Jewish tradition attributes the authorship of the book to Samuel who was a prophet and judge of Israel. However, it is uncertain as to who wrote the book. In reference to the nature of the writing of the book, we can assume that the Holy Spirit used one or several different writers. It is not necessary that we know the writer of any specific inspired book in order to accept the book as inspired. If the Jews accepted the book as inspired when written, and subsequently added the book to the canon of Jewish Old Testament Scriptures, then we also accept the book as a part of the Old Testament. The validation of any Old Testament book as inspired must first be made by the acceptance of the Jews, who added a particular book to their cannon of Scripture.
The authorship of the book depends a great deal on when the book was written. Isaiah 9:4 seems to elude to Judges 7:21-25. If this is true, then the book would have been written before the time of Isaiah who ministered during the 7th century B.C. In 992 B.C. the Canaanites were still living in Gezer (1:29) when Pharaoh conquered the city. However, Pharaoh drove them out and later presented the city to one of Solomon’s wives around 970 B.C. (1 Kg 9:16). Thus the book would be dated sometime before 992 B.C. when the Canaanites were still living in Gezer. Also, the Jebusites were still living in Jerusalem (1:21), and thus the book would have been written before the time of David who drove them out of the city around 1,048 B.C. (2 Sm 5:6-9). It would have been written before the time of Saul, the first king of Israel, for several times it is mentioned that there was no king in Israel (See 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). There is no conclusive argument that establishes the date of the book. It could have been written any time after the events of the book to the time of the reign of King Saul. Regardless of the time of writing, the Jews accepted this book as Scripture, and thus, part of the inspired canon of Scriptures.
The book of Joshua covers about 350 years
of Jewish history from the time of the death of
Joshua to the judgeship of Samuel. The book
derives its name from the Septuagint, Peshitta
and Latin Vulgate. The early Jewish copies
of the book entitled it, sepher shophetiym,
meaning “a book of judges,” or “a book of
governors.” Shophetiym is a Hebrew word that
means “to judge,” “to govern,” or “to rule.” The
judges were either warriors or chieftains as
Gideon and Samson who delivered Israel from
their enemies, or priests as Eli who directed
Israel’s heart back to God, or possibly prophets
as Samuel. They worked as God’s appointed
men to accomplish His work among the
Israelites. However, there was no succession
of judges who descended from them in their
families. They did not have authority to change
the law of God in any way, but worked to lead
Israel back to the original law of God. They
did not add prophetic messages to the canon
of Old Testament Scriptures. They were
exceptional people that God raised up in a time
of national calamity in order to save Israel from
her enemies. We know the names of sixteen
judges, but not all the judges.
The book of Judges is a record of the
unfaithfulness of Israel and God’s efforts,
through His grace, to call her to repentance. It
is a book that explains the mercy and grace of
God in reference to the sin of His people. One
of the major lessons of the book is that after
the death of Joshua, and for approximately
the next 350 years, Israel continually went into
apostasy and was called back to faithfulness.
The Israelites’ apostasy from their covenant
with God was persistent. Their disobedience
led them to national disasters, economic
oppression and raids by foreign powers.
Nevertheless, God was faithful in delivering
them from the economic oppression of their
enemies. Because of the Canaanites, whom
Israel failed to drive out of the land, the Israelites
were continually influenced to forsake the
conditions of the covenant that they had with
God. There is thus a repeated cycle of history
recorded in this book. The people repeatedly
went into sin; God sent Israel’s enemies to
subdue and oppress her; the people repented;
and as a result of their repentance God
delivered them from their enemies.
We must study Israel’s history to our own
situation today. We as Christians live in a world
of various religious beliefs. It is imperative,
therefore, that Christians remain faithful to the
word of God in order that they, in contrast to
the Israelites, not be deceived by the religions
around them.
Understanding the social structure of Israel
and her economics during the initial years of
her possession of the land helps us to interpret
the book of Judges. When the Israelites settled
in the land, they became an agricultural nation
with families living independently on farms
throughout the territory of Palestine. Each tribe
settled in a particular allotted territory where
they farmed the land, and subsequently grew
into a clan of families.
There were 46 cities given to the Levites,
and thus at least these cities were places to
which the people were to go for instruction in
the law of God. The people took their offerings
to these cities for the Levites, and thus these
cities were not centers of trade, but centers for
offerings. Neither were these cities business
centers as we would conceive them to be
after the modern-day cities in which we live
today. The cities of the Levites were actually
small towns or villages that could be fed by
| Reference | Oppressor | Years | Judge | Peace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:7-11 | Cushan Rishathaim | 8 | Othniel | 40 years |
| 3:12-31 | Moabites & Philistines | 18 | Ehud/Shamgar | 80 years |
| 4:1 – 5:31 | Northern Canaanites | 20 | Deborah/Barak | 40 years |
| 6:8-28 | Midianites | 7 | Gideon | 40 years |
| 9:1 – 10:6 | Civil wars | Abimelech/Tola/Jair | 48 years | |
| 10:6 – 12:15 | Ammonites | 18 | Jephthah/Ibzan | 32 years |
| 13:1-16; 31 | Philistines | 40 | Samson/Eli/Samuel | 20 years |
the produce of regional farms, and those who
brought their offerings to the Levites.
Those Israelites who lived in the rural area
of Palestine had to live independently, and
thus they sought to sell their produce to any
nearby people who passed through the land.
The Israelites, therefore, lived in the country,
farming the land, and making periodic visits
to the cities of the Levites. The tribes settled
throughout their allotted territories. The families
developed into clans as sons and daughters
who stayed in close proximity to one another
and the patriarch of the clan. In this way the
Israelites grew to populate the land that was
initially given to the families after the conclusion
of the national wars of Israel.
As each tribe developed within their allotted
territories, they became somewhat autonomous
from one another as independent farmers, and
to some extent anonymous from one another.
This spirit of autonomy eventually led to a sense
of nationhood within each particular tribal group.
Since each tribe failed in their responsibility to
drive out the remaining Canaanites within their
allotted territory after the conclusion of the
national wars that were led by Joshua, their
autonomy became an opportunity that led to
oppression and raids. Because of their spirit
of autonomy, the Israelites began to associate
and trade with the remaining Canaanites
in their particular territories. With the trade
came social contact and intermarriage. The
Canaanites eventually took advantage of this
by economically subjecting the Israelite farmers
to supply their needs by demanding tribute.
Those farmers who did not subject themselves
were raided by nearby foreign powers as
the Midianites. In their autonomy, and often
anonymous relationship with one another, the
Israelites were easy victims to the oppression
of the Canaanites and raids by neighboring
foreigners.
The tribes’ socioeconomic relationship with
the Canaanites led to the Israelites acceptance
of the religious beliefs of those with whom they
traded and intermarried. The Israelites did not
reject their belief in the one true God; they only
added to their religious beliefs the beliefs of the
gods of the Canaanites. Their compromise of
the truth of God, thus led them to compromise
their values, and subsequently their behavior.
In this spiritual adultery they were led away
from the will of God. Since Christians today
live in the same situation, it is important each
Christian be diligent in his or her study of the
word of God (At 17:11; 2 Tm 2:15). If they do
not grow in the knowledge of Jesus, they will
turn away from His word. (2 Pt 3:18).
1 ¶ Now after the a death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel b asked the LORD, saying, “Who will go up for us first against the c Canaanites in order to fight against them?”
2 Then the LORD said, d “Judah will go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3 And Judah said to e Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my allotted territory so that we may fight against the Canaanites. Then f I will likewise go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands. And in g Bezek they slew ten thousand men of them.
5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek. And they fought against him and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 But Adonibezek fled. And they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
7 And Adonibezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. h As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem and there he died.
8 ¶ Now the i children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it. And they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
9 And j afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the hill country and in the Negev and in the valley.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in k Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron before was l Kirjath Arba.) And they slew Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
11 m Then from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (And the name of Debir before was Kirjath Sepher.)
12 n And Caleb said, “He who smites Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter for a wife.”
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, o Caleb’s younger brother, took it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.
14 p Now it came to pass when she came to him that she persuaded him to ask for a field from her father. When she got off her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”
15 And she said to him, q “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 ¶ r And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the s city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negev of t Arad. u And they went and dwelt among the people.
17 v Then Judah went with Simeon his brother and they slew the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath. And they utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called w Hormah.
18 Judah also took x Gaza with its territory and Askelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory.
19 So the LORD was with Judah. And he drove out the inhabitants of the hill y country. But he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.
20 z Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said. And he expelled from there the a three sons of Anak.
21 b But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 ¶ And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel. c And the LORD was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph d sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was e Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city and f we will see that you are treated kindly.”
25 And when he showed 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.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city. And he called the name of it Luz, which is its name to this day.
27 g But Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its towns, nor h Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of i Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns. But the Canaanites continued dwelling in that land.
28 Now it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites to forced labor and did not utterly drive them out.
29 ¶ j Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 ¶ Neither did k Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became forced labor.
31 ¶ l Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Sidon nor of Ahlab nor of Achzib nor of Helbah nor of Aphik nor of Rehob.
32 But the Asherites m dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out.
33 ¶ n Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath. But he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. However, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and of Beth Anath became forced labor for them.
34 ¶ And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain because they would not allow them to come down to the valley.
35 But the Amorites continued to dwell in Mount Heres in o Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. But the hand of the house of Joseph increased so that they became tributaries.
36 And the border of the Amorites was p from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
Chapter 1 References: a Ja 24:29; b Nm 27:21; c Ja 17:12,13; d Gn 49:8,9; e Ja 19:1; f Jg 1:17; g 1 Sm 11:8; h Lv 24:19; i Ja 15:63; j Ja 10:36; 11:21; 15:13; k Ja 15:13-19; l Ja 14:15; m Ja 15:15; n Ja 15:16,17; o Jg 3:9; p Ja 15:18,19; q Gn 33:11; r Nm 10:29-32; s Dt 34:3; t Ja 12:14; u 1 Sm 15:6; v Jg 1:3; w Nm 21:3; x Ja 11:22; y Ja 17:16,18; z Ja 14:9,14; a Ja 15:14; b Ja 15:63; c Jg 1:19; d Ja 2:1; 7:2; e Gn 28:19; f Ja 2:12,14; g Ja 17:11-13; h Ja 21:25; i Ja 17:11; j Ja 16:10; k Ja 19:10-16; l Ja 19:24-31; m Ps 106:34,35; n Ja 19:32-39; o Ja 19:42; p Ja 15:3
1 ¶ Now an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, a “I brought you up out of Egypt and have b led you to the land that I swore to your fathers. And c I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you.’
2 ‘And d you will make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. e You will tear down their altars.’ f But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?
3 “Therefore, I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you. But they will be as g thorns in your sides and h their gods will be a i snare to you.’”
4 Now it came to pass when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel that the people lifted up their voice and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.
6 And when j Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.
7 ¶ k And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD that He did for Israel.
8 And l Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
9 m And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in n Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them that o did not know the LORD, nor the works that He had done for Israel.
11 ¶ And the children of Israel did p evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
12 And they q forsook the LORD God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed r other gods from among the gods of the people who were around them. And they s bowed themselves to them and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD and t served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 u So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel and v He delivered them into the hands of raiders who raided them. And w He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them so that they x could no longer stand before their enemies.
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said and as the LORD had y sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.
16 ¶ Nevertheless, z the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who raided them.
17 And yet they would not hearken to their judges. But a they prostituted themselves after other gods and bowed to them. They turned quickly out of the way that their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD. They did not do as their fathers.
18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, then b the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge, c for the LORD was moved with compassion because of their groanings under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
19 Now it came to pass d 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 to them. They did not cease from their own practices or from their stubborn way.
20 ¶ So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. And He said, “Because this people have e transgressed My covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not hearkened to My voice,
21 “I also will no longer drive out any of the nations from before them whom Joshua f left when he died,
22 “in order g that through them I may h test Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.”
23 Therefore, the LORD left those nations, without driving them out quickly. Neither did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
Chapter 2 References: a Ex 20:2; b Dt 1:8; c Gn 17:7,8; d Dt 7:2; e Dt 12:3; f Ps 106:34; g Ja 23:13; h Jg 3:6; i Ps 106:36; j Ja 22:6; 24:28-31; k Ja 24:31; l Ja 24:29; m Ja 24:30; n Ja 19:49,50; o 1 Sm 2:12; p Jg 3:7,12; 4:1; 6:1; q Dt 31:16; r Dt 6:14; s Ex 20:5; t Jg 10:6; u Dt 31:17; v 2 Kg 17:20; w Is 50:1; x Lv 26:37; y Lv 26:14-26; z Ps 106:43-45; a Ex 34:15; b Ja 1:5; c Gn 6:6; d Jg 3:12; e Ja 23:16; f Ja 23:4,5,13; g Jg 3:1,4; h Dt 8:2,16; 13:3
1 ¶ Now these are the a nations whom the LORD left to test Israel by them, who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan.
2 (He only did this so that the generations of the children of Israel who had not formerly experienced war might be taught warfare.)
3 The nations are: b five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to as far as Lebo Hamath.
4 And He left them to test Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the LORD that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 ¶ And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Hivites and Jebusites.
6 And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons. And they served their gods.
7 So the children of Israel did c evil in the sight of the LORD. And they d forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroths.
8 Therefore, the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel and He e sold them into the hand of f Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.
9 And when the children of Israel g cried out to the LORD, the LORD h raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel who delivered them, even i Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 j And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed against Cushan-Rishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 ¶ Then again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. And the LORD strengthened k Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
13 So he gathered to himself the children of Ammon and l Amalek, and went and smote Israel. And they possessed the m city of palm trees.
14 So the children of Israel n served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 ¶ But when the children of Israel o cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a p lefthanded man. And by him the children of Israel sent a present to Eglon the king of Moab.
16 But Ehud made himself a dagger that had two edges, a cubit in length. And he strapped it under his clothing on his right thigh.
17 Then he brought a present to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
18 So when he had finished offering the present, he sent away the people who carried the present.
19 But he himself turned back from the q idols that were by Gilgal and said, “I have a secret errand for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who stood by him went out from him.
20 So Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in a summer chamber that he had for himself. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose out of his seat.
21 And Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly.
22 And the handle 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 entrails came out.
23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the chamber behind him and locked them.
24 ¶ When he was gone, his servants came. And when they saw that the doors of the chamber were locked, they said, “Surely he is only r relieving himself in the cool room.”
25 So they waited until they s became anxious. And behold, he did not open the doors of the chamber. Therefore, they took a key and opened them. And behold, their lord had fallen down dead on the floor.
26 ¶ Now Ehud escaped while they waited. And he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirath.
27 Now it came to pass when he had come, that he t blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. And the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country and he before them.
28 Then he said to them, “Follow after me, for u the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” And they went down after him and took the v fords of the Jordan toward Moab. And they did not allow a man to pass over.
29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all robust and all valiant men. And not a man escaped.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.
31 ¶ Now after him was w Shamgar the son of Anath, who slew six hundred men of the Philistines with an x ox goad. y And he also delivered Israel.
Chapter 3 References: a Jg 1:1; 2:21,22; b Ja 13:3; c Jg 2:11; d Dt 32:18; e Jg 2:14; f Hk 3:7; g Jg 3:15; h Jg 2:16; i Jg 1:13; j Nm 27:18; k Jg 2:19; l 1 Sm 12:9; m Jg 1:16; n Dt 28:48; o Ps 78:34; p Jg 20:16; q Ja 4:20; r 1 Sm 24:3; s 2 Kg 2:17; t Ja 17:15; u Jg 7:9,15; v Ja 2:7; w Jg 5:6; x 1 Sm 17:47; y Jg 2:16
1 ¶ Now the a children of Israel again did b evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud was dead.
2 And the LORD c sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan who reigned in d Hazor. The captain of his army was e Sisera who dwelt in f Harosheth Hagoyim.
3 So the children of Israel cried to the LORD because he had nine hundred g chariots of iron. And h he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
4 ¶ And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time.
5 i And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 Now she sent and called j Barak the son of Abinoam out of k Kedesh in Naphtali. And she said to him, “The LORD God of Israel has commanded, saying, ‘Go and march toward l Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun.’”
7 “‘And m I will draw out to you Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops, at the n River Kishon. And I will deliver him into your hand.’”
8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go. But if you will not go with me, then I will not go.”
9 So she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the journey that you take will not be for your honor, for the LORD will o sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called p Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And he went up with ten thousand men q at his feet. And Deborah went up with him.
11 ¶ Now Heber the r Kenite, who was of the children of s Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent as far away as the plain of Zaanaim, t which is by Kedesh.
12 And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the river of Kishon.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. u Has not the LORD gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak. And Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled away on foot.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the army to Harosheth Hagoyim. And all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. And there was not a man v left.
17 ¶ However, Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of w Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera. And she said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me. Do not fear.” And when he had turned aside to her into the tent, she covered him with a rug.
19 And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” And she opened a x jug of milk and gave him a drink. And she covered him.
20 Again he said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent, and it will be if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ that you will say, ‘No.’”
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, y took a peg of the tent and a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temples and into the ground, for he was fast asleep and exhausted. So he died.
22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead and the peg was in his temples.
23 ¶ So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 So the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Chapter 4 References: a Jg 2:19; b Jg 2:11; c Jg 2:14; d Ja 11:1,10; e 1 Sm 12:9; f Jg 4:13,16; g Jg 1:19; h Ps 106:42; i Gn 35:8; j Hb 11:32; k Ja 19:37; 21:32; l Jg 8:18; m Ex 14:4; n Ps 83:9,10; o Jg 2:14; p Jg 5:18; q 1 Kg 20:10; r Jg 1:16; s Nm 10:29; t Jg 4:6; u Dt 9:3; 31:3; v Ex 14:28; w Jg 5:6; x Jg 5:24-27; y Jg 5:24-27
1 ¶ Then on that day Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam a sang, saying,
2 “Praise the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when leaders b lead in Israel and when the people c willingly offered themselves.
3 “Hear, d O you kings. Give ear, O you princes. I, even e I, will sing to the LORD. I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 “LORD, f when You went out of Seir; when You marched out of the g field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dripped, the clouds also dripped water.
5 h “The mountains quaked before the LORD, even i Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel.
6 “In the days of j Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of k Jael, the l highways were deserted. And the travellers walked through winding paths.
7 “The inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel until I, Deborah, arose. Until I arose a mother in Israel.
8 “They chose m new gods. Then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 “My heart goes out to the governors of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Praise the LORD.
10 “Speak you who ride on white n donkeys, you who sit in judgment and walk by the way.
11 “They who are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there they will recount the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Israel. Then will the people of the LORD go down to the gates.
12 “Awake, o awake, Deborah. Awake, awake, utter a song. Arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, you son of Abinoam.
13 “Then those who remained came down to the nobles. The people of the LORD came down to me as warriors.
14 “Out of Ephraim those whose root is in p Amalek came down, following you, Benjamin, among your people. Out of Machir came down governors and out of Zebulun those who handle the pen of the writer.
15 “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, even Issachar and also Barak. He was sent on foot into the valley. Among the divisions of Reuben there were great resolves of heart.
16 “Why did you stay among the sheepfolds to hear the bleatings of the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 q “Gilead remained beyond the Jordan. And why did Dan remain in ships? r Asher continued on the seashore, and remained in its coves.
18 s “Zebulun and Naphtali were a people who risked their lives to the death in the high places of the field.
19 “The kings came and fought, then the kings of Canaan fought in t Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. They took no gain of money.
20 “They fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 u “The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the River Kishon. O my soul, you have trodden down strength.
22 “Then were the horses’ hoofs broken from the dashing, the dashing of their mighty ones.
23 “‘Curse you Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD. ‘Curse utterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.’”
24 “Blessed above women will Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be. v Blessed she will be above women in the tent.
25 “He asked water, and she gave him milk. She brought forth butter in a magnificent dish.
26 “She put her hand to the peg and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer. And with the hammer she smote Sisera. She smashed his head when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
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 w dead.
28 “The mother of Sisera looked out through a window. And she cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots tarry?’
29 “Her wise ladies answered her. Indeed, she repeats her words to herself,
30 “‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils, to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a spoil of many colors, a spoil of many colors of needlework, of many colors of needlework on both sides, suitable for the necks of those who take the spoil?’”
31 “So let all Your enemies x perish, O LORD. But let those who love Him be y as the z sun when He goes forth in His a might.” And the land had rest forty years.
Chapter 5 References: a Jg 4:4; b Ps 18:47; c 2 Ch 17:16; d Dt 32:1,3; e Ps 27:6; f Dt 33:2; g Ps 68:8; h Ps 97:5; i Ex 19:18; j Jg 3:31; k Jg 4:17; l Is 33:8; m Dt 32:17; n Jg 10:4; 12:14; o Ps 57:8; p Jg 3:13; q Ja 22:9; r Ja 19:29,31; s Jg 4:6,10; t Jg 1:27; u Jg 4:7; v Lk 1:28; w Jg 4:18-21; x Ps 92:9; y 2 Sm 23:4; z Ps 37:6; a Ps 19:5
1 ¶ Again the children of Israel did a evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of b Midian seven years.
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and c caves and strongholds.
3 And so it was that when Israel had sown, the Midianites came up with the Amalekites and the d sons of the east. And they came up against them.
4 And they camped against them and e destroyed the increase of the earth as far as Gaza. And they left no sustenance for Israel, nor sheep nor ox nor f donkey.
5 For they came up with their livestock and their tents, and they came as locusts in number, both they and their camels were without number. And they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites. And the children of Israel g cried out to the LORD.
7 ¶ Now it came to pass when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the h house of bondage.
9 ‘And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you. And i I drove them out from before you and gave you their land.
10 ‘And I said to you, “I am the LORD your God. j Do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My k voice.’”
11 ¶ Then there came an Angel of the LORD and sat under an oak that was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the l Abiezrite. And his son m Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites.
12 Then the n Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is o with you, you mighty valiant man.”
13 And Gideon said to Him, “Oh my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? p And where are all His miracles q that our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has r forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
14 Then the LORD looked on him and said, s “Go in this your strength and you will save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. t Have I not sent you?”
15 Then he said to Him, “Oh my Lord, how will I save Israel? Behold, u my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 And the LORD said to him, v “Surely I will be with you, and you will smite the Midianites as one man.”
17 And he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then w show me a sign that You are speaking with me.
18 x “Please do not depart from here until I come to You and bring my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come again.”
19 ¶ y So Gideon went in and made ready a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot. And he brought it out to Him under the oak and presented it.
20 Then the Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and z lay them on this rock, and a pour out the broth.” And he did so.
21 ¶ Then the Angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And b there arose fire out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon c perceived that he was an Angel of the LORD, he said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! d For now I have seen an Angel of the LORD face to face.”
23 And the LORD said to him, e “Peace be to you. Do not fear. You will not die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it Jehovah Shalom. To this day it is still in f Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
25 ¶ Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, even the second bull of seven years old, and g throw down the altar of h Baal that your father has, and i cut down the Asherah that is by it.
26 “And build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this rock in an orderly manner, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah that you will cut down.”
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. And so it was, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, that he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
28 ¶ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold the altar of Baal was cast down. And the Asherah was cut down that was by it and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.”
31 And Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? He who will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is still morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself because one has cast down his altar.”
32 Therefore, on that day he called him j Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him,” because he has thrown down his altar.
33 ¶ Then all the k Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east gathered together. And they went over and camped in the l valley of Jezreel.
34 But the m Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he n blew a trumpet. And Abiezer was gathered to follow him.
35 Then he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also was gathered to follow him. And he sent messengers to o Asher and to p Zebulun and to Naphtali. And they came up to meet them.
36 ¶ Then Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as you have said,
37 q “behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If the dew is on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel by my hand as you have said.”
38 And it was so. For he rose up early on the next morning and squeezed the fleece together and wrung a bowl full of water out of the fleece.
39 Then Gideon said to God, r “Do not let Your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but once more. Let me test, I beg You, but once more with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
40 And God did so that night. And it was dry on the fleece only and there was dew on all the ground.
Chapter 6 References: a Jg 2:11; b Nm 22:4; 31:1-3; c 1 Sm 13:6; d Jg 7:12; e Lv 26:16; f Dt 28:31; g Hs 5:15; h Ja 24:17; i Ps 44:2,3; j 2 Kg 17:35,37,38; k Jg 2:1,2; l Ja 17:2; m Hb 11:32; n Jg 13:3; o Ja 1:5; p Is 59:1; q Ps 44:1; r Ps 44:9-16; s 1 Sm 12:11; t Ja 1:9; u 1 Sm 9:21; v Ex 3:12; w Jg 6:36,37; x Gn 18:3,5; y Gn 18:6-8; z Jg 13:19; a 1 Kg 18:33,34; b Lv 9:24; c Jg 13:21,22; d Gn 16:13; e Dn 10:19; f Jg 8:32; g Jg 2:2; h Jg 3:7; i Ex 34:13; j 1 Sm 12:11; k Jg 6:3; l Ja 17:16; m Jg 3:10; n Jg 3:27; o Jg 5:17; 7:23; p Jg 4:6,10; 5:18; q Ex 4:3-7; r Gn 18:32
1 ¶ Then a Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early and camped beside the well of Harod. And the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 ¶ Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, b lest Israel exalt themselves against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”
3 “Now therefore go and proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, c ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.’” And there returned of the people, 22,000. And there remained 10,000.
4 ¶ Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. And it will be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ the same will go with you. And of whomever I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ the same will not go.”
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “You will set by himself everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”
6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men. But all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
7 And the LORD said to Gideon, d “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. So let all the other people go every man to his place.”
8 So the people took provisions in their hand and their trumpets. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. And the army of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 ¶ Now it came to pass the same e night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, get down to the army, for I have delivered it into your hand.
10 “But if you fear to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the army.
11 “And you will f hear what they say, and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down to the army.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outside of the armed men who were in the army.
12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and g all the sons of the east lay along in the valley h like locusts in number. And their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand by the seashore.
13 And when Gideon had come, behold, there was a man who told a dream to his fellow. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the army of Midian. And it came to a tent and smote it so that it fell. And it overturned it so that the tent lay flat.”
14 And his fellow answered and said, “This is nothing else except the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand i God has delivered Midian and all the army.”
15 ¶ And so it was that Gideon worshiped when he heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation. And he returned to the army of Israel. And he said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered into your hand the army of Midian.”
16 So 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.
17 Then he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it will be that as I do, so will you do.
18 “When I blow with a trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon.’”
19 ¶ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outside of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch when they had just posted the watch. And they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers. And they held the lamps in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing. And they cried out, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon.”
21 And j every man stood in his place around the camp. And k all the army ran and cried out and fled.
22 And the three hundred l blew the trumpets. And the m LORD set n every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the army. And the army fled to Beth Shittah in Zererath and to the border of o Abel Meholah near to Tabbath.
23 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of p Naphtali and out of Asher and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
24 ¶ And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the q hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and take before them the waters to Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and r took the waters to s Beth Barah and the Jordan.
25 And they took t two princes of the Midianites, u Oreb and Zeeb. And they slew Oreb on the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb. And they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the v other side of the Jordan.
Chapter 7 References: a Jg 6:32; b Dt 8:17; c Dt 20:8; d 1 Sm 14:6; e Jg 6:25; f 1 Sm 14:9,10; g Jg 6:3,33; 8:10; h Jg 6:5; i Jg 6:14,16; j 2 Ch 20:17; k 2 Kg 7:7; l Ja 6:4,16,20; m Is 9:4; n 1 Sm 14:20; o 1 Kg 4:12; p Jg 6:35; q Jg 3:27; r Jg 3:28; s Jn 1:29; t Jg 8:3; u Ps 83:11; v Jg 8:4
1 ¶ Then the a men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you served us this way, that you did not call us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they contended with him sharply.
2 So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of b Abiezer?”
3 c “God has delivered into your hands, Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of Midian. And what was I able to do in comparison to you?” Then their d anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
4 ¶ And Gideon came e to the Jordan and passed over, he and the f three hundred men who were with him, weary yet pursuing them.
5 And he said to the men of g Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are weary and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”
6 And the princes of Succoth said, h “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that i we should give bread to your army?”
7 And Gideon said, “Therefore, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, j then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
8 And he went up from there to k Penuel and spoke to them likewise. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9 So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I l come again in peace, I will m break down this tower.”
10 ¶ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about 15,000 men, all who were left of n all the armies of the sons of the east; for there fell o 120,000 men who drew sword.
11 So Gideon went up by the way of those who dwelt in tents on the east of p Nobah and Jogbehah. And he smote the army, for the army q was unsuspecting.
12 Now when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them. And r he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed all the army.
13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up.
14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and questioned him. And he described to him the princes of Succoth and its elders, even seventy-seven men.
15 Then he came to the men of Succoth, and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna with whom you s taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand so that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’”
16 t Then he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he punished the men of Succoth.
17 u Then he beat down the tower of v Penuel and slew the men of the city.
18 ¶ Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you slay at w Tabor?” And they answered, “As you are, so were they. Each one resembled the son of a king.”
19 And he said, “They were my brothers, even the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.”
20 And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Arise and slay them.” But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Arise and fall on us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and x slew Zebah and Zalmunna. And he took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
Gideon’s Ephod
22 ¶ Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, y “Rule over us, both you and your son, and your son’s son also, for you have z delivered us from the hand of Midian.”
23 And Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The a LORD will rule over you.”
24 Then Gideon said to them, “I would request of you that every man give me the earrings of his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, b because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a garment, and each one of them cast an earring there from his spoil.
26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides ornaments and pendants and purple robes that were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks.
27 And Gideon c made an ephod of it and put it in d Ophrah, his city. And all Israel e played the harlot by worshiping it. And it became f a snare to Gideon and to his house.
28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And g the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
Gideon’s Death
29 ¶ Then h Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30 Now Gideon had i seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.
31 j And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
32 Then Gideon the son of Joash died in a k good old age. And he was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, l in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 ¶ Now it came to pass m as soon as Gideon was dead that the children of Israel turned again and n played the harlot after Baalim. And they o made Baal Berith their god.
34 So the children of Israel p did not remember the LORD their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
35 q Neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness that he had shown to Israel.
Chapter 8 References: a Jg 12:1; b Jg 6:11; c Jg 7:24,25; d Pv 15:1; e Jg 7:25; f Jg 7:6; g Gn 33:17; h Jg 8:15; i 1 Sm 25:11; j Jg 8:16; k Gn 32:30,31; l 1 Kg 22:27; m Jg 8:17; n Jg 2:19; o Jg 9:4,46; p Dt 4:9; q Jg 9:16-18
1 ¶ Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to a his mother’s brethren and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
2 “Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are b seventy persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember also that I am your c bone and your flesh.”
3 Then his mother’s relatives spoke all these words of his in the ears of all the men of Shechem. And their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our d brother.”
4 So they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of e Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired f vain and reckless people who followed him.
5 Then he went to his father’s house at g Ophrah and h slew on one stone his brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy people. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
6 Then all the men of Shechem and all the house of Millo gathered together and went and made Abimelech king by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
7 ¶ Now when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on top of i Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice. And he cried out and said to them, “Hearken to me you men of Shechem, so that God may hearken to you.
8 “The j trees went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, k ‘Reign over us.’”
9 “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I leave my fatness l with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’”
10 “And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and reign over us.’”
11 “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?’”
12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and reign over us.’”
13 “Then the vine said to them, ‘Should I leave my wine m that cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’”
14 “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and reign over us.’”
15 “And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my n shadow. And if not, o let fire come out of the bramble and devour the p cedars of Lebanon.’”
16 ¶ “Now therefore, if you have dealt in truth and sincerity in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him q as he deserves—
17 “for my r father fought for you and risked his life s to rescue you from the hand of Midian;
18 t “but you have risen up against my father’s house this day and have slain upon one stone his sons, seventy people, and have made Abimelech the son of his u maidservant king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—
19 “if you then have dealt in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then v rejoice in Abimelech and let him also rejoice in you.
20 “But if not, w 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.”
21 Then Jotham ran away and fled. And he went to x Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
22 ¶ Now Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel.
23 Then y God sent an evil z spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem a dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24 b so that the cruelty done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their c blood be laid on Abimelech their brother who slew them, and on the men of Shechem who aided him in killing his brothers.
25 Now the men of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the top of the mountains. And they robbed all who came along that way by them. And it was told Abimelech.
26 ¶ Then Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren and went over to Shechem. And the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
27 Then they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and made merry. And they went into d the house of their god and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, e “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal? And is Zebul his officer? Serve the men of f Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
29 g “Would, therefore, that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”
30 ¶ And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren have come to Shechem, and behold, they fortify the city against you.
32 “Now therefore arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field.
33 “And it will be in the morning as soon as the sun is up, you will rise early and rush on the city. And behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then you may do to them whatever you can.”
34 ¶ So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose up by night. And they laid in wait near Shechem in four companies.
35 Now Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech and the people who were with him rose up from the ambush.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the top of the mountains.” And Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
37 Then Gaal spoke again and said, “See there, people are coming down by the center of the land and another company is coming along by the plain of the soothsayers’ tree.”
38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your boasting now by which you h said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is not this the people whom you have despised? Go out and fight with them.”
39 So Gaal went out before the men of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech chased him. And he fled before him and many were overthrown and wounded, even to the entrance of the gate.
41 So Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives so that they could not dwell in Shechem.
42 ¶ Now it came to pass on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43 So he took the people and divided them into three companies. And he laid an ambush in the field. When he looked, behold, the people were coming out of the city. And he rose up against them and smote them.
44 Then Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And the two other companies ran upon all the people who were in the fields and slew them.
45 So Abimelech fought against the city all that day and i he took the city. And he slew the people who were in it and j tore down the city. Then he sowed it with salt.
46 ¶ Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard what happened, they entered into the inner chamber of the temple of the k god El-Berith.
47 Now it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
48 So Abimelech went up to Mount l Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees. And he took it and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”
49 So all the people likewise cut down every man his branch and followed Abimelech. And they put them on the inner chamber and set the inner chamber on fire over those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
50 ¶ Then Abimelech went to Thebez and camped against Thebez. And he took it.
51 But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women with all the leaders of the city fled there. And they locked themselves in and climbed up on the roof of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it. And he approached the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 Then a certain woman m cast a piece of a millstone on Abimelech’s head, and cracked his skull.
54 Then n he called hastily to the young man his armorbearer. And he said to him, “Draw your sword and slay me so that men not say of me, ‘A woman slew him.’” So his young man thrust him through and he died.
55 So when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place.
56 ¶ o Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech that he did to his father in slaying his seventy brothers.
57 And God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the p curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came on them.
Chapter 9 References: a Jg 8:31,35; b Jg 8:30; 9:5,18; c Gn 29:14; d Gn 29:15; e Jg 8:33; f Jg 11:3; g Jg 6:24; h 2 Kg 11:1,2; i Dt 11:29; 27:12; j 2 Kg 14:9; k Jg 8:22,23; l Jn 5:23; m Ps 104:15; n Is 30:2; o Nm 21:28; p 2 Kg 14:9; q Jg 8:35; r Jg 7; s Jg 8:22; t Jg 8:30,35; 9:2,5,6; u Jg 8:31; v Is 8:6; w Jg 9:15,45,56,57; x Nm 21:16; y Is 19:14; z 1 Sm 16:14; 18:9,10; a Is 33:1; b 1 Kg 2:32; c Nm 35:33; d Jg 9:4; e 1 Sm 35:10; f Gn 34:2,6; g 2 Sm 15:4; h Jg 9:28,29; i Jg 9:20; j 2 Kg 3:25; k Jg 8:33; l Ps 68:14; m 2 Sm 11:21; n 1 Sm 31:4; o Jb 31:3; p Jg 9:20
1 ¶ Now after Abimelech there a arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar. And he dwelt in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. And he died and was buried in Shamir.
3 ¶ Then after him arose Jair, a Gileadite. And he judged Israel twenty-two years.
4 Now he had thirty sons who b rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty cities c that are called Havoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
5 Now Jair died and was buried in Camon.
6 ¶ Then the d children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD and e served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and the f gods of Syria, and the gods of g Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
7 So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. And He h sold them into the hands of the i Philistines and into the hands of the children of j Ammon.
8 And that year they afflicted and oppressed the children of Israel. For eighteen years they afflicted all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the k land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 Moreover, the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.
10 ¶ l Then the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have m sinned against You, both because we have forsaken our God and also served the Baals.”
11 So the LORD said to the children of Israel, “Did not I deliver you n from the Egyptians and o from the Amorites, p from the children of Ammon and q from the Philistines?
12 Also when the r Sidonians and the s Amalekites and the Maonites t oppressed you, and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
13 u Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore, I will deliver you no more.
14 “Go and v cry out to the gods that you have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
15 ¶ Then the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned. w Do to us whatever seems good to You. Only deliver us, we beg You, this day.”
16 x So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And y His soul was grieved because of the misery of Israel.
17 ¶ Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and camped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together and camped in z Mizpeh.
18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, “What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He will a become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Chapter 10 References: a Jg 2:16; b Jg 5:10; 12:14; c Dt 3:14; d Jg 2:11; 3:7; 6:1; 13:1; e Jg 2:13; f Jg 2:12; g 1 Kg 11:33; h 1 Sm 12:9; i Jg 13:1; j Jg 3:13; k Nm 32:33; l 1 Sm 12:10; m Dt 1:41; n Ex 14:30; o Nm 21:21,24,25; p Jg 3:12,13; q Jg 3:31; r Jg 1:31; 5:19; s Jg 6:3; 7:12; t Ps 106:42,43; u Jr 2:13; v Dt 32:37,38; w 1 Sm 3:18; x Jr 18:7,8; y Is 63:9; z Jg 11:11,29; a Jg 11:8,11
1 ¶ Now a Jephthah the Gileadite was a b mighty warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah.
2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they thrust out Jephthah and said to him, “You will c not inherit in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of d Tob. And there were e worthless men gathered to Jephthah and they went out with him.
4 ¶ Now it came to pass in the process of time that the f children of Ammon made war against Israel.
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.
6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our captain so that we may fight against the children of Ammon.”
7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, g “Did not you hate me and expel me out of my father’s house? And why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
8 h Then the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Nevertheless, we are i turning to you now so that you may go with us and fight against the children of Ammon and be j our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them before me, will I become your head?”
10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, k “The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to your words.”
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him l head and captain over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words m before the LORD in Mizpeh.
12 ¶ And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, n “What have you to do with me that you have come against me to fight in my land?”
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, o “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from p Arnon even to q Jabbok and to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore those lands again peaceably.”
14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon.
15 And said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, r ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the children of Ammon.’”
16 “‘But when Israel came up from Egypt and walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea and s came to Kadesh,
17 ‘then t Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Let me, I beg you, pass through your land,” u But the king of Edom would not listen. And in like manner they sent to the v king of Moab. But he would not listen. So Israel abode in Kadesh.
18 ‘Then they x went along through the wilderness and y bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. And they came by the east side of the land of Moab and pitched on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not come within the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
19 ‘And z Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, “Please a let us pass through your land into my place.”
20 ‘But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched in Jahaz and fought against Israel.
21 ‘And the LORD God of Israel c delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they d smote them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22 ‘And they possessed e all the territory of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
23 ‘So now the LORD God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel, and should you now possess it?
24 ‘Do you not possess that which f Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the g LORD our God has given us, we will possess.
25 ‘And now are you anything better than h Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?
26 ‘While Israel dwelt in i Heshbon and her towns and in j Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years? Therefore, why did you not recover them within that time?
27 ‘Therefore, I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong to war against me. The LORD, k the Judge, l decide this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.’”
28 But the king of the children of Ammon did not hearken to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
29 ¶ Then the m Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead. And from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.
30 Then Jephthah n vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If you will without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
31 “then it will be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, o will surely be the LORD’S and p I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
32 ¶ So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them. And the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them with a very great slaughter from Aroer even to the regions of q Minnith, twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 ¶ Then Jephthah came to r Mizpeh to his house, and behold, s his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances. And she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 Now it came to pass when he saw her that he t tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low and you are one of those who trouble me, for u I have opened my mouth to the LORD and v I cannot go back.”
36 And she said to him, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the LORD, w do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth, since the x LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the children of Ammon.”
37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two months so that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my friends.”
38 And he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months. And she went with her companions and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.
39 Now it came to pass at the end of two months that she returned to her father y who did with her according to his vow that he had vowed. And she knew no man. And thus it was a custom in Israel
40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Chapter 11 References: a Hb 11:32; b 2 Kg 5:1; c Gn 21:10; d 2 Sm 10:6,8; e 1 Sm 22:2; f Jg 10:9,17; g Gn 26:27; h Jg 10:18; i Lk 17:4; j Jg 10:18; k Jr 29:23; 42:5; l Jg 11:8; m Jg 10:17; 20:1; n Gn 28:20; o Lv 27:2,3,28; p Ps 66:13; q Ez 27:17; r Jg 10:17; 11:1; s Ex 15:20; t Gn 37:29,34; u Ec 5:2,4,5; v Nm 30:2; w Nm 30:2; x 2 Sm 18:19,31; y Jg 11:31
1 ¶ Then a the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and went northward. And they said to Jephthah, “Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house upon you with fire.”
2 Then Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon. And when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.
3 “And when I saw that you did not deliver me, I b put my life in my hands and passed over against the children of Ammon. And the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”
4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead smote Ephraim because they said, “You Gileadites are c fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and in the midst of Manasseh.”
5 Then the Gileadites took the d fords of the Jordan before Ephraim. And it was so that when those Ephraimites who had escaped said, “Let me go over,” that the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”
6 then they said to him, “Say now, e ‘Shibboleth.’” And he said “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they took him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
8 ¶ Then after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
9 And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his family. And for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his family. And he judged Israel seven years.
10 Then Ibzan died and he was buried in Bethlehem.
11 ¶ And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel. And he judged Israel ten years.
12 Then Elon the Zebulonite died and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
13 ¶ Then after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews who f rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the g hill country of the Amalekites.
Chapter 12 References: a Jg 8:1; b 1 Sm 19:5; 28:21; c 1 Sm 25:10; d Ja 22:11; e Ps 69:2,15; f Jg 5:10; 10:4; g Jg 3:13,27; 5:14
1 ¶ Then the children of Israel a did evil again in the sight of the LORD. And the LORD delivered them b into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 ¶ Now there was a certain man of c Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and did not bear children.
3 Then the d angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children. But you will conceive and bear a son.
4 “Now therefore beware, be careful e not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing.
5 “For behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And f no razor will come on his head, for the child will be a g Nazarite to God from the womb. And he will h begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
6 ¶ Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, i “A man of God came to me and his countenance was like the j countenance of an angel of God, very awesome. But k I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.
7 But he said to me, “Behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And now, drink no wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing, for the child will be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.”
8 ¶ Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we will do to the child who will be born.”
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah. And the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 So the woman made haste, and ran and showed her husband. And she said to him, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”
11 So Manoah arose and went after his wife. And he came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.”
12 Then Manoah said, “Now let your words come to pass. What will be the rule for the child and what will we do to him?”
13 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Let the woman pay attention to all that I said.
14 “She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. l Neither let her drink wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
15 ¶ Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, m “Please let us detain you until we have prepared a young goat for you.”
16 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat of your bread. And if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that he was an angel of the LORD.
17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that when your sayings come to pass we may give you honor?”
18 But the angel of the LORD said to him, n “Why do you ask for my name, seeing it is beyond understanding?”
19 So Manoah took a young goat with a grain offering and o offered it on a rock to the LORD. And the angel worked wonders. And Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 Now 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 p fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and to his wife. q Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
22 Then Manoah said to his wife, r “We will surely die, because we have seen God.”
23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have showed us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”
24 ¶ So the woman bore a son and called his name s Samson. And t the child grew and the LORD blessed him.
25 u And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan v between Zorah and w Eshtaol.
Chapter 13 References: a Jg 2:11; b 1 Sm 12:9; c Ja 19:41; d Jg 6:12; e Nm 6:2,3,20; f Nm 6:5; g Nm 6:2; h 1 Sm 7:13; i Gn 32:24-30; j Mt 28:3; k Jg 13:17,18; l Nm 6:3,4; m Gn 18:5; n Gn 32:29; o Jg 6:19-21; p Ez 1:28; q Jg 6:22; r Dt 5:26; s Hb 11:32; t 1 Sm 3:19; u Jg 3:10; v Jg 18:11; w Jg 16:31
1 ¶ Then Samson went down to a a Timnath and b saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he came back and told his father and his mother and said, “I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore, c get her for me as a wife.”
3 Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of d your brethren or among all my people, that you go to take a wife from the e uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”
4 But his father and his mother did not know that it was f of the LORD that He sought an occasion against g the Philistines, for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
5 ¶ Then Samson went down to Timnath with his father and his mother. And he came to the vineyards of Timnath, and behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And h the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
7 And he went down and talked with the woman. And she pleased Samson well.
8 Now after a time he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.
9 Then he took of it in his hands and went on eating. And he came to his father and mother and he gave to them and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the i carcass of the lion.
10 ¶ So his father went down to the woman. And Samson made there a feast, for so was the custom of the young men.
11 Now it came to pass when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
12 Then Samson said to them, “I will now j put forth a riddle to you. If you can give me the answer k within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty l changes of clothes.
13 “But if you cannot give the answer to me, then you will give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, m “Tell us your riddle so that we may hear it.”
14 Then he said to them, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” And they could not in three days give an answer to the riddle.
15 ¶ Now it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, n “Entice your husband so that he may declare to us the riddle, o lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Did you invite us here to rob us? Is this not so?”
16 Then Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, p “You hate me and you do not love me. You have put forth a riddle to the children of my people and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or my mother. So should I tell it to you?”
17 Now 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 pressed on him. And she told the riddle to the children of her people.
18 Then the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.”
19 ¶ And q the Spirit of the LORD came upon him and he went down to Ashkelon. And he slew thirty of their men and took their spoil and gave changes of clothes to them who explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled and he went up to his father’s house.
20 But Samson’s wife r was given to his companion who had been s his friend.
Chapter 14 References: a Ja 15:10,57; b Gn 34:2; c Gn 21:21; d Gn 24:3,4; e Gn 34:14; f Ja 11:20; g Dt 28:48; h Jg 3:10; i Lv 11:27; j Ez 17:2; k Gn 29:27; l 2 Kg 5:22; m Ez 17:2; n Jg 16:5; o Jg 15:6; p Jg 16:15; q Jg 3:10; 13:25; r Jg 15:2; s Jn 3:29
1 ¶ But it came to pass later on after the time of wheat harvest that Samson visited his wife with a a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife into the room.” But her father would not allow him to go in.
2 And her father said, “I actually thought that you utterly b hated her. Therefore, I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Please take her instead.”
3 Then Samson said concerning them, “Now I will be more blameless than the Philistines when I do them harm.”
4 So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail. And he tied a torch in the middle between every pair of tails.
5 And when he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines. And he burnt up both the shocks and also the standing grain, with the vineyards and olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” c And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.”
7 Then Samson said to them, “Though you have done this, I will surely take vengeance on you, and after that I will cease.”
8 So he smote them viciously with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock of d Etam.
9 ¶ Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread out themselves e against Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they answered, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are f rulers over us? What is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”
12 Then they said to him, “We have come down to bind you so that we may deliver you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.”
13 So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you securely and deliver you into their hands. But surely we will not kill you.” And they bound him with two g new cords and brought him up from the rock.
14 ¶ Now when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him. And h the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. And the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bonds fell from off his hands.
15 Then he found a new jawbone of a donkey and put forth his hand and took it. And he i slew a thousand men with it.
16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps. With the jaw of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
17 Now it came to pass when he had finished speaking that he threw away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramath Lehi.
18 ¶ Now he was very thirsty. And he called on the LORD and said, j “You have given this great deliverance into the hand of your servant, and now will I die because of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
19 But God split a hollow place in Lehi so that water came out of it. And when he drank, k his spirit came again and he revived. Therefore, he called the name of it En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
20 And he l judged Israel m twenty years n in the days of the Philistines.
Chapter 15 References: a Gn 38:17; b Jg 14:20; c Jg 14:15; d 2 Ch 11:6; e Jg 15:19; f Jg 13:1; 14:4; g Jg 16:11,12; h Jg 3:10; 14:6; i Lv 26:8; j Ps 3:7; k Is 40:29; l Jg 10:2; 12:7-14; m Jg 16:31; n Jg 13:1
1 ¶ Then Samson went to a a Gaza and saw there a harlot. And he went in to her.
2 Now it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here.” And they b surrounded him and laid in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept quiet all night, saying, “In the morning when it is day, we will kill him.”
3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight. And he took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all. And he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.
4 ¶ Now it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 And the c lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, d “Entice him and see wherein his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him so that we may bind him to afflict him. And each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
6 ¶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound and afflicted.”
7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that have never dried, then I will be weak and be as another man.”
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” And he broke the cords as a thread of tow snaps is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 ¶ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now please tell me how you might be bound.”
11 And he said to her, “If they bind me securely with e new ropes that have never been used, then I will be weak and be as another man.”
12 Delilah then took new ropes and bound him with them. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you.” And there were men lying in wait in the inner room. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.
13 ¶ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the fabric on a loom and tighten them with the pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the fabric. And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” And he awoke from his sleep and went away with the pin of the beam and with the web.
15 ¶ Then she said to him, f “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
16 Now it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
17 So he g told her all his heart and said to her, “There h has not come a razor upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
18 ¶ Now when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has showed me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought money in their hands.
19 i So she made him sleep on her knees, and she called for a man. And she had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” And he awoke out of his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times before and free myself.” And he did not know that the j LORD had departed from him.
21 ¶ But the Philistines took him and put out his k eyes. And they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with chains of brass. And he was a grinder in the prison house.
22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.
23 ¶ Then the lords of the Philistines gathered themselves together in order to offer a great sacrifice to l Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
24 And when the people saw him, they m praised their god, for they said, “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our country who slew many of us.”
25 Now it came to pass when their hearts were n merry that they said, “Call for Samson so that he may entertain us.” And they called for Samson out of the prison house. And he entertained them. And they set him between the pillars.
26 Then Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, “Allow me to feel the pillars on which the house stands so that I may lean upon them.”
27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And on the o roof there were about three thousand men and women who looked on while Samson amused them.
28 ¶ Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please p remember me and please strengthen me only once more, so that I may at this time be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house stood and on which it was held up, the one with his right hand and the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And he bowed himself with all his might, and the house fell upon the lords and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than those whom he slew in his life.
31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him. And they brought him up and q buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel r twenty years.
Chapter 16 References: a Jg 15:47; b 1 Sm 23:26; c Jg 13:3; d Jg 14:15; e Jg 15:13; f Jg 14:16; g Mc 7:5; h Jg 13:5; i Pv 7:26,27; j Ja 7:12; k 2 Kg 25:7; l 1 Sm 5:2; m Dn 5:4; n Jg 9:27; o Dt 22:8; p Jr 15:15; q Jg 13:25; r Jg 15:20
1 ¶ Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was a Micah.
2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you b uttered a curse in my ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it.” And his mother said, c “Blessed are you of the LORD, my son.”
3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son to d make a graven image and a molten image. Now therefore, I will restore it to you.”
4 So he restored the money to his mother. And his mother e took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made from it a graven image and a molten image. And they were in the house of Micah.
5 Now the man Micah had a f house of gods. And he made an g ephod and h household idols, and consecrated one of his sons who became his priest.
6 i In those days there was no king in Israel, but j every man did what was right in his own eyes.
7 ¶ And there was a young man out of k Bethlehem in Judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite. And l he sojourned there.
8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a home. And as he journeyed he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
9 And Micah said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah and I am going to stay where I might find a home.”
10 Then Micah said to him, “Dwell with me and m be to me a n father and a priest. And I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and a suit of clothes, and your food.” So the Levite went in.
11 Now the Levite was content to dwell with the man. And the young man was to him as one of his sons.
12 So Micah o consecrated the Levite. And the young man p became his priest and was in the house of Micah.
13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will do good to me, seeing I have a Levite as my q priest.”
Chapter 17 References: a Jg 18:2; b Lv 5:1; c Gn 14:19; d Ex 20:4,23; 34:17; e Is 46:6; f Jg 18:24; g Jg 8:27; 18:14; h Gn 31:19,30; i Jg 18:1; 19:1; j Dt 12:8; k Mt 2:1,5,6; l Dt 18:6; m Jg 18:19; n Gn 45:8; o Jg 17:5; p Jg 18:30; q Jg 18:4
1 ¶ aIn those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the btribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance in which to dwell, for to that day all their inheritance had not been allotted to them among the tribes of Israel.
2 So the children of Dan sent of their family five valiant men from cZorah and Eshtaol d to spy out the land and explore it. And they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And when they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the ehouse of Micah, they lodged there.
3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man, the Levite. And they turned in there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And why are you here?”
4 And he said to them, “In this manner Micah deals with me. And fhe has hired me and I am his priest.”
5 Then they said to him, “Please gask counsel h of God so that we may know whether our way that we go will be prosperous.”
6 And the priest said to them, i“Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”
7 ¶ Then the five men departed and came to jLaish. And they saw the people who were in it, khow they dwelt securely after the manner of the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And there were no rulers in the land who might deprive them of anything. And they were far from the lSidonians and had no business with any man.
8 Then they came to their brethren to mZorah and Eshtaol. And their brethren said to them, “What say you?”
9 And they said, n“Arise, so that we may go up against them, for we have seen the land. And behold, it is very good. And do oyou sit still? Do not be slothful to go and enter to possess the land.
10 “When you go, you will come to a punsuspecting people and to a large land, for God has given it into your hands, qa place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
11 ¶ And there went from there of the family of the Danites out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.
12 And they went up and pitched in rKirjath Jearim in Judah. Therefore, they called that place sMahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kirjath Jearim.
13 And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the thouse of Micah.
14 ¶ uThen the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that vthere is in these houses an ephod and wteraphim and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.”
15 And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him.
16 And the xsix hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.
17 And the xfive men who went to spy out the land went up and came in there and took the ygraven image and the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. And the priest stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were appointed with weapons of war.
18 And these went into Micah’s house and fetched the carved image, the ephod and the teraphim and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 And they said to him, “Hold your peace. zPut your hand on your mouth and go with us, and abe to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
20 And the priest’s heart was glad. And he took the ephod and the teraphim and the graven image and went in among the people.
21 So they turned and departed. And they put the little ones and the livestock and the possessions before them.
22 ¶ When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.
23 And they cried out to the children of Dan. And they turned around and said to Micah, b“What is the matter with you that you come with such a company?”
24 And he said, c“You have taken away my gods that I made, and the priest, and have gone away. And what have I left? And what is this that you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
25 And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon you and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”
26 So the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 ¶ So they took the things that Micah had made, and the priest whom he had. And they came to Laish, to a people who were quiet and secure. And dthey smote them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28 And there was no one to deliver them, because it was efar from Sidon. And they had no business with any man, and it was in the valley that lies fby Beth Rehob. And they built a city and dwelt in it.
29 Then gthey called the name of the city hDan after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city was Laish at the first.
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 for the tribe of Dan i until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 And they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image that he made, j all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Chapter 18 References: a Jg 17:6; 19:1; 21:25; b Jg 19:40-48; c Jg 13:25; d Nm 13:17; e Jg 17:1; f Jg 17:10,12; g Hs 4:12; h Jg 1:1; 17:5; 18:14; i 1 Kg 22:6; j Ja 19:47; k Jg 18:27-29; l Jg 10:12; m Jg 18:2; n Nm 13:30; o 1 Kg 22:3; p Jg 18:7,27; q Dt 8:9; r Ja 15:60; s Jg 13:25; t Jg 18:2; u 1 Sm 14:28; v Jg 17:5; w Jg 18:11; x Jg 18:2,14; y Jg 17:4,5; z Jb 21:5; 29:9; 40:4; a Jg 17:10; b 2 Kg 6:28; c Gn 31:30; d Ja 19:47; e Jg 18:7; f 2 Sm 10:6; g Ja 19:47; h Jg 20:1; i 2 Kg 15:29; j Ja 18:1,8
1 ¶ Now it came to pass in those days awhen there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine out of bBethlehem in Judah.
2 And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem in Judah. And she was there four whole months.
3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to cspeak friendly to her, and to bring her back, taking his servant with him and a couple of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house. And when the father of the girl saw him, he was glad to meet him.
4 So his father-in-law, the girl’s father, detained him. And he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.
5 ¶ Now it came to pass on the fourth day when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart. And the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, d“Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”
6 And they sat down and ate and drank, both of them together, for the damsel’s father had said to the man, “Please be content and stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”
7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him, so he stayed there that night.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart. And the girl’s father said, “Please comfort your heart.” And they stayed until afternoon, and they both ate together.
9 Now when the man rose up to depart, he and his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day draws toward evening. Please stay all night. Behold, the day grows to an end. Lodge here so that your heart may be merry, and tomorrow leave early on your way in order that you may go home.”
10 ¶ But the man would not tarry that night, so he rose up and departed. And he came over opposite eJebus, which is Jerusalem. And there were with him two saddled donkeys. His concubine also was with him.
11 When they were by Jebus, the day was almost gone. And the servant said to his master, “Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the fJebusites and lodge in it.”
12 Then his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the children of Israel. We will pass over to gGibeah.”
13 And he said to his servant, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night in Gibeah or in hRamah.”
14 So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them when they were by Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.
15 So they turned aside there in order 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 who itook them into his house to lodge.
16 ¶ And behold, there came an old man from jhis work out of the field at evening, who was also from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah. But the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a traveling man in the street of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And from where did you come?”
18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the side of the hill country of Ephraim, from where I live. And I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but I am now going to the khouse of the LORD. And there is no man who receives me into his house,
19 “although there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys. And there is bread and wine also for me and for your maidservant, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.”
20 And the old man said, l“Peace be with you. Only let me take care of all your needs and mdo not lodge in the street.”
21 ¶ So he brought him into his house and gave fodder to the donkeys. oAnd they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 ¶ Now as pthey were making their hearts merry, behold, the qmen of the city, rcertain sons of Belial, surrounded the house and beat at the door. And they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, s“Bring out the man who came into your house so that we may know him.”
23 And tthe man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren, please do not act so wickedly, seeing that this man has come into my house. uDo not do this folly.
24 v“Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now, and you can humble them and do with them what seems good to you. But to this man do not do so vile a thing.”
25 But the men would not hearken to him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they xraped her and abused her all night until the morning. And at dawn they let her go.
26 Then the woman came at the dawn of the day and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, until it was light.
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, had fallen down at the door of the house and her hands were on the threshold.
28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But ythere was no answer. Then the man took her up on a donkey and rose up and went to his place.
29 ¶ Now when he had come to his house, he took a knife and laid hold on his concubine and zdivided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces. And he sent her into all the territory of Israel.
30 Now everyone who saw it said, “There has never been such a deed done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. aConsider it, take advice and speak your minds.”
Chapter 19 References: a Jg 17:6; 18:1; 21:25; b Jg 17:7; c Gn 34:3; 50:21; d Gn 18:5; e 1 Ch 11:4,5; f Ja 15:8,63; g Ja 18:28; h Ja 18:25; i Mt 25:43; j Ps 104:23; k Ja 18:1; l Gn 43:23; m Gn 19:2; n Gn 24:32;43:24; o Jn 13:5; p Jg 16:25;19:6,9; q Hs 9:9;10:9; r Dt 13:13; s Rm 1:26,27; t Gn 19:6,7; u 2 Sm 13:12; v Gn 19:8; w Gn 34:2; x Gn 4:1; y Jg 20:5; z 1 Sm 11:7; a Jg 20:7
1 ¶ Then aall the children of Israel from bDan even to cBeersheba went out, and the assembly was gathered together as one man to the LORD at dMizpeh, including the land of Gilead.
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, 400,000 foot soldiers ewho drew the sword.
3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh.) Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?”
4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was slain, answered and said, “I and my concubine came to flodge in Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin.
5 g“And the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to slay me. And hthey raped my concubine and she died.
6 “And iI took my concubine and cut her in pieces. Then I sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have jcommitted lewdness and folly in Israel.
7 “Behold, you are all children of Israel. kGive here your advice and counsel.”
8 ¶ And all the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return into his house.
9 “But now this will be the thing that we will do to Gibeah. We will go up lby lot against it.
10 “And we will take ten men out of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred out of one thousand, and one thousand out of ten thousand, in order to fetch provisions for the people. Then when the army comes to Gibeah of Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for all this folly done in Israel.”
11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.
12 ¶ mAnd the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What wickedness is this that is done among you?
13 “Now therefore, deliver to us the men, the nchildren of Belial, who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and oput away evil from Israel.” But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah in order to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
15 And the pchildren of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered 700 chosen men.
16 Among all this people there were 700 chosen men who were qleft-handed. Each one could sling stones at a hair and not miss.
17 And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered 400,000 men who drew the sword. All these were men of war.
18 ¶ And the children of Israel arose and rwent up to the house of God and sasked counsel of God. And they said, “Who of us will go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, t“Judah will go up first.”
19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.
20 Then the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.
21 And the uchildren of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and felled to the ground of the Israelites that day 22,000 men.
22 And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves. And again they took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. vAnd the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening. And they asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Will I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.”
24 ¶ And the children of Israel came against the children of Benjamin the second day.
25 So wBenjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day, and felled down to the ground of the children of Israel again 18,000 men. All these drew the sword.
26 ¶ Then all the children of Israel and all the people xwent up and came to the house of God. And they wept and sat there before the LORD. And they fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
27 And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the yark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 zand Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, astood before it in those days), saying, “Will I go out again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or will I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
29 ¶ So Israel bset men in ambush around Gibeah.
30 Then the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in battle positions against Gibeah as at other times.
31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people. They were drawn away from the city and began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times on the highways, cone of which goes up to the house of God and the other to Gibeah. About thirty men of Israel fell in the field.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, “They are struck down before us as at the first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.”
33 So all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and took up positions at Baal Tamar. And the men in ambush of Israel came out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
34 And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore. dBut they did not know that disaster was near them.
35 So the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day 25,100 men. All these drew the sword.
36 ¶ So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten. eNow the men of Israel had given way before the Benjamites because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.
37 fSo the men in ambush hurried and rushed upon Gibeah. And the men in ambush deployed themselves and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush, that they should make a great cloud of gsmoke rise up out of the city.
39 And when the men of Israel turned in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, “Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle.”
40 But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city with a column of smoke, the Benjamites hlooked behind them, and behold, the cloud of the city ascended up to heaven.
41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed because they saw that evil had come upon them.
42 Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. And whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst.
43 Thus they surrounded the Benjamites and chased them. They trod them down with ease opposite Gibeah toward the east.
44 So there fell of Benjamin 18,000 men. All these were valiant men.
45 Then the rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of iRimmon. But they caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them at Gidom and slew 2,000 of them.
46 So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword. All these were valiant men.
47 jBut 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. And they remained in the rock of Rimmon four months.
48 Then the men of Israel turned again on the children of Benjamin and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well as the men of every city, with the livestock and all that they found. They also set on fire all the cities to which they came.
Chapter 20 References: a Ja 22:12; b 2 Sm 3:10;24:2; c Ja 19:2; d 1 Sm 7:5; e Jg 8:10; f Jg 19:15; g Jg 19:22; h Jg 19:25,26; i Jg 19:29; j Ja 7:15; k Jg 19:30; l Jg 1:3; m Dt 13:14; n Dt 13:13; o Dt 17:12; p Nm 1:36,37;2:23;26:41; q 1 Ch 12:2; r Jg 20:23,26; s Nm 27:21; t Jg 1:1,2; u Gn 49:27; v Jg 20:26,27; w Jg 20:21; x Jg 20:18,23;21:2; y Ja 18:1; z Ja 24:33; a Dt 10:8;18:5; b Ja 8:4; c Jg 21:19; d Ja 8:14; e Ja 8:15; f Ja 8:19; g Ja 8:20; h Ja 8:20; i Ja 15:32; j Jg 21:13
1 ¶ Now the amen of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage.”
2 And the people came bto the house of God and remained there before God until evening. And they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
3 And they said, “O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel that there should be today one tribe missing in Israel?”
4 Now it came to pass on the next day that the people rose early and cbuilt there an altar. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 Then the children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD?” dFor they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, “He will surely be put to death.”
6 And the children of Israel were sorry for Benjamin their brother and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 “What will we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters in marriage?”
8 ¶ So they said, “What tribe is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpeh to the LORD?” And behold, there came no one to the camp from eJabesh Gilead to the assembly.
9 For the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.
10 And the assembly sent 12,000 of the valiant warriors there and commanded them, saying, f“Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
11 “And this is the thing that you will do: gyou will utterly destroy every male and every woman who has lain with a man.”
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with any male. And they brought them to the camp to hShiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 ¶ Then the whole assembly sent word to speak to the children of Benjamin iwho were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
14 So Benjamin came again at that time. And they gave them wives whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead. And yet they were not enough for them.
15 And the people jwere sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 ¶ Then the elders of the assembly said, “What will we do for wives for them who remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”
17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for them who have escaped of Benjamin in order that a tribe be not blotted out of Israel.
18 “However, we may not give them wives from our daughters.” For the kchildren of Israel had sworn, saying, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”
19 Then they said, “Behold, there is a yearly lfeast of the LORD in mShiloh in a place that is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the nhighway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”
20 Therefore, they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21 “and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to odance in dances, then come out of the vineyards and catch every man for himself his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22 “And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, we will say to them, ‘Be favorable to them for our sakes, because we did not take for each man a wife in battle, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.’”
23 ¶ And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number of those who danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance and prepaired the cities and dwelt in them.
24 Then the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family. And every man went out from there to his inheritance.
25 qIn those days there was no king in Israel. rEvery man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Chapter 21 References: a Jg 20:1; b Jg 20:18,26; c 2 Sm 24:25; d Jg 20:1-3; e 1 Sm 11:1;31:11; f Nm 31:17; g Nm 31:17; h Ja 18:1; i Jg 20:47; j Jg 21:6; k Jg 11:35;21:1; l Lv 23:2; m 1 Sm 1:3; n Jg 20:31; o Jg 11:34; p Jg 20:48; q Jg 17:6;18:1;19:1; r Jg 17:6