I have given it into thy hand.

10 And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the camp;

11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thy hand be strengthened, and thou shalt go down unto the camp. And he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the camp.

12 And Midian and Amalek and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand upon the sea-shore for multitude.

13 And Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and the tent lay along.

14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, the man of Israel: God hath given into his hand Midian and all the host.

15 And it came to pass when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. And he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.

16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, and empty pitchers, and torches within the pitchers.

17 And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise; behold, when I come to the extremity of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

18 And when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, ye also shall blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shall say, For Jehovah and for Gideon!

19 And Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hand, and the trumpets in their right hand for blowing, and cried, The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!

21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried out, and fled.

22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout the camp. And the host fled to Beth-shittah towards Zererah, to the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

23 And the men of Israel were called together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.

24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan. And all the men of Ephraim were called together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah, and the Jordan.

25 And they took two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb; and they pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

Judges 8

1 And the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this thing thou hast done to us, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they disputed with him sharply.

2 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?

3 Into your hands hath God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their spirit was appeased toward him, when he said that word.

4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, [and] passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.

5 And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

6 And the chief men of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thine army?

7 And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah delivers Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars.

8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

9 And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of the whole camp of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the camp; for the camp was at its ease.

12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued after them, and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the camp.

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

14 And he caught a youth of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he wrote down for him the chief men of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.

15 And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?

16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

17 And he broke down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king.

19 And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. [As] Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, Arise, slay them! But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall on us; for as is the man, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the moons that were on their camels' necks.

22 And the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also; for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.

23 And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you.

24 And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you: give me every man the earrings of his booty; for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.

25 And they said, We will willingly give [them]. And they spread a garment, and cast therein every man the earrings of his booty.

26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred [shekels] of gold; besides the moons, and eardrops, and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.

27 And Gideon made an ephod of them, and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel went thither a whoring after it; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

28 And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his house.

30 Now Gideon had seventy sons who had come out of his loins, for he had many wives.

31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he gave him the name of Abimelech.

32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

33 And it came to pass when Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after the Baals, and set up Baal-Berith as their god.

34 And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side.

35 And they shewed no kindness to the house of Jerubbaal-Gideon, according to all the good that he had done to Israel.

Judges 9

1 And Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem, Which is better for you, that seventy persons, all sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh.

3 And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the citizens of Shechem all these words. And their heart inclined after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

4 And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them vain and wanton men, and they followed him.

5 And he came to his father's house, to Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons upon one stone; but there remained Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal; for he had hid himself.

6 And all the citizens of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the memorial-oak that is in Shechem.

7 And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.

8 The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign over us.

9 And the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

10 And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, reign over us.

11 But the fig-tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?

12 Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.

13 And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?

14 Then said all the trees to the thorn-bush, Come thou, reign over us.

15 And the thorn-bush said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, come, put confidence in my shadow; but if not, fire shall come out of the thorn-bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

16 Now therefore, if ye have dealt truly and sincerely in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and if ye have done to him according to the deserving of his hands;

17 -- for my father fought for you, and endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;

18 but ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of Shechem, because he is your brother;

19 -- if ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;

20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the citizens of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the citizens of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, because of Abimelech his brother.

22 And Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

24 that the violence [done] to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who had strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.

25 And the citizens of Shechem set liers in wait for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them. And it was told Abimelech.

26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem; and the citizens of Shechem put confidence in him.

27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made rejoicings, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is he not the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his overseer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem! and why should *we* serve him?

29 Oh! would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

30 And Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, and his anger was kindled;

31 and he sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren are come to Shechem, and behold, they shut up the city against thee;

32 and now, rise up by night, thou and the people that are with thee, and lie in ambush in the fields.

33 And it shall be in the morning when the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and fall upon the city; and behold, he and the people that is with him shall come out against thee, and thou shalt do with him as thou shalt find occasion.

34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four companies.

35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. Then Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, out of the ambush.

36 And Gaal saw the people, and said to Zebul, Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men.

37 And Gaal spoke again, and said, Behold, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and one company is coming along by the way of the Magician's oak.

38 Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, thou that saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out now, I pray, and fight against them.

39 And Gaal went out before the citizens of Shechem, and fought against Abimelech.

40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, as far as the entrance of the gate.

41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and his brethren, that they might not dwell in Shechem.

42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.

43 And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and lay in ambush in the field. And he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.

44 And Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and two of the companies ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew them.

45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and broke down the city, and sowed it with salt.

46 And all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [that], and they entered into the stronghold of the house of the ·god Berith.

47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem had gathered together.

48 Then Abimelech went up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that was with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, do as I have done.

49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and they followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and burned the hold with fire upon them. And all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

50 And Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

51 But there was a strong tower in the midst of the city, and thither fled all the men and women, all the citizens of the city; and they shut it behind them, and went up to the roof of the tower.

52 And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and he drew near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire;

53 and a woman cast the upper stone of a handmill on Abimelech's head, and crushed his skull.

54 Then he called hastily to the young man that carried his armour, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they say not of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they went every man to his place.

56 And God rendered back the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in slaying his seventy brethren.

57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render back upon their heads; and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Judges 10

1 And after Abimelech, there rose up to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir on mount Ephraim.

2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died, and was buried in Shamir.

3 And after him rose up Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.

4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called the villages of Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

5 And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.

6 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals, and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.

7 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel, and he sold him into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.

8 And they oppressed and crushed the children of Israel in that year; eighteen years [they oppressed] all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

9 And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; and Israel was greatly distressed.

10 And the children of Israel cried to Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served the Baals.

11 And Jehovah said to the children of Israel, Did I not [save you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

12 The Zidonians also, and Amalek and Maon oppressed you, and ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand.

13 But ye have forsaken me, and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more.

14 Go and cry to the gods that ye have chosen: let them save you in the time of your trouble.

15 And the children of Israel said to Jehovah, We have sinned. Do thou unto us according to all that is good in thy sight; only deliver us, we pray thee, this day.

16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

17 And the children of Ammon were called together and encamped in Gilead; and the children of Israel gathered together and encamped in Mizpeh.

18 And the people, the chief men of Gilead, said one to another, Who is the man that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Judges 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah.

2 And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and when his wife's sons were grown, they expelled Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of another woman.

3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And vain men were gathered to Jephthah, and they made expeditions with him.

4 And it came to pass after some time, that the children of Ammon fought with Israel.

5 And when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.

6 And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight against the children of Ammon.

7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come to me now when ye are in trouble?

8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we have returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all of us the inhabitants of Gilead.

9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye take me back to fight against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah give them up before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words!

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them; and Jephthah uttered all his words before Jehovah in Mizpah.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight against my land?

13 And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok and unto the Jordan; and now restore it peaceably.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon,

15 and said to him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.

16 But when they came up from Egypt, then Israel walked through the wilderness as far as the Red sea, and came to Kadesh.

17 And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom would not hearken. And they also sent to the king of Moab; and he would not. And Israel abode in Kadesh.

18 And they walked through the wilderness, and went round the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east of the land of Moab, and encamped beyond the Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab, for the Arnon is the border of Moab.

19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel, to let him pass through his border, and Sihon gathered all his people, and they encamped in Jahzah; and he fought with Israel.

21 And Jehovah the God of Israel gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them; and Israel took possession of the whole land of the Amorites, who dwelt in that country.

22 And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness unto the Jordan.

23 And now Jehovah the God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou take possession of it?

24 Dost not thou possess what Chemosh thy god puts thee in possession of? and whatever Jehovah our God has dispossessed before us, that will we possess.

25 And now art thou indeed better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive with Israel? did he ever fight against them?

26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its dependent villages, and in Aroer and its dependent villages, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years -- why did ye not recover [them] within that time?

27 So I have not sinned against thee, but it is thou who doest me wrong in making war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon!

28 But the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the words of Jephthah that he had sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed to Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt without fail give the children of Ammon into my hand,

31 then shall that which cometh forth from the door of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.

32 And Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Jehovah gave them into his hand.

33 And he smote them from Aroer until thou come to Minnith, twenty cities, even unto Abel-Cheramim, with a very great slaughter; and the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambours and with dances; and she was an only child: besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his garments, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to Jehovah, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as Jehovah has taken vengeance for thee upon thine enemies, upon the children of Ammon.

37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go and descend to the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months. And she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, and he performed on her the vow that he had vowed; and she had known no man. And it became a fixed custom in Israel,

40 that from year to year the daughters of Israel go to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Judges 12

1 And the men of Ephraim were called together, and passed over northwards, and said to Jephthah, Why didst thou pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with fire.

2 And Jephthah said to them, I was at great strife, I and my people, with the children of Ammon; and I called you, but ye saved me not out of their hand.

3 And when I saw that ye would not save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Jehovah gave them into my hand. Why then are ye come up to me this day, to fight against me?

4 And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye, Gilead, ye are fugitives of Ephraim in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.

5 And Gilead took the fords of the Jordan before Ephraim; and it came to pass that when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Art thou an Ephraimite? and he said, No.

6 Then they said to him, Say now Shibboleth! and he said, Sibboleth, and did not manage to pronounce [it] rightly. Then they took him, and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand.

7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

9 And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent out of the house, and thirty daughters he took in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

10 And Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

11 And after him Elon, the Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon in the land of Zebulun.

13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, judged Israel.

14 And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years.

15 And Abdon the son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.

Judges 13

1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

2 And there was a certain man of Zoreah, of the family of the Danites, and his name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and did not bear.

3 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, thou art barren and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.

4 And now beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.

5 For lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall come on his head; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

6 And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very terrible; but I did not ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name.

7 And he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and now drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not anything unclean; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of God from the womb to the day of his death.

8 Then Manoah prayed to Jehovah, and said, Ah Lord! let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, I pray thee, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of God came again to the woman whilst she sat in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10 Then the woman hasted and ran, and informed her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, that came to me that day.

11 And Manoah rose up and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that didst speak to the woman? And he said, I am.

12 And Manoah said, When thy words then come to pass, what shall be the child's manner and his doing?

13 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware:

14 she shall not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither shall she drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean: all that I commanded her shall she observe.

15 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, I pray thee, let us detain thee, and we will make ready a kid of the goats for thee.

16 And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Though thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou shalt offer it up to Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he was the Angel of Jehovah.

17 And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy word cometh to pass we may do thee honour?

18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, How is it that thou askest after my name, seeing it is wonderful?

19 Then Manoah took the kid and the oblation, and offered it up to Jehovah upon the rock. And he did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.

20 And it came to pass, as the flame went up from off the altar towards the heavens, that the Angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on, and fell on their faces to the ground.

21 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was the Angel of Jehovah.

22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

23 But his wife said to him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and an oblation at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would he at this time have told us [such things] as these.

24 And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him.

25 And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him at Mahaneh-Dan, between Zoreah and Eshtaol.

Judges 14

1 And Samson went down to Timnathah, and saw a woman in Timnathah of the daughters of the Philistines.

2 And he went up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnathah of the daughters of the Philistines; and now take her for me as wife.

3 And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the Philistines, the uncircumcised? And Samson said to his father, Take her for me, for she pleases me well.

4 And his father and his mother did not know that it was of Jehovah, that he was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

5 And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnathah; and they came to the vineyards of Timnathah. And behold, a young lion roared against him;

6 and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he rent it as one rends a kid, and nothing was in his hand. And he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

7 And he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

8 And he returned after a time to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, [there was] a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey;

9 and he took it out in his hands, and went on, and ate as he went. And he came to his father and to his mother, and gave them, and they ate; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

10 And his father went down to the woman, and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

11 And it came to pass when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions, and they were with him.

12 And Samson said to them, Let me now propound a riddle to you; if ye clearly explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments.

13 But if ye cannot explain [it] to me, then shall ye give me thirty shirts, and thirty changes of garments. And they said to him, Propound thy riddle, that we may hear it.

14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days explain the riddle.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife, Persuade thy husband, that he may explain to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire. Have ye invited us to impoverish us, -- is it not [so]?

16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not. Thou hast propounded the riddle to the children of my people, and hast not explained it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not explained it to my father nor my mother, and shall I explain it to thee?

17 And she wept before him the seven days, while they had the feast. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he explained it to her, for she pressed him. And she explained the riddle to the children of her people.

18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, And what stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.

19 And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew of them thirty men, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of garments unto them that explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

20 And Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had made his friend.

Judges 15

1 And it came to pass after a time, in the days of the wheat-harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid of the goats. And he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber; but her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her.

3 And Samson said to them, This time I am blameless toward the Philistines, though I do them harm.

4 And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between the two tails.

5 And he set the torches on fire, and let [them] run into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, and the olive gardens.

6 And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.

7 And Samson said to them, If ye act thus, for a certainty I will avenge myself on you, and then I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the cliff Etam.

9 And the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the cliff Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? And what is this that thou hast done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.

12 And they said to him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may give thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall on me yourselves.

13 And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand; but we certainly shall not put thee to death. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the cliff.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and the cords that were on his arms became as threads of flax that are burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew with it a thousand men.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass when he had ended speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-Lehi.

18 And he was very thirsty, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given by the hand of thy servant this great deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 And God clave the hallow rock which was in Lehi, and water came out of it. And he drank, and his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

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

Judges 16

1 And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.

2 [And it was told] the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they surrounded [him], and laid wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning light we will kill him.

3 And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, and put [them] upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

4 And it came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is, and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred silver-pieces.

6 Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee.

7 And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak, and be as another man.

12 And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web.

15 Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength.

16 And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 and he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother's womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind.

18 And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.

21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house.

22 But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved.

23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.

24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain.

25 And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them.

27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport.

28 And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes.

29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one with his right hand and the other with his left.

30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.

31 And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years.

Judges 17

1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred silver-pieces that were taken from thee, and about which thou didst curse and speak of in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah!

3 And he restored the eleven hundred silver-pieces to his mother; and his mother said, I had dedicated the silver to Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image; and now I will restore it to thee.

4 Now he restored the silver to his mother; and his mother took two hundred silver-pieces and gave them to the founder, and he made of them a graven image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehem-Judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

8 And the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem-Judah, to sojourn where he might find [a place]. And as he journeyed, he came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah.

9 And Micah said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find [a place].

10 And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee yearly ten silver-pieces, and a suit of garments, and thy victuals. And the Levite went in.

11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

13 Then said Micah, Now I know that Jehovah will do me good, because I have the Levite for priest.

Judges 18

1 In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day [their lot] had not fallen to them for inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men of their whole number, men of valour, from Zoreah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to examine it; and they said to them, Go, examine the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned in thither, and said to him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this [place]? and what hast thou here?

4 And he said to them, Thus and thus has Micah done to me; and he has hired me, and I am his priest.

5 And they said to him, Inquire, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way on which we go shall be prosperous.

6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before Jehovah is your way on which ye go.

7 And the five men departed, and came to Laish; and they saw the people that were therein, dwelling securely, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and no one was in the land who possessed authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had nothing to do with [any] man.

8 -- And they came to their brethren at Zoreah and Eshtaol. And their brethren said to them, What [say] ye?

9 And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and ye are still! Be not slothful to go, to enter to take possession of the land.

10 When ye go in, ye shall come to a people secure, and the land is spacious in every direction; for God has given it into your hands; [it is] a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth.

11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zoreah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.

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.

13 And they passed thence to mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

14 Then the five men that had gone to spy out the country of Laish spoke and said to their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? And now ye know what to do.

15 And they turned thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and inquired after his welfare.

16 And the six hundred men of the children of Dan, girded with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate.

17 And the five men that had gone to spy out the land went up, entered in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were girded with weapons of war.

18 And these came into Micah's house, and took the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. And the priest said to them, What do ye?

19 And they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for thee to be a priest for the house of one man, or to be priest for a tribe and a family in Israel?

20 Then the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

21 And they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the baggage before them.

22 They were already far from the house of Micah, when the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

23 And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away; and what have I more? and what is this that ye say to me, What aileth thee?

25 And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest men of exasperated spirit run upon you, and thou lose thy life and the lives of thy household.

26 And the children of Dan went their way; and Micah saw that they were too strong for him, and he turned and went back to his house.

27 And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest that he had had, and came upon Laish, upon a people quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire.

28 And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Zidon, and they had nothing to do with [any] man; and it [lay] in the valley that is by Beth-rehob. And they built the city and dwelt therein.

29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; howbeit Laish was the name of the city at the first.

30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and Jehonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses; he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 And they set up for themselves Micah's graven image, which he had made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.