1:1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the

children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for

us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have

delivered the land into his hand.

1:3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into

my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I

likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with

him.

1:4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and

the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek

ten thousand men.

1:5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against

him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

1:6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught

him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

1:7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their

thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [their meat]

under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And

they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

1:8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and

had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and

set the city on fire.

1:9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight

against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the

south, and in the valley.

1:10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron:

(now the name of Hebron before [was] Kirjatharba:) and they

slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

1:11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir:

and the name of Debir before [was] Kirjathsepher:

1:12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh

it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

1:13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took

it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

1:14 And it came to pass, when she came [to him], that she moved

him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off

[her] ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

1:15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast

given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb

gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

1:16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went

up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah

into the wilderness of Judah, which [lieth] in the south of

Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

1:17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the

Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it.

And the name of the city was called Hormah.

1:18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon

with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

1:19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out [the

inhabitants of] the mountain; but could not drive out the

inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

1:20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he

expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

1:21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the

Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell

with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

1:22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel:

and the LORD [was] with them.

1:23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the

name of the city before [was] Luz.)

1:24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and

they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into

the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

1:25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they

smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the

man and all his family.

1:26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a

city, and called the name thereof Luz: which [is] the name

thereof unto this day.

1:27 Neither did Manasseh drive out [the inhabitants of]

Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the

inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam

and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns:

but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

1:28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put

the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

1:29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in

Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

1:30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron,

nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among

them, and became tributaries.

1:31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor

the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of

Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

1:32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the

inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

1:33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of

Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt

among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless

the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became

tributaries unto them.

1:34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the

mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the

valley:

1:35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and

in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so

that they became tributaries.

1:36 And the coast of the Amorites [was] from the going up to

Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

2:1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and

said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you

unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I

will never break my covenant with you.

2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this

land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed

my voice: why have ye done this?

2:3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before

you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their

gods shall be a snare unto you.

2:4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these

words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted

up their voice, and wept.

2:5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they

sacrificed there unto the LORD.

2:6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of

Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

2:7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and

all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen

all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

2:8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died,

[being] an hundred and ten years old.

2:9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in

Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the

hill Gaash.

2:10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their

fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which

knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for

Israel.

2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the

LORD, and served Baalim:

2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which

brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods,

of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and

bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

2:13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

2:14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he

delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them,

and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about,

so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

2:15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was

against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD

had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

2:16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered

them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

2:17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they

went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto

them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers

walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; [but] they did

not so.

2:18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was

with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their

enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD

because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed

them and vexed them.

2:19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, [that] they

returned, and corrupted [themselves] more than their fathers,

in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto

them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their

stubborn way.

2:20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he

said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant

which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my

voice;

2:21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them

of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

2:22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will

keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did

keep [it], or not.

2:23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them

out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

3:1 Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove

Israel by them, [even] as many [of Israel] as had not known all

the wars of Canaan;

3:2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel might

know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew

nothing thereof;

3:3 [Namely], five lords of the Philistines, and all the

Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in

mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of

Hamath.

3:4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they

would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he

commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

3:5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites,

Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and

Jebusites:

3:6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave

their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the

LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the

groves.

3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and

he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of

Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served

Chushanrishathaim eight years.

3:9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the

LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who

delivered them, [even] Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's

younger brother.

3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged

Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered

Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his

hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

3:11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of

Kenaz died.

3:12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of

the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab

against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the

LORD.

3:13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek,

and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm

trees.

3:14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab

eighteen years.

3:15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the

LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a

Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel

sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

3:16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit

length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right

thigh.

3:17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and

Eglon [was] a very fat man.

3:18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent

away the people that bare the present.

3:19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that [were]

by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king:

who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from

him.

3:20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer

parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have

a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of [his] seat.

3:21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from

his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

3:22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat

closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out

of his belly; and the dirt came out.

3:23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors

of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

3:24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw

that, behold, the doors of the parlour [were] locked, they

said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

3:25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he

opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key,

and opened [them]: and, behold, their lord [was] fallen down

dead on the earth.

3:26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the

quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

3:27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a

trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel

went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

3:28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath

delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they

went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab,

and suffered not a man to pass over.

3:29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men,

all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

3:30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And

the land had rest fourscore years.

3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of

the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also

delivered Israel.

4:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of

the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of

Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host [was]

Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

4:3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had

nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily

oppressed the children of Israel.

4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged

Israel at that time.

4:5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah

and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up

to her for judgment.

4:6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of

Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of

Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and

take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and

of the children of Zebulun?

4:7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the

captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude;

and I will deliver him into thine hand.

4:8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I

will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go.

4:9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding

the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for

the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And

Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

4:10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he

went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up

with him.

4:11 Now Heber the Kenite, [which was] of the children of Hobab

the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the

Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which

[is] by Kedesh.

4:12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was

gone up to mount Tabor.

4:13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, [even] nine

hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that [were] with

him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day in

which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not

the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount

Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

4:15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all [his] chariots,

and all [his] host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so

that Sisera lighted down off [his] chariot, and fled away on

his feet.

4:16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host,

unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell

upon the edge of the sword; [and] there was not a man left.

4:17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael

the wife of Heber the Kenite: for [there was] peace between

Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn

in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in

unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

4:19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water

to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk,

and gave him drink, and covered him.

4:20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and

it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and

say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an

hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the

nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he

was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

4:22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet

him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom

thou seekest. And when he came into her [tent], behold, Sisera

lay dead, and the nail [was] in his temples.

4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before

the children of Israel.

4:24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and

prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had

destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

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

saying,

5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the

people willingly offered themselves.

5:3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, [even] I, will

sing unto the LORD; I will sing [praise] to the LORD God of

Israel.

5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out

of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens

dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

5:5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, [even] that Sinai

from before the LORD God of Israel.

5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of

Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked

through byways.

5:7 [The inhabitants of] the villages ceased, they ceased in

Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in

Israel.

5:8 They chose new gods; then [was] war in the gates: was there

a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

5:9 My heart [is] toward the governors of Israel, that offered

themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.

5:10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in

judgment, and walk by the way.

5:11 [They that are delivered] from the noise of archers in the

places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the

righteous acts of the LORD, [even] the righteous acts [toward

the inhabitants] of his villages in Israel: then shall the

people of the LORD go down to the gates.

5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise,

Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

5:13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the

nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over

the mighty.

5:14 Out of Ephraim [was there] a root of them against Amalek;

after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down

governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the

writer.

5:15 And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even

Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley.

For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great thoughts of

heart.

5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the

bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben [there

were] great searchings of heart.

5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in

ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his

breaches.

5:18 Zebulun and Naphtali [were] a people [that] jeoparded their

lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

5:19 The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of

Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain

of money.

5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought

against Sisera.

5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river,

the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

5:22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the

pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.

5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye

bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the

help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.

5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite

be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

5:25 He asked water, [and] she gave [him] milk; she brought

forth butter in a lordly dish.

5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the

workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she

smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through

his temples.

5:27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he

bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

5:28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried

through the lattice, Why is his chariot [so] long in coming?

why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

5:29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to

herself,

5:30 Have they not sped? have they [not] divided the prey; to

every man a damsel [or] two; to Sisera a prey of divers

colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers

colours of needlework on both sides, [meet] for the necks of

[them that take] the spoil?

5:31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them

that love him [be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.

And the land had rest forty years.

6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the

LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven

years.

6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: [and]

because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the

dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

6:3 And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites

came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even

they came up against them;

6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase

of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance

for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they

came as grasshoppers for multitude; [for] both they and their

camels were without number: and they entered into the land to

destroy it.

6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the

Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto

the LORD because of the Midianites,

6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel,

which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I

brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the

house of bondage;

6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and

out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out

from before you, and gave you their land;

6:10 And I said unto you, I [am] the LORD your God; fear not the

gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not

obeyed my voice.

6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak

which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the

Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress,

to hide [it] from the Midianites.

6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto

him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with

us, why then is all this befallen us? and where [be] all his

miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD

bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and

delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy

might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the

Midianites: have not I sent thee?

6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save

Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the

least in my father's house.

6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and

thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy

sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and

bring forth my present, and set [it] before thee. And he said,

I will tarry until thou come again.

6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened

cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and

he put the broth in a pot, and brought [it] out unto him under

the oak, and presented [it].

6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the

unleavened cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour out

the broth. And he did so.

6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff

that [was] in his hand, and touched the flesh and the

unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and

consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of

the LORD departed out of his sight.

6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the

LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an

angel of the LORD face to face.

6:23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not:

thou shalt not die.

6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called

it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the

Abiezrites.

6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto

him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock

of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy

father hath, and cut down the grove that [is] by it:

6:26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of

this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock,

and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which

thou shalt cut down.

6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the

LORD had said unto him: and [so] it was, because he feared his

father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not

do [it] by day, that he did [it] by night.

6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning,

behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut

down that [was] by it, and the second bullock was offered upon

the altar [that was] built.

6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And

when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of

Joash hath done this thing.

6:30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy

son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of

Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that [was] by it.

6:31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye

plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him,

let him be put to death whilst [it is yet] morning: if he [be]

a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] hath cast down

his altar.

6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let

Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children

of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched

in the valley of Jezreel.

6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a

trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.

6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also

was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and

unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine

hand, as thou hast said,

6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and] if

the dew be on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the

earth [beside], then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by

mine hand, as thou hast said.

6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and

thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the

fleece, a bowl full of water.

6:39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot

against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I

pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry

only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

6:40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece

only, and there was dew on all the ground.

7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who [is] Gideon, and all the people that

[were] with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of

Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north

side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with

thee [are] too many for me to give the Midianites into their

hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine

own hand hath saved me.

7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,

saying, Whosoever [is] fearful and afraid, let him return and

depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the

people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten

thousand.

7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too]

many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for

thee there: and it shall be, [that] of whom I say unto thee,

This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of

whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the

same shall not go.

7:5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD

said unto 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 upon his knees to drink.

7:6 And the number of them that lapped, [putting] their hand to

their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the

people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that

lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine

hand: and let all the [other] people go every man unto his

place.

7:8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their

trumpets: and he sent all [the rest of] Israel every man unto

his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of

Midian was beneath him in the valley.

7:9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto

him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered

it into thine hand.

7:10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy

servant down to the host:

7:11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall

thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went

he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed

men that [were] in the host.

7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children

of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for

multitude; and their camels [were] without number, as the sand

by the sea side for multitude.

7:13 And when Gideon was come, behold, [there was] a man that

told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a

dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of

Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and

overturned it, that the tent lay along.

7:14 And his fellow answered and said, This [is] nothing else

save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel:

[for] into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the

host.

7:15 And it was [so], when Gideon heard the telling of the

dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and

returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD

hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

7:16 And he divided the three hundred men [into] three

companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty

pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

7:17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and,

behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be

[that], as I do, so shall ye do.

7:18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that [are] with me,

then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp,

and say, [The sword] of the LORD, and of Gideon.

7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that [were] with him, came

unto 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 brake the pitchers that [were] in their hands.

7:20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the

pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the

trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried,

The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

7:21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp:

and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set

every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the

host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, [and] to

the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

7:23 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of

Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and

pursued after the Midianites.

7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim,

saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them

the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of

Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto

Bethbarah and Jordan.

7:25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb;

and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at

the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the

heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

8:1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served

us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight

with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

8:2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of

you? [Is] not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than

the vintage of Abiezer?

8:3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian,

Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you?

Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

8:4 And Gideon came to Jordan, [and] passed over, he, and the

three hundred men that [were] with him, faint, yet pursuing

[them].

8:5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you,

loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be]

faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of

Midian.

8:6 And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebah

and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto

thine army?

8:7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered

Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh

with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

8:8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them

likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of

Succoth had answered [him].

8:9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I

come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their hosts

with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of

all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an

hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

8:11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents

on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the

host was secure.

8:12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them,

and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and

discomfited all the host.

8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the

sun [was up],

8:14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired

of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and

the elders thereof, [even] threescore and seventeen men.

8:15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah

and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, [Are] the

hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should

give bread unto thy men [that are] weary?

8:16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the

wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of

Succoth.

8:17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of

the city.

8:18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men

[were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou

[art], so [were] they; each one resembled the children of a

king.

8:19 And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my

mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I

would not slay you.

8:20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, [and] slay them.

But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he

[was] yet a youth.

8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us:

for as the man [is, so is] his strength. And Gideon arose, and

slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that

[were] on their camels' necks.

8:22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us,

both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast

delivered us from the hand of Midian.

8:23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,

neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over

you.

8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you,

that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For

they had golden earrings, because they [were] Ishmaelites.)

8:25 And they answered, We will willingly give [them]. And they

spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings

of his prey.

8:26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was

a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold; beside

ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that [was] on the

kings of Midian, and beside the chains that [were] about their

camels' necks.

8:27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city,

[even] in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after

it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

8:28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so

that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in

quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

8:29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own

house.

8:30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body

begotten: for he had many wives.

8:31 And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare him

a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

8:32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was

buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the

Abiezrites.

8:33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the

children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after

Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their

God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their

enemies on every side:

8:35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal,

[namely], Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had

shewed unto Israel.

9:1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his

mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the

family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

9:2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem,

Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of

Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over

you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I [am] your

bone and your flesh.

9:3 And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all

the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined

to follow Abimelech; for they said, He [is] our brother.

9:4 And they gave him threescore and ten [pieces] of silver out

of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and

light persons, which followed him.

9:5 And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his

brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, [being] threescore and ten

persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the

youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.

9:6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the

house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain

of the pillar that [was] in Shechem.

9:7 And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in the

top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and

said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God

may hearken unto you.

9:8 The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over them;

and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my

fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be

promoted over the trees?

9:10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and] reign

over us.

9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my

sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the

trees?

9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and] reign

over us.

9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which

cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

9:14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, [and]

reign over us.

9:15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint

me king over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my

shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and

devour the cedars of Lebanon.

9:16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that

ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with

Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to

the deserving of his hands;

9:17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far,

and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

9:18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and

have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one

stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant,

king over the men of Shechem, because he [is] your brother;)

9:19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal

and with his house this day, [then] rejoice ye in Abimelech,

and let him also rejoice in you:

9:20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour

the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come

out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and

devour Abimelech.

9:21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt

there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

9:22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men

of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with

Abimelech:

9:24 That the cruelty [done] to the threescore and ten sons of

Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech

their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem,

which aided him in the killing of his brethren.

9:25 And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top

of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way

by them: and it was told Abimelech.

9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went

over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in

him.

9:27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their

vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made merry, and went

into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed

Abimelech.

9:28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who [is] Abimelech, and who

[is] Shechem, that we should serve him? [is] not [he] the son

of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the

father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

9:29 And would to God this people were under my hand! then would

I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine

army, and come out.

9:30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of

Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

9:31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying,

Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to

Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.

9:32 Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that [is]

with thee, and lie in wait in the field:

9:33 And it shall be, [that] in the morning, as soon as the sun

is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and,

behold, [when] he and the people that [is] with him come out

against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find

occasion.

9:34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that [were] with

him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four

companies.

9:35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the

entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and

the people that [were] with him, from lying in wait.

9:36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold,

there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul

said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as [if

they were] men.

9:37 And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down

by the middle of the land, and another company come along by

the plain of Meonenim.

9:38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where [is] now thy mouth,

wherewith thou saidst, Who [is] Abimelech, that we should serve

him? [is] not this the people that thou hast despised? go out,

I pray now, and fight with them.

9:39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought

with Abimelech.

9:40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many

were overthrown [and] wounded, [even] unto the entering of the

gate.

9:41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal

and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

9:42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out

into the field; and they told Abimelech.

9:43 And he took the people, and divided them into three

companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold,

the people [were] come forth out of the city; and he rose up

against them, and smote them.

9:44 And Abimelech, and the company that [was] with him, rushed

forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and

the two [other] companies ran upon all [the people] that [were]

in the fields, and slew them.

9:45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he

took the city, and slew the people that [was] therein, and beat

down the city, and sowed it with salt.

9:46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard [that],

they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.

9:47 And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of

Shechem were gathered together.

9:48 And Abimelech gat him 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, and

laid [it] on his shoulder, and said unto the people that [were]

with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, [and] do as I

[have done].

9:49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough,

and followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and set the

hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of

Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

9:50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez,

and took it.

9:51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither

fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut

[it] to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.

9:52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it,

and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

9:53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon

Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.

9:54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer,

and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say

not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him

through, and he died.

9:55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,

they departed every man unto his place.

9:56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did

unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

9:57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon

their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of

Jerubbaal.

10:1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the

son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt

in Shamir in mount Ephraim.

10:2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and

was buried in Shamir.

10:3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel

twenty and two years.

10:4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and

they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this

day, which [are] in the land of Gilead.

10:5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of

the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, 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 forsook the LORD, and served not him.

10:7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he

sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands

of the children of Ammon.

10:8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of

Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that [were]

on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which

[is] in Gilead.

10:9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight

also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house

of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We

have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our

God, and also served Baalim.

10:11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, [Did] not

[I deliver you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from

the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

10:12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites,

did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of

their hand.

10:13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore

I will deliver you no more.

10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them

deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

10:15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have

sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;

deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.

10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and

served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of

Israel.

10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and

encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled

themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

10:18 And the people [and] princes of Gilead said one to

another, What man [is he] that will begin to fight against the

children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of

Gilead.

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and

he [was] the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

11:2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew

up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt

not inherit in our father's house; for thou [art] the son of a

strange woman.

11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land

of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went

out with him.

11:4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children

of Ammon made war against Israel.

11:5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war

against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out

of the land of Tob:

11:6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that

we may fight with the children of Ammon.

11:7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye

hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye

come unto me now when ye are in distress?

11:8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we

turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight

against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the

inhabitants of Gilead.

11:9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me

home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD

deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

11:10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be

witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the

people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah

uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.

11:12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children

of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art

come against me to fight in my land?

11:13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the

messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when

they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and

unto Jordan: now therefore restore those [lands] again

peaceably.

11:14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the

children of Ammon:

11:15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not

away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

11:16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the

wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

11:17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying,

Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of

Edom would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner they sent

unto the king of Moab: but he would not [consent]: and Israel

abode in Kadesh.

11:18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed

the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east

side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of

Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon [was]

the border of Moab.

11:19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the

Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us

pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

11:20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast:

but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in

Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

11:21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his

people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel

possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that

country.

11:22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from

Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto

Jordan.

11:23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the

Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou

possess it?

11:24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth

thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out

from before us, them will we possess.

11:25 And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son of

Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did

he ever fight against them,

11:26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer

and her towns, and in all the cities that [be] along by the

coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not

recover [them] within that time?

11:27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest

me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this

day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

11:28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not

unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he

passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of

Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over [unto] the

children of Ammon.

11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou

shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine

hands,

11:31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the

doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the

children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer

it up for a burnt offering.

11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to

fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

11:33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to

Minnith, [even] twenty cities, and unto the plain of the

vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of

Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold,

his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with

dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he had neither

son nor daughter.

11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his

clothes, 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 unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

11:36 And she said unto him, My father, [if] thou hast opened

thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath

proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken

vengeance for thee of thine enemies, [even] of the children of

Ammon.

11:37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for

me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the

mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

11:38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away [for] two months:

and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity

upon the mountains.

11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she

returned unto her father, who did with her [according] to his

vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a

custom in Israel,

11:40 [That] the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the

daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and

went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou

over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call

us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with

fire.

12:2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great

strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye

delivered me not out of their hands.

12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life in

my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and

the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye

come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and

fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim,

because they said, Ye Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim

among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.

12:5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the

Ephraimites: and it was [so], that when those Ephraimites which

were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said

unto him, [Art] thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said

Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then

they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and

there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two

thousand.

12:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah

the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.

12:8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

12:9 And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, [whom] he

sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his

sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

12:10 Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

12:11 And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he

judged Israel ten years.

12:12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in

the country of Zebulun.

12:13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite,

judged Israel.

12:14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on

threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

12:15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was

buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the

Amalekites.

13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of

the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the

Philistines forty years.

13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the

Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] barren,

and bare not.

13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said

unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but

thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor

strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:

13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor

shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto

God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of

the hand of the Philistines.

13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of

God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the

countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him

not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:

13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear

a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any

unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from

the womb to the day of his death.

13:8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let

the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and

teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of

God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but

Manoah her husband [was] not with her.

13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband,

and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that

came unto me the [other] day.

13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the

man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto

the woman? And he said, I [am].

13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall

we order the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?

13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I

said unto the woman let her beware.

13:14 She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine,

neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean

[thing]: all that I commanded her let her observe.

13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee,

let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for

thee.

13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou

detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer

a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah

knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD.

13:17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy

name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou

thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?

13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered

[it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously;

and Manoah and his wife looked on.

13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven

from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the

flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and

fell on their faces to the ground.

13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and

to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the

LORD.

13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die,

because we have seen God.

13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to

kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat

offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all

these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such

things] as these.

13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and

the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.

13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in

the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath

of the daughters of the Philistines.

14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and

said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the

Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there]

never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all

my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised

Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me;

for she pleaseth me well.

14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of the

LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for

at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to

Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a

young lion roared against him.

14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he

rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing in

his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had

done.

14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she

pleased Samson well.

14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned

aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was]

a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and

came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did

eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of

the carcase of the lion.

14:10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made

there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought

thirty companions to be with him.

14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle

unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven

days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you

thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

14:13 But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me

thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto

him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat,

and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not

in three days expound the riddle.

14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said

unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare

unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house

with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? [is it] not

[so]?

14:16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but

hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto

the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he

said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my

mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?

14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast

lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told

her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to

the children of her people.

14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day

before the sun went down, What [is] sweeter than honey? and

what [is] stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye

had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down

to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil,

and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the

riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his

father's house.

14:20 But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he

had used as his friend.

15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of

wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he

said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father

would not suffer him to go in.

15:2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst

utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is]

not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee,

instead of her.

15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more

blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took

firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the

midst between two tails.

15:5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let [them] go

into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both

the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards

[and] olives.

15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they

answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had

taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the

Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

15:7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet

will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

15:8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and

he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and

spread themselves in Lehi.

15:10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us?

And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him

as he hath done to us.

15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the

rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the

Philistines [are] rulers over us? what [is] this [that] thou

hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me,

so have I done unto them.

15:12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee,

that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And

Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall

upon me yourselves.

15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee

fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not

kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought

him up from the rock.

15:14 [And] when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted

against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him,

and the cords that [were] upon his arms became as flax that was

burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his

hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon

heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking,

that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that

place Ramathlehi.

15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said,

Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy

servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand

of the uncircumcised?

15:19 But God clave an hollow place that [was] in the jaw, and

there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit

came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name

thereof Enhakkore, which [is] in Lehi unto this day.

15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty

years.

16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went

in unto her.

16:2 [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come

hither. And they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all

night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,

saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and

took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and

went away with them, bar and all, and put [them] upon his

shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that [is]

before Hebron.

16:4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the

valley of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah.

16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said

unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength

[lieth], and by what [means] we may prevail against him, that

we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one

of us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.

16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein

thy great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest be

bound to afflict thee.

16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green

withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as

another man.

16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven

green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with

them.

16:9 Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with her in the

chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee,

Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken

when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me,

and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou

mightest be bound.

16:11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes

that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as

another man.

16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith,

and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And

[there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake

them from off his arms like a thread.

16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked

me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.

And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my

head with the web.

16:14 And she fastened [it] with the pin, and said unto him, The

Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his

sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the

web.

16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee,

when thine heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these

three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength

[lieth].

16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her

words, and urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death;

16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There

hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a

Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then

my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be

like any [other] man.

16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart,

she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying,

Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then

the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought

money in their hand.

16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for

a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his

head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from

him.

16:20 And she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And

he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other

times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD

was departed from him.

16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and

brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass;

and he did grind in the prison house.

16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he

was shaven.

16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together

for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to

rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy

into our hand.

16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for

they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and

the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

16:25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that

they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they

called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them

sport: and they set him between the pillars.

16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand,

Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house

standeth, that I may lean upon them.

16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords

of the Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof

about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson

made sport.

16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD,

remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only

this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the

Philistines for my two eyes.

16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which

the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with

his right hand, and of the other with his left.

16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he

bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the

lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead

which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew

in his life.

16:31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came

down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him

between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his

father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name [was]

Micah.

17:2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred [shekels]

of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst,

and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver [is] with

me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed [be thou] of the

LORD, my son.

17:3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of

silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated

the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a

graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore

it unto thee.

17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother

took two hundred [shekels] of silver, and gave them to the

founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image:

and they were in the house of Micah.

17:5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod,

and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his

priest.

17:6 In those days [there was] no king in Israel, [but] every

man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.

17:7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the

family of Judah, who [was] a Levite, and he sojourned there.

17:8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to

sojourn where he could find [a place]: and he came to mount

Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

17:9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said

unto him, I [am] a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to

sojourn where I may find [a place].

17:10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a

father and a priest, and I will give thee ten [shekels] of

silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So

the Levite went in.

17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the

young man was unto him as one of his sons.

17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became

his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good,

seeing I have a Levite to [my] priest.

18:1 In those days [there was] no king in Israel: and in those

days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to

dwell in; for unto that day [all their] inheritance had not

fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from

their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to

spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them,

Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to

the house of Micah, they lodged there.

18:3 When they [were] by the house of Micah, they knew the voice

of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and

said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in

this [place]? and what hast thou here?

18:4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me,

and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

18:5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God,

that we may know whether our way which we go shall be

prosperous.

18:6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD

[is] your way wherein ye go.

18:7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the

people that [were] therein, how they dwelt careless, after the

manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and [there was] no

magistrate in the land, that might put [them] to shame in [any]

thing; and they [were] far from the Zidonians, and had no

business with [any] man.

18:8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and

their brethren said unto them, What [say] ye?

18:9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for

we have seen the land, and, behold, it [is] very good: and

[are] ye still? be not slothful to go, [and] to enter to

possess the land.

18:10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a

large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place

where [there is] no want of any thing that [is] in the earth.

18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the Danites,

out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with

weapons of war.

18:12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah:

wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day:

behold, [it is] behind Kirjathjearim.

18:13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto

the house of Micah.

18:14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the

country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that

there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven

image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have

to do.

18:15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the

young man the Levite, [even] unto the house of Micah, and

saluted him.

18:16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of

war, which [were] of the children of Dan, stood by the entering

of the gate.

18:17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up,

[and] came in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the

ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest

stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men

[that were] appointed with weapons of war.

18:18 And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved

image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then

said the priest unto them, What do ye?

18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine 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 unto the house

of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family

in Israel?

18:20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod,

and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst

of the people.

18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and

the cattle and the carriage before them.

18:22 [And] when they were a good way from the house of Micah,

the men that [were] in the houses near to Micah's house were

gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

18:23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned

their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou

comest with such a company?

18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and

the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and

what [is] this [that] ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

18:25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice

be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou

lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

18:26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw

that they [were] too strong for him, he turned and went back

unto his house.

18:27 And they took [the things] which Micah had made, and the

priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people [that

were] at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of

the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

18:28 And [there was] no deliverer, because it [was] far from

Zidon, and they had no business with [any] man; and it was in

the valley that [lieth] by Bethrehob. And they built a city,

and dwelt therein.

18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name

of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name

of the city [was] Laish at the first.

18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and

Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his

sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the

captivity of the land.

18:31 And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made,

all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when [there was] no king

in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the

side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of

Bethlehemjudah.

19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went

away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and

was there four whole months.

19:3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak

friendly unto her, [and] to bring her again, having his servant

with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her

father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he

rejoiced to meet him.

19:4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him;

and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink,

and lodged there.

19:5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose

early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the

damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart

with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

19:6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them

together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be

content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart

be merry.

19:7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged

him: therefore he lodged there again.

19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to

depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I

pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat

both of them.

19:9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine,

and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said

unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray

you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge

here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you

early on your way, that thou mayest go home.

19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and

departed, and came over against Jebus, which [is] Jerusalem;

and [there were] with him two asses saddled, his concubine also

[was] with him.

19:11 [And] when they [were] by Jebus, the day was far spent;

and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and

let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in

it.

19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside

hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the

children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

19:13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near

to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in

Ramah.

19:14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went

down upon them [when they were] by Gibeah, which [belongeth] to

Benjamin.

19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in [and] to lodge in

Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the

city: for [there was] no man that took them into his house to

lodging.

19:16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of

the field at even, which [was] also of mount Ephraim; and he

sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place [were]

Benjamites.

19:17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man

in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest

thou? and whence comest thou?

19:18 And he said unto him, We [are] passing from Bethlehemjudah

toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence [am] I: and I

went to Bethlehemjudah, but I [am now] going to the house of

the LORD; and there [is] no man that receiveth me to house.

19:19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and

there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and

for the young man [which is] with thy servants: [there is] no

want of any thing.

19:20 And the old man said, Peace [be] with thee; howsoever

[let] all thy wants [lie] upon me; only lodge not in the

street.

19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto

the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

19:22 [Now] as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the

men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round

about, [and] beat at the door, and spake to the master of the

house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into

thine house, that we may know him.

19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them,

and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, [nay], I pray you, do not

[so] wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do

not this folly.

19:24 Behold, [here is] my daughter a maiden, and his concubine;

them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them

what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a

thing.

19:25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his

concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her,

and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the

day began to spring, they let her go.

19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell

down at the door of the man's house where her lord [was], till

it was light.

19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors

of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the

woman his concubine was fallen down [at] the door of the house,

and her hands [were] upon the threshold.

19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none

answered. Then the man took her [up] upon an ass, and the man

rose up, and gat him unto his place.

19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and

laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, [together] with

her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts

of Israel.

19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no

such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of

Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider

of it, take advice, and speak [your minds].

20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the

congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to

Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.

20:2 And the chief of all the people, [even] of all the tribes

of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people

of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

20:3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of

Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of

Israel, Tell [us], how was this wickedness?

20:4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain,

answered and said, I came into Gibeah that [belongeth] to

Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

20:5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house

round about upon me by night, [and] thought to have slain me:

and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.

20:6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent

her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel:

for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

20:7 Behold, ye [are] all children of Israel; give here your

advice and counsel.

20:8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not

any [of us] go to his tent, neither will we any [of us] turn

into his house.

20:9 But now this [shall be] the thing which we will do to

Gibeah; [we will go up] by lot against it;

20:10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the

tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand

out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they

may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all

the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

20:11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city,

knit together as one man.

20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of

Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among

you?

20:13 Now therefore deliver [us] the men, the children of

Belial, which [are] in Gibeah, that we may put them to death,

and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin

would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children

of Israel:

20:14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together

out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the

children of Israel.

20:15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time

out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword,

beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven

hundred chosen men.

20:16 Among all this people [there were] seven hundred chosen

men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair

[breadth], and not miss.

20:17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four

hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these [were] men of

war.

20:18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house

of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall

go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And

the LORD said, Judah [shall go up] first.

20:19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and

encamped against Gibeah.

20:20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin;

and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against

them at Gibeah.

20:21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and

destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty

and two thousand men.

20:22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves,

and set their battle again in array in the place where they put

themselves in array the first day.

20:23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the

LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I

go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my

brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

20:24 And the children of Israel came near against the children

of Benjamin the second day.

20:25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the

second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of

Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went

up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there

before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered

burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

20:27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the

ark of the covenant of God [was] there in those days,

20:28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood

before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to

battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I

cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver

them into thine hand.

20:29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.

20:30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of

Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against

Gibeah, as at other times.

20:31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people,

[and] were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of

the people, [and] kill, as at other times, in the highways, of

which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah

in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

20:32 And the children of Benjamin said, They [are] smitten down

before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said,

Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.

20:33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and

put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of

Israel came forth out of their places, [even] out of the

meadows of Gibeah.

20:34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out

of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that

evil [was] near them.

20:35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the

children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty

and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.

20:36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten:

for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because

they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside

Gibeah.

20:37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and

the liers in wait drew [themselves] along, and smote all the

city with the edge of the sword.

20:38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel

and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with

smoke rise up out of the city.

20:39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin

began to smite [and] kill of the men of Israel about thirty

persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us,

as [in] the first battle.

20:40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with

a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and,

behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.

20:41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of

Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon

them.

20:42 Therefore they turned [their backs] before the men of

Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook

them; and them which [came] out of the cities they destroyed in

the midst of them.

20:43 [Thus] they inclosed the Benjamites round about, [and]

chased them, [and] trode them down with ease over against

Gibeah toward the sunrising.

20:44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all

these [were] men of valour.

20:45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the

rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five

thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew

two thousand men of them.

20:46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty

and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these [were] men

of valour.

20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto

the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

20:48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of

Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well

the men of [every] city, as the beast, and all that came to

hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There

shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

21:2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there

till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept

sore;

21:3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in

Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in

Israel?

21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose

early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings

and peace offerings.

21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who [is there] among all

the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation

unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him

that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely

be put to death.

21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their

brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this

day.

21:7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we

have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our

daughters to wives?

21:8 And they said, What one [is there] of the tribes of Israel

that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came

none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

21:9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, [there were]

none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of

the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the

inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with

the women and the children.

21:11 And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly

destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four

hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any

male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which [is]

in the land of Canaan.

21:13 And the whole congregation sent [some] to speak to the

children of Benjamin that [were] in the rock Rimmon, and to

call peaceably unto them.

21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them

wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead:

and yet so they sufficed them not.

21:15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that

the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

21:16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do

for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed

out of Benjamin?

21:17 And they said, [There must be] an inheritance for them

that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out

of Israel.

21:18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for

the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [be] he that

giveth a wife to Benjamin.

21:19 Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD in

Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of

Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from

Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying,

Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out

to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and

catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go

to the land of Benjamin.

21:22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come

unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable

unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man

his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this

time, [that] ye should be guilty.

21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took [them]

wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom

they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance,

and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.

21:24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time,

every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out

from thence every man to his inheritance.

21:25 In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did

[that which was] right in his own eyes.

Webmaster
©1997 William H. Lawson, Jr.
bill@livingweb.com
Updated: June 28, 1997