Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/masters/texts/ylt.lzh/JUD.LZH/JUD

Text File | 1992-12-26 | 107KB | 1,947 lines

1:1 And it cometh to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the
 sons of Israel ask at Jehovah, saying, `Who doth go up for us
 unto the Canaanite, at the commencement, to fight against it?'
1:2 And Jehovah saith, `Judah doth go up; lo, I have given the
 land into his hand.'
1:3 And Judah saith to Simeon his brother, `Go up with me into
 my lot, and we fight against the Canaanite -- and I have gone,
 even I, with thee into thy lot;' and Simeon goeth with him.
1:4 And Judah goeth up, and Jehovah giveth the Canaanite and the
 Perizzite into their hand, and they smite them in Bezek -- ten
 thousand men;
1:5 and they find Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fight against him,
 and smite the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
1:6 And Adoni-Bezek fleeth, and they pursue after him, and seize
 him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes,
1:7 and Adoni-Bezek saith, `Seventy kings -- their thumbs and
 their great toes cut off -- have been gathering under my table;
 as I have done so hath God repaid to me;' and they bring him in
 to Jerusalem, and he dieth there.
1:8 And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture
 it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they
 have sent into fire;
1:9 and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight
 against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the
 south, and the low country;
1:10 and Judah goeth unto the Canaanite who is dwelling in
 Hebron (and the name of Hebron formerly [is] Kirjath-Arba), and
 they smite Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
1:11 And he goeth thence unto the inhabitants of Debir (and the
 name of Debir formerly [is] Kirjath-Sepher),
1:12 and Caleb saith, `He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher -- and hath
 captured it -- then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a
 wife.'
1:13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth
 capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a
 wife.
1:14 And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth
 him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off
 the ass, and Caleb saith to her, `What -- to thee?'
1:15 And she saith to him, `Give to me a blessing; when the
 south land thou hast given me -- then thou hast given to me
 springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and
 the lower springs.
1:16 And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have
 gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah [to]
 the wilderness of Judah, which [is] in the south of Arad, and
 they go and dwell with the people.
1:17 And Judah goeth with Simeon his brother, and they smite the
 Canaanite inhabiting Zephath, and devote it; and [one] calleth
 the name of the city Hormah.
1:18 And Judah captureth Gaza and its border, and Askelon and
 its border, and Ekron and its border;
1:19 and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the
 hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the
 valley, for they have chariots of iron.
1:20 And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he
 dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak.
1:21 And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of
 Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with
 the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day.
1:22 And the house of Joseph go up -- even they -- to Beth-El, and
 Jehovah [is] with them;
1:23 and the house of Joseph cause [men] to spy about Beth-El
 (and the name of the city formerly is Luz),
1:24 and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and
 say to him, `Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city,
 and we have done with thee kindness.'
1:25 And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they
 smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all
 his family they have sent away;
1:26 and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth
 a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it [is] its name unto this
 day.
1:27 And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns,
 and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its
 towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the
 inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is
 desirous to dwell in that land;
1:28 and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that
 he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly
 dispossessed it.
1:29 And Ephraim hath not dispossessed the Canaanite who is
 dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, in
 Gezer.
1:30 Zebulun hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Kitron,
 and the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelleth in
 its midst, and they become tributary.
1:31 Asher hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Accho, and
 the inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah,
 and Aphik, and Rehob;
1:32 and the Asherite dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite,
 the inhabitants of the land, for it hath not dispossessed them.
1:33 Naphtali hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of
 Beth-Shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he
 dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the
 land; and the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath
 have become tributary to them.
1:34 And the Amorites press the sons of Dan to the mountain, for
 they have not suffered them to go down to the valley;
1:35 and the Amorite is desirous to dwell in mount Heres, in
 Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph
 is heavy, and they become tributary;
1:36 and the border of the Amorite [is] from the ascent of
 Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.
2:1 And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim,
2:2 and saith, `I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring
 you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and
 say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye -- ye
 make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land -- their
 altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My
 voice -- what [is] this ye have done?
2:3 And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your
 presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their
 gods are to you for a snare.'
2:4 And it cometh to pass, when the messenger of Jehovah
 speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel, that the
 people lift up their voice and weep,
2:5 and they call the name of that place Bochim, and sacrifice
 there to Jehovah.
2:6 And Joshua sendeth the people away, and the sons of Israel
 go, each to his inheritance, to possess the land;
2:7 and the people serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all
 the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, who saw
 all the great work of Jehovah which He did to Israel.
2:8 And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a
 hundred and ten years,
2:9 and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in
 Timnath-Heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of
 mount Gaash;
2:10 and also all that generation have been gathered unto their
 fathers, and another generation riseth after them who have not
 known Jehovah, and even the work which He hath done to Israel.
2:11 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of
 Jehovah, and serve the Baalim,
2:12 and forsake Jehovah, God of their fathers, who bringeth
 them out from the land of Egypt, and go after other gods (of
 the gods of the peoples who [are] round about them), and bow
 themselves to them, and provoke Jehovah,
2:13 yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to
 Ashtaroth.
2:14 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He
 giveth them into the hand of spoilers, and they spoil them, and
 He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about, and
 they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies;
2:15 in every [place] where they have gone out, the hand of
 Jehovah hath been against them for evil, as Jehovah hath
 spoken, and as Jehovah hath sworn to them, and they are
 distressed -- greatly.
2:16 And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the
 hand of their spoilers;
2:17 and also unto their judges they have not hearkened, but
 have gone a-whoring after other gods, and bow themselves to
 them; they have turned aside [with] haste out of the way [in]
 which their fathers walked to obey the commands of
 Jehovah -- they have not done so.
2:18 And when Jehovah raised up to them judges -- then was Jehovah
 with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies
 all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah, because of
 their groaning from the presence of their oppressors, and of
 those thrusting them away.
2:19 And it hath come to pass, at the death of the judge -- they
 turn back and have done corruptly above their fathers, to go
 after other gods, to serve them, and to bow themselves to them;
 they have not fallen from their doings, and from their stiff
 way.
2:20 And the anger of Jehovah doth burn against Israel, and He
 saith, `Because that this nation have transgressed My covenant
 which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to My
 voice --
2:21 I also continue not to dispossess any from before them of
 the nations which Joshua hath left when he dieth,
2:22 in order to try Israel by them, whether they are keeping
 the way of Jehovah, to go in it, as their fathers kept [it] or
 not.'
2:23 And Jehovah leaveth these nations, so as not to dispossess
 them hastily, and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
3:1 And these [are] the nations which Jehovah left, to try
 Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan;
3:2 (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of
 Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly
 have not known them) --
3:3 five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and
 the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from
 mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath;
3:4 and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they
 obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by
 the hand of Moses.
3:5 And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the
 Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and
 the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
3:6 and take their daughters to them for wives, and their
 daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;
3:7 and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of
 Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and
 the shrines.
3:8 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He
 selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of
 Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim
 eight years;
3:9 and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth
 a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them -- Othniel
 son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;
3:10 and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth
 Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his
 hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand
 against Chushan-Rishathaim;
3:11 and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz
 dieth,
3:12 and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes
 of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab
 against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in
 the eyes of Jehovah;
3:13 and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and
 goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms;
3:14 and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen
 years.
3:15 And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah
 raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a
 man -- shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by
 his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab;
3:16 and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths
 (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it under his long
 robe on his right thigh;
3:17 and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and
 Eglon [is] a very fat man.
3:18 And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near
 the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the
 present,
3:19 and he himself hath turned back from the graven images
 which [are] at Gilgal, and saith, `A secret word I have unto
 thee, O king;' and he saith, `Hush!' and go out from him do all
 those standing by him.
3:20 And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper
 chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith,
 `A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the
 throne;
3:21 and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword
 from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly;
3:22 and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat
 shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of
 his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.
3:23 And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of
 the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted [it];
3:24 and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and
 look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and
 they say, `He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of
 the wall.'
3:25 And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening
 the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and
 open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth -- dead.
3:26 And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by
 the images, and is escaped to Seirath.
3:27 And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth
 with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with
 him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before
 them;
3:28 and he saith unto them, `Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath
 given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go
 down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards
 Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.
3:29 And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men,
 all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath
 escaped,
3:30 and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel;
 and the land resteth eighty years.
3:31 And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he
 smiteth the Philistines -- six hundred men -- with an ox-goad, and
 he saveth -- he also -- Israel.
4:1 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes
 of Jehovah when Ehud is dead,
4:2 and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of
 Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host
 [is] Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;
4:3 and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine
 hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of
 Israel mightily twenty years.
4:4 And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is
 judging Israel at that time,
4:5 and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between
 Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons
 of Israel go up unto her for judgment.
4:6 And she sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of
 Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, `Hath not Jehovah, God of
 Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor,
 and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of
 Naphtali, and out of the sons of Zebulun,
4:7 and I have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera,
 head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude,
 and have given him into thy hand.'
4:8 And Barak saith unto her, `If thou dost go with me, then I
 have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;'
4:9 and she saith, `I do certainly go with thee; only, surely
 thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the
 hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;' and Deborah riseth
 and goeth with Barak to Kedesh.
4:10 And Barak calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he
 goeth up -- at his feet [are] ten thousand men -- and Deborah goeth
 up with him.
4:11 And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite,
 from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he
 stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, which [is] by
 Kedesh.
4:12 And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath
 gone up to mount Tabor,
4:13 and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots
 of iron, and all the people who [are] with him, from Harosheth
 of the Goyim, unto the brook Kishon.
4:14 And Deborah saith unto Barak, `Rise, for this [is] the day
 in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not
 Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth down from mount
 Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
4:15 And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and
 all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and
 Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth on his
 feet.
4:16 And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the
 camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera
 falleth by the mouth of the sword -- there hath not been left
 even one.
4:17 And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife
 of Heber the Kenite, for peace [is] between Jabin king of Hazor
 and the house of Heber the Kenite;
4:18 and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him,
 `Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;' and he
 turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him
 with a coverlet.
4:19 And he saith unto her, `Give me to drink, I pray thee, a
 little water, for I am thirsty;' and she openeth the bottle of
 milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth him.
4:20 And he saith unto her, `Stand at the opening of the tent,
 and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and
 said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.'
4:21 And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and
 taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and
 striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the
 earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he
 dieth.
4:22 And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to
 meet him, and saith to him, `Come, and I shew thee the man whom
 thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is
 fallen -- dead, and the pin in his temples.
4:23 And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before
 the sons of Israel,
4:24 and the hand of the sons of Israel goeth, going on and
 becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have cut
 off Jabin king of Canaan.
5:1 And Deborah singeth -- also Barak son of Abinoam -- on that day,
 saying: --
5:2 `For freeing freemen in Israel, For a people willingly
 offering themselves Bless ye Jehovah.
5:3 Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, to Jehovah, I -- I do
 sing, I sing praise to Jehovah, God of Israel.
5:4 Jehovah, in Thy going forth out of Seir, In Thy stepping out
 of the field of Edom, Earth trembled, also the heavens dropped,
 Also thick clouds dropped water.
5:5 Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah, This one -- Sinai --
 From the face of Jehovah, God of Israel.
5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath -- In the days of Jael --
 The ways have ceased, And those going in the paths go [in]
 crooked ways.
5:7 Villages ceased in Israel -- they ceased, Till that I
 arose -- Deborah, That I arose, a mother in Israel.
5:8 He chooseth new gods, Then war [is] at the gates! A shield
 is not seen -- and a spear Among forty thousand in Israel.
5:9 My heart [is] to the lawgivers of Israel, Who are offering
 themselves willingly among the people, Bless ye Jehovah!
5:10 Riders on white asses -- Sitters on a long robe -- And
 walkers by the way -- meditate!
5:11 By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing
 water, There they give out righteous acts of Jehovah, Righteous
 acts of His villages in Israel, Then ruled in the gates have
 the people of Jehovah.
5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song; Rise,
 Barak, and take captive thy captivity, Son of Abinoam.
5:13 Then him who is left of the honourable ones He caused to
 rule the people of Jehovah, He caused me to rule among the
 mighty.
5:14 Out of Ephraim their root [is] against Amalek. After thee,
 Benjamin, among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down lawgivers,
 And out of Zebulun those drawing with the reed of a writer.
5:15 And princes in Issachar [are] with Deborah, Yea, Issachar
 [is] right with Barak, Into the valley he was sent on his feet.
 In the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the decrees of heart!
5:16 Why hast thou abode between the boundaries, To hear lowings
 of herds? For the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the searchings
 of heart!
5:17 Gilead beyond the Jordan did tabernacle, And Dan -- why doth
 he sojourn [in] ships? Asher hath abode at the haven of the
 seas, And by his creeks doth tabernacle.
5:18 Zebulun [is] a people who exposed its soul to death,
 Naphtali also -- on high places of the field.
5:19 Kings came -- they fought; Then fought kings of Canaan, In
 Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; Gain of money they took not!
5:20 From the heavens they fought: The stars from their highways
 fought with Sisera.
5:21 The brook Kishon swept them away, The brook most
 ancient -- the brook Kishon. Thou dost tread down strength, O my
 soul!
5:22 Then broken were the horse-heels, By pransings -- pransings
 of its mighty ones.
5:23 Curse Meroz -- said a messenger of Jehovah, Cursing, curse ye
 its inhabitants, For they came not to the help of Jehovah, To
 the help of Jehovah among the mighty!
5:24 Blessed above women is Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite,
 Above women in the tent she is blessed.
5:25 Water he asked -- milk she gave; In a lordly dish she brought
 near butter.
5:26 Her hand to the pin she sendeth forth, And her right hand
 to the labourers' hammer, And she hammered Sisera -- she smote
 his head, Yea, she smote, and it passed through his temple.
5:27 Between her feet he bowed -- He fell, he lay down; Between
 her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he
 fell -- destroyed.
5:28 Through the window she hath looked out -- Yea, she crieth
 out -- the mother of Sisera, Through the lattice: Wherefore is
 his chariot delaying to come? Wherefore tarried have the steps
 of his chariot?
5:29 The wise ones, her princesses, answer her, Yea, she
 returneth her sayings to herself:
5:30 Do they not find? -- they apportion spoil, A female -- two
 females -- for every head, Spoil of finger-work for Sisera, Spoil
 of embroidered finger-work, Finger-work -- a pair of embroidered
 things, For the necks of the spoil!
5:31 So do all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, And those loving
 Him [are] As the going out of the sun in its might!' and the
 land resteth forty years.
6:1 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of
 Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Midian seven
 years,
6:2 and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, from the
 presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves
 the flowings which [are] in the mountains, and the caves, and
 the strongholds.
6:3 And it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath
 come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have
 come up against him,
6:4 and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the
 land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in
 Israel, either sheep, or ox, or ass;
6:5 for they and their cattle come up, with their tents; they
 come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them
 and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the
 land to destroy it.
6:6 And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the
 sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah.
6:7 And it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have cried
 unto Jehovah, concerning Midian,
6:8 that Jehovah sendeth a man, a prophet, unto the sons of
 Israel, and he saith to them, `Thus said Jehovah, God of
 Israel, I -- I have brought you up out of Egypt, and I bring you
 out from a house of servants,
6:9 and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out
 of the hand of all your oppressors, and I cast them out from
 your presence, and I give to you their land,
6:10 and I say to you, I [am] Jehovah your God, ye do not fear
 the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling: -- and ye
 have not hearkened to My voice.'
6:11 And the messenger of Jehovah cometh and sitteth under the
 oak which [is] in Ophrah, which [is] to Joash the Abi-Ezrite,
 and Gideon his son is beating out wheat in the wine-press, to
 remove [it] from the presence of the Midianites;
6:12 and the messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith
 unto him, `Jehovah [is] with thee, O mighty one of valour.'
6:13 And Gideon saith unto him, `O, my lord -- and Jehovah is with
 us! -- and why hath all this found us? and where [are] all His
 wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Hath not
 Jehovah brought us up out of Egypt? and now Jehovah hath left
 us, and doth give us into the hand of Midian.'
6:14 And Jehovah turneth unto him and saith, `Go in this -- thy
 power; and thou hast saved Israel out of the hand of
 Midian -- have not I sent thee.'
6:15 And he saith unto him, `O, my lord, wherewith do I save
 Israel? lo, my chief [is] weak in Manasseh, and I the least in
 the house of my father.'
6:16 And Jehovah saith unto him, `Because I am with thee -- thou
 hast smitten the Midianites as one man.'
6:17 And he saith unto Him, `If, I pray Thee, I have found grace
 in Thine eyes, then Thou hast done for me a sign that Thou art
 speaking with me.
6:18 Move not, I pray Thee, from this, till my coming in unto
 Thee, and I have brought out my present, and put it before
 Thee;' and he saith, `I -- I do abide till thy return.'
6:19 And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats,
 and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath
 put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he
 bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth
 [it] nigh.
6:20 And the messenger of God saith unto him, `Take the flesh
 and the unleavened things, and place on this rock -- and the
 broth pour out;' and he doth so.
6:21 And the messenger of Jehovah putteth forth the end of the
 staff which [is] in His hand, and cometh against the flesh, and
 against the unleavened things, and the fire goeth up out of the
 rock and consumeth the flesh and the unleavened things -- and the
 messenger of Jehovah hath gone from his eyes.
6:22 And Gideon seeth that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah, and
 Gideon saith, `Alas, Lord Jehovah! because that I have seen a
 messenger of Jehovah face to face!'
6:23 And Jehovah saith to him, `Peace to thee; fear not; thou
 dost not die.'
6:24 And Gideon buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and calleth
 it Jehovah-Shalom, unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the
 Abi-Ezrites.
6:25 And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith to
 him, `Take the young ox which [is] to thy father, and the
 second bullock of seven years, and thou hast thrown down the
 altar of Baal which [is] to thy father, and the shrine which
 [is] by it thou dost cut down,
6:26 and thou hast built an altar to Jehovah thy God on the top
 of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and hast taken the
 second bullock, and caused to ascend a burnt-offering with the
 wood of the shrine which thou cuttest down.'
6:27 And Gideon taketh ten men of his servants, and doth as
 Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and it cometh to pass, because he
 hath been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the
 city, to do [it] by day, that he doth [it] by night.
6:28 And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo,
 broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which
 is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been
 offered on the altar which is built.
6:29 And they say one to another, `Who hath done this thing?'
 and they inquire and seek, and they say, `Gideon son of Joash
 hath done this thing.'
6:30 And the men of the city say unto Joash, `Bring out thy son,
 and he dieth, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal,
 and because he hath cut down the shrine which [is] by it.'
6:31 And Joash saith to all who have stood against him, `Ye, do
 ye plead for Baal? ye -- do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him
 is put to death during the morning; if he [is] a god he himself
 doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'
6:32 And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, `The
 Baal doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his
 altar.'
6:33 And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have
 been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the valley
 of Jezreel,
6:34 and the Spirit of Jehovah hath clothed Gideon, and he
 bloweth with a trumpet, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;
6:35 and messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also
 is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher,
 and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet
 them.
6:36 And Gideon saith unto God, `If Thou art Saviour of Israel
 by my hand, as Thou hast spoken,
6:37 lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor:
 if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth
 drought -- then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my
 hand, as Thou hast spoken;'
6:38 and it is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and
 presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece -- the
 fulness of the bowl, of water.
6:39 And Gideon saith unto God, `Let not Thine anger burn
 against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray
 Thee, only this time with the fleece -- let there be, I pray
 Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth let
 there be dew.'
6:40 And God doth so on that night, and there is drought on the
 fleece alone, and on all the earth there hath been dew.
7:1 And Jerubbaal (he [is] Gideon) riseth early, and all the
 people who [are] with him, and they encamp by the well of
 Harod, and the camp of Midian hath been on the south of him, on
 the height of Moreh, in the valley.
7:2 And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Too many [are] the people
 who [are] with thee for My giving Midian into their hand, lest
 Israel beautify itself against Me, saying, My hand hath given
 salvation to me;
7:3 and now, call, I pray thee, in the ears of the people,
 saying, Whoso [is] afraid and trembling, let him turn back and
 go early from mount Gilead;' and there turn back of the people
 twenty and two thousand, and ten thousand have been left.
7:4 And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Yet [are] the people too
 many; bring them down unto the water, and I refine it for thee
 there; and it hath been, he of whom I say unto thee, This doth
 go with thee -- he doth go with thee; and any of whom I say
 unto thee, This doth not go with thee -- he doth not go.'
7:5 And he bringeth down the people unto the water, and Jehovah
 saith unto Gideon, `Every one who lappeth with his tongue of
 the water as the dog lappeth -- thou dost set him apart; also
 every one who boweth on his knees to drink.'
7:6 And the number of those lapping with their hand unto their
 mouth is three hundred men, and all the rest of the people have
 bowed down on their knees to drink water.
7:7 And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `By the three hundred men who
 are lapping I save you, and have given Midian into thy hand,
 and all the people go, each to his place.'
7:8 And the people take the provision in their hand, and their
 trumpets, and every man of Israel he hath sent away, each to
 his tents; and on the three hundred men he hath kept hold, and
 the camp of Midian hath been by him at the lower part of the
 valley.
7:9 And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith
 unto him, `Rise, go down into the camp, for I have given it
 into thy hand;
7:10 and if thou art afraid to go down -- go down, thou and Phurah
 thy young man, unto the camp,
7:11 and thou hast heard what they speak, and afterwards are thy
 hands strengthened, and thou hast gone down against the camp.'
 And he goeth down, he and Phurah his young man, unto the
 extremity of the fifties who [are] in the camp;
7:12 and Midian and Amalek, and all the sons of the east are
 lying in the valley, as the locust for multitude, and of their
 camels there is no number, as sand which [is] on the sea-shore
 for multitude.
7:13 And Gideon cometh in, and lo, a man is recounting to his
 companion a dream, and saith, `Lo, a dream I have dreamed, and
 lo, a cake of barley-bread is turning itself over into the camp
 of Midian, and it cometh in unto the tent, and smiteth it, and
 it falleth, and turneth it upwards, and the tent hath fallen.'
7:14 And his companion answereth and saith, `This is nothing
 save the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; God
 hath given into his hand Midian and all the camp.'
7:15 And it cometh to pass, when Gideon heareth the narration of
 the dream and its interpretation, that he boweth himself, and
 turneth back unto the camp of Israel, and saith, `Rise ye, for
 Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.'
7:16 And he divideth the three hundred men [into] three
 detachments, and putteth trumpets into the hand of all of them,
 and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
7:17 And he saith unto them, `Look at me, and thus do; and lo, I
 am coming into the extremity of the camp -- and it hath been -- as
 I do so ye do;
7:18 and I have blown with a trumpet -- I and all who [are] with
 me, and ye have blown with trumpets, even ye, round about all
 the camp, and have said, For Jehovah and for Gideon.'
7:19 And Gideon cometh -- and the hundred men who [are] with
 him -- into the extremity of the camp, [at] the beginning of the
 middle watch (it hath only just confirmed the watchmen), and
 they blow with trumpets -- dashing in pieces also the pitchers
 which [are] in their hand;
7:20 and the three detachments blow with trumpets, and break the
 pitchers, and keep hold with their left hand on the lamps, and
 with their right hand on the trumpets to blow, and they cry,
 `The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon.'
7:21 And they stand each in his place, round about the camp, and
 all the camp runneth, and they shout, and flee;
7:22 and the three hundred blow the trumpets, and Jehovah
 setteth the sword of each against his companion, even through
 all the camp; and the camp fleeth unto Beth-Shittah, at
 Zererath, unto the border of Abel-Meholah, by Tabbath.
7:23 And the men of Israel are called from Naphtali, and from
 Asher, and from all Manasseh, and pursue after Midian.
7:24 And messengers hath sent Gideon into all the hill-country
 of Ephraim, saying, `Come down to meet Midian, and capture
 before them the waters unto Beth-Barah, and the Jordan;' and
 every man of Ephraim is called, and they capture the waters
 unto Beth-Barah, and the Jordan,
7:25 and they capture two of the heads of Midian, Oreb, and
 Zeeb, and slay Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they have
 slain at the wine-vat of Zeeb, and they pursue unto Midian; and
 the heads of Oreb and Zeeb they have brought in unto Gideon
 beyond the Jordan.
8:1 And the men of Ephraim say unto him, `What [is] this thing
 thou hast done to us -- not to call for us when thou didst go to
 fight with Midian?' and they strive with him severely;
8:2 and he saith unto them, `What have I done now like you? are
 not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the harvest of
 Abi-Ezer?
8:3 Into your hand hath God given the heads of Midian, Oreb and
 Zeeb; and what have I been able to do like you?' Then their
 temper desisted from off him in his speaking this thing.
8:4 And Gideon cometh in unto the Jordan, passing over, he and
 the three hundred men who [are] with him -- wearied, and
 pursuing,
8:5 and he saith to the men of Succoth, `Give, I pray you, cakes
 of bread to the people who [are] at my feet, for they [are]
 wearied, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna kings of
 Midian.'
8:6 And the heads of Succoth say, `Is the hand of Zebah and
 Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we give to thy host bread?'
8:7 And Gideon saith, `Therefore -- in Jehovah's giving Zebah and
 Zalmunna into my hand -- I have threshed your flesh with the
 thorns of the wilderness, and with the threshing instruments.'
8:8 And he goeth up thence [to] Penuel, and speaketh unto them
 thus; and the men of Penuel answer him as the men of Succoth
 answered.
8:9 And he speaketh also to the men of Penuel, saying, `In my
 turning back in peace, I break down this tower.'
8:10 And Zebah and Zalmunna [are] in Karkor, and their camps
 with them, about fifteen thousand, all who are left of all the
 camp of the sons of the east; and those falling [are] a hundred
 and twenty thousand men, drawing sword.
8:11 And Gideon goeth up the way of those who tabernacle in
 tents, on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smiteth the camp,
 and the camp was confident;
8:12 and Zebab and Zalmunna flee, and he pursueth after them,
 and captureth the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
 all the camp he hath caused to tremble.
8:13 And Gideon son of Joash turneth back from the battle, at
 the going up of the sun,
8:14 and captureth a young man of the men of Succoth, and asketh
 him, and he describeth unto him the heads of Succoth, and its
 elders -- seventy and seven men.
8:15 And he cometh in unto the men of Succoth, and saith, `Lo
 Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye reproached me, saying, Is the
 hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we give to thy
 men who [are] wearied bread?'
8:16 And he taketh the elders of the city, and the thorns of the
 wilderness, and the threshing instruments, and teacheth by them
 the men of Succoth,
8:17 and the tower of Penuel he hath broken down, and slayeth
 the men of the city.
8:18 And he saith unto Zebah and unto Zalmunna, `How -- the men
 whom ye slew in Tabor?' and they say, `As thou -- so they, one -- as
 the form of the king's sons.'
8:19 And he saith, `My brethren -- sons of my mother -- they;
 Jehovah liveth, if ye had kept them alive -- I had not slain
 you.'
8:20 And he saith to Jether his first-born, `Rise, slay them;'
 and the young man hath not drawn his sword, for he hath been
 afraid, for he [is] yet a youth.
8:21 And Zebah saith -- also Zalmunna -- `Rise thou, and fall upon
 us; for as the man -- his might;' and Gideon riseth, and slayeth
 Zebah and Zalmunna, and taketh their round ornaments which [are]
 on the necks of their camels.
8:22 And the men of Israel say unto Gideon, `Rule over us, both
 thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, for thou hast saved us
 from the hand of Midian.'
8:23 And Gideon saith unto them, `I do not rule over you, nor
 doth my son rule over you; Jehovah doth rule over you.'
8:24 And Gideon saith unto them, `Let me ask of you a petition,
 and give ye to me each the ring of his prey, for they have
 rings of gold, for they [are] Ishmaelites.'
8:25 And they say, `We certainly give;' and they spread out the
 garment, and cast thither each the ring of his prey;
8:26 and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a
 thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold, apart from the
 round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which
 [are] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which
 [are] on the necks of their camels,
8:27 and Gideon maketh it into an ephod, and setteth it up in
 his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel go a-whoring after it
 there, and it is to Gideon and to his house for a snare.
8:28 And Midian is humbled before the sons of Israel, and have
 not added to lift up their head; and the land resteth forty
 years in the days of Gideon.
8:29 And Jerubbaal son of Joash goeth and dwelleth in his own
 house,
8:30 and to Gideon there have been seventy sons, coming out of
 his loin, for he had many wives;
8:31 and his concubine, who [is] in Shechem, hath born to
 him -- even she -- a son, and he appointeth his name Abimelech.
8:32 And Gideon son of Joash dieth, in a good old age, and is
 buried in the burying-place of Joash his father, in Ophrah of
 the Abi-Ezrite.
8:33 And it cometh to pass, when Gideon [is] dead, that the sons
 of Israel turn back and go a-whoring after the Baalim, and set
 over them Baal-Berith for a god;
8:34 and the sons of Israel have not remembered Jehovah their
 God, who is delivering them out of the hand of all their
 enemies round about,
8:35 neither have they done kindness with the house of
 Jerubbaal -- Gideon -- according to all the good which he did with
 Israel.
9:1 and Abimelech son of Jerubbaal goeth to Shechem, unto his
 mother's brethren, and speaketh unto them, and unto all the
 family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
9:2 `Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the masters of
 Shechem, Which [is] good for you -- the ruling over you of
 seventy men (all the sons of Jerubbaal), or the ruling over you
 of one man? -- and ye have remembered that I [am] your bone and
 your flesh.'
9:3 And his mother's brethren speak concerning him, in the ears
 of all the masters of Shechem, all these words, and their heart
 inclineth after Abimelech, for they said, `He [is] our brother;'
9:4 and they give to him seventy silverings out of the house of
 Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hireth with them men, vain and
 unstable, and they go after him;
9:5 and he goeth into the house of his father at Ophrah, and
 slayeth his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one
 stone; and Jotham, youngest son of Jerubbaal, is left, for he
 was hidden.
9:6 And all the masters of Shechem are gathered together, and
 all the house of Millo, and come and cause Abimelech to reign
 for king at the oak of the camp which [is] in Shechem;
9:7 and they declare [it] to Jotham, and he goeth and standeth
 on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifteth up his voice, and
 calleth, and saith to them, `Hearken unto me, O masters of
 Shechem, and God doth hearken unto you:
9:8 `The trees have diligently gone to anoint over them a king,
 and they say to the olive, Reign thou over us.
9:9 And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness,
 by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger
 over the trees?
9:10 And the trees say to the fig, Come thou, reign over us.
9:11 And the fig saith to them, Have I ceased from my sweetness,
 and my good increase, that I have gone to stagger over the
 trees?
9:12 `And the trees say to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.
9:13 And the vine saith to them, Have I ceased from my new wine,
 which is rejoicing gods and men, that I have gone to stagger
 over the trees?
9:14 And all the trees say unto the bramble, Come thou, reign
 over us.
9:15 And the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are
 anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow;
 and if not -- fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the
 cedars of Lebanon.
9:16 `And, now, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted, when
 ye make Abimelech king; and if ye have done good with
 Jerubbaal, and with his house; and if according to the deed of
 his hands ye have done to him --
9:17 because my father hath fought for you, and doth cast away
 his life from [him], and deliver you from the hand of Midian;
9:18 and ye have risen against the house of my father to-day,
 and slay his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and cause
 Abimelech son of his handmaid to reign over the masters of
 Shechem, because he [is] your brother --
9:19 yea, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted with
 Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech,
 and he doth rejoice -- even he -- in you;
9:20 and if not -- fire cometh out from Abimelech and devoureth
 the masters of Shechem and the house of Millo, and fire cometh
 out from the masters of Shechem and from the house of Millo,
 and devoureth Abimelech.'
9:21 And Jotham hasteth, and fleeth, and goeth to Beer, and
 dwelleth there, from the face of Abimelech his brother.
9:22 And Abimelech is prince over Israel three years,
9:23 and God sendeth an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
 masters of Shechem, and the masters of Shechem deal
 treacherously with Abimelech,
9:24 for the coming in of the violence [to] the seventy sons of
 Jerubbaal, and of their blood to place [it] on Abimelech their
 brother, who slew them, and on the masters of Shechem, who
 strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.
9:25 And the masters of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top
 of the hills, and rob every one who passeth over by them in the
 way, and it is declared to Abimelech.
9:26 And Gaal son of Ebed cometh -- also his brethren -- and they
 pass over into Shechem, and the masters of Shechem trust in
 him,
9:27 and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and
 tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god,
 and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech.
9:28 And Gaal son of Ebed saith, `Who [is] Abimelech, and who
 [is] Shechem, that we serve him? is [he] not son of Jerubbaal?
 and Zebul his commander? Serve ye the men of Hamor father of
 Shechem, and wherefore do we serve him -- we?
9:29 and oh that this people were in my hand -- then I turn
 Abimelech aside;' and he saith to Abimelech, `Increase thy
 host, and come out.'
9:30 And Zebul, prince of the city, heareth the words of Gaal
 son of Ebed, and his anger burneth,
9:31 and he sendeth messengers unto Abimelech deceitfully,
 saying, `Lo, Gaal son of Ebed and his brethren are coming into
 Shechem, and lo, they are fortifying the city against thee;
9:32 and, now, rise by night, thou and the people who [are] with
 thee, and lay wait in the field,
9:33 and it hath been, in the morning, about the rising of the
 sun, thou dost rise early, and hast pushed against the city;
 and lo, he and the people who [are] with him are going out unto
 thee -- and thou hast done to him as thy hand doth find.'
9:34 And Abimelech riseth, and all the people who [are] with
 him, by night, and they lay wait against Shechem -- four
 detachments;
9:35 and Gaal son of Ebed goeth out, and standeth at the opening
 of the gate of the city, and Abimelech riseth -- also the people
 who [are] with him -- from the ambush,
9:36 and Gaal seeth the people, and saith unto Zebul, `Lo,
 people are coming down from the top of the hills;' and Zebul
 saith unto him, `The shadow of the hills thou art seeing like
 men.'
9:37 And Gaal addeth yet to speak, and saith, `Lo, people are
 coming down from the high part of the land, and another
 detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.'
9:38 And Zebul saith unto him, `Where [is] now thy mouth, in
 that thou sayest, Who [is] Abimelech that we serve him? is not
 this the people against which thou hast kicked? go out, I pray
 thee now, and fight against it.'
9:39 And Gaal goeth out before the masters of Shechem, and
 fighteth against Abimelech,
9:40 and Abimelech pursueth him, and he fleeth from his
 presence, and many fall wounded -- unto the opening of the gate.
9:41 And Abimelech abideth in Arumah, and Zebul casteth out Gaal
 and his brethren from dwelling in Shechem.
9:42 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the people go
 out to the field, and they declare [it] to Abimelech,
9:43 and he taketh the people, and divideth them into three
 detachments, and layeth wait in a field, and looketh, and lo,
 the people are coming out from the city, and he riseth against
 them, and smiteth them.
9:44 And Abimelech and the detachments who [are] with him have
 pushed on, and stand at the opening of the gate of the city,
 and the two detachments have pushed against all who are in the
 field, and smite them,
9:45 and Abimelech hath fought against the city all that day,
 and captureth the city, and the people who [are] in it he hath
 slain, and he breaketh down the city, and soweth it [with]
 salt.
9:46 And all the masters of the tower of Shechem hear, and go in
 unto the high place of the house of the god Berith,
9:47 and it is declared to Abimelech that all the masters of the
 tower of Shechem have gathered themselves together,
9:48 and Abimelech goeth up to mount Zalmon, he and all the
 people who [are] with him, and Abimelech taketh the great axe
 in his hand, and cutteth off a bough of the trees, and lifteth
 it up, and setteth [it] on his shoulder, and saith unto the
 people who [are] with him, `What ye have seen I have
 done -- haste, do ye like it.'
9:49 And all the people also cut down each one his bough, and go
 after Abimelech, and set [them] at the high place, and burn by
 these the high place with fire, and also all the men of the
 tower of Shechem die, about a thousand men and women.
9:50 And Abimelech goeth unto Thebez, and encampeth against
 Thebez, and captureth it,
9:51 and a strong tower hath been in the midst of the city, and
 thither flee do all the men and the women, and all the masters
 of the city, and they shut [it] behind them, and go up on the
 roof of the tower.
9:52 And Abimelech cometh unto the tower, and fighteth against
 it, and draweth nigh unto the opening of the tower to burn it
 with fire,
9:53 and a certain woman doth cast a piece of a rider on the
 head of Abimelech, and breaketh his skull,
9:54 and he calleth hastily unto the young man bearing his
 weapons, and saith to him, `Draw thy sword, and thou hast put
 me to death, lest they say of me -- A woman slew him;' and his
 young man pierced him through, and he dieth.
9:55 And the men of Israel see that Abimelech [is] dead, and go
 each one to his place;
9:56 and God turneth back the evil of Abimelech which he did to
 his father to slay his seventy brethren;
9:57 and all the evil of the men of Shechem hath God turned back
 on their head, and come unto them doth the cursing of Jotham
 son of Jerubbaal.
10:1 And there riseth after Abimelech, to save Israel, Tola son
 of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he is dwelling in
 Shamir, in the hill-country of Ephraim,
10:2 and he judgeth Israel twenty and three years, and he dieth,
 and is buried in Shamir.
10:3 And there riseth after him Jair the Gileadite, and he
 judgeth Israel twenty and two years,
10:4 and he hath thirty sons riding on thirty ass-colts, and
 they have thirty cities, (they call them Havoth-Jair unto this
 day), which [are] in the land of Gilead;
10:5 and Jair dieth, and is buried in Kamon.
10:6 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes
 of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods
 of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the
 gods of the Bene-Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
 forsake Jehovah, and have not served Him;
10:7 and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He
 selleth them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the
 hand of the Bene-Ammon,
10:8 and they crush and oppress the sons of Israel in that
 year -- eighteen years all the sons of Israel [who] are beyond
 the Jordan, in the land of the Amorite, which [is] in Gilead.
10:9 And the Bene-Ammon pass over the Jordan to fight also
 against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of
 Ephraim, and Israel hath great distress.
10:10 And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, saying, `We have
 sinned against Thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and
 serve the Baalim.'
10:11 And Jehovah saith unto the sons of Israel, `[Have I] not
 [saved you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorite, from the
 Bene-Ammon, and from the Philistines?
10:12 And the Zidonians, and Amalek, and Maon have oppressed
 you, and ye cry unto Me, and I save you out of their hand;
10:13 and ye -- ye have forsaken Me, and serve other gods,
 therefore I add not to save you.
10:14 Go and cry unto the gods on which ye have fixed;
 they -- they save you in the time of your adversity.'
10:15 And the sons of Israel say unto Jehovah, `We have sinned,
 do Thou to us according to all that is good in Thine eyes; only
 deliver us, we pray Thee, this day.'
10:16 And they turn aside the gods of the stranger out of their
 midst, and serve Jehovah, and His soul is grieved with the
 misery of Israel.
10:17 And the Bene-Ammon are called together, and encamp in
 Gilead, and the sons of Israel are gathered together, and
 encamp in Mizpah.
10:18 And the people -- heads of Gilead -- say one unto another,
 `Who [is] the man that doth begin to fight against the
 Bene-Ammon? he is for head to all inhabitants of Gilead.'
11:1 And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of
 valour, and he [is] son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead
 begetteth Jephthah,
11:2 and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's
 sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, `Thou dost
 not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another
 woman [art] thou.'
11:3 And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and
 dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves
 together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him.
11:4 And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon
 fight with Israel,
11:5 and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with
 Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the
 land of Tob;
11:6 and they say unto Jephthah, `Come, and thou hast been to us
 for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon.'
11:7 And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, `Have not ye
 hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and
 wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'
11:8 and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Therefore,
 now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us,
 and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for
 head -- to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'
11:9 And Jephthah saith unto the elders of Gilead, `If ye are
 taking me back to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah
 hath given them before me -- I, am I to you for a head?'
11:10 And the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Jehovah is
 hearkening between us -- if according to thy word we do not so.'
11:11 And Jephthah goeth with the elders of Gilead, and the
 people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah
 speaketh all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.
11:12 And Jephthah sendeth messengers unto the king of the
 Bene-Ammon, saying, `What -- to me and to thee, that thou hast
 come in unto me, to fight in my land.'
11:13 And the king of the Bene-Ammon saith unto the messengers
 of Jephthah, `Because Israel took my land in his coming up out
 of Egypt, from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan;
 and now, restore them in peace.'
11:14 And Jephthah addeth yet and sendeth messengers unto the
 king of the Bene-Ammon,
11:15 and saith to him, `Thus said Jephthah, Israel took not the
 land of Moab, and the land of the Bene-Ammon,
11:16 for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goeth in the
 wilderness unto the Red Sea, and cometh in to Kadesh,
11:17 and Israel sendeth messengers unto the king of Edom,
 saying, Let me pass over, I pray thee, through thy land, and
 the king of Edom hearkened not; and also unto the king of Moab
 hath [Israel] sent, and he hath not been willing; and Israel
 abideth in Kadesh,
11:18 and he goeth through the wilderness, and compasseth the
 land of Edom and the land of Moab, and cometh in at the rising
 of the sun of the land of Moab, and they encamp beyond Arnon,
 and have not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon [is] the
 border of Moab.
11:19 `And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon, king of the
 Amorite, king of Heshbon, and Israel saith to him, Let us pass
 over, we pray thee, through thy land, unto my place,
11:20 and Sihon hath not trusted Israel to pass over through his
 border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and they encamp in
 Jahaz, and fight with Israel;
11:21 and Jehovah, God of Israel, giveth Sihon and all his
 people into the hand of Israel, and they smite them, and Israel
 possesseth all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that
 land,
11:22 and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon,
 and unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and unto the
 Jordan.
11:23 `And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, hath dispossessed the
 Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and thou
 wouldest possess it!
11:24 That which Chemosh thy god causeth thee to possess -- dost
 thou not possess it? and all that which Jehovah our God hath
 dispossessed from our presence, -- it we do possess.
11:25 `And now, [art] thou at all better than Balak son of
 Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he
 at all fight against them?
11:26 In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in
 Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which [are] by
 the sides of Arnon three hundred years -- and wherefore have ye
 not delivered them in that time?
11:27 And I -- I have not sinned against thee, and thou art doing
 with me evil -- to fight against me. Jehovah, the Judge, doth
 judge to-day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'
11:28 And the king of the Bene-Ammon hath not hearkened unto the
 words of Jephthah which he sent unto him,
11:29 and the Spirit of Jehovah is on Jephthah, and he passeth
 over Gilead and Manasseh, and passeth over Mizpeh of Gilead,
 and from Mizpeh of Gilead he hath passed over to the
 Bene-Ammon.
11:30 And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou
 dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand --
11:31 then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the
 doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from
 the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up
 for it -- a burnt-offering.'
11:32 And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight
 against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand,
11:33 and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to
 Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards -- a
 very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the
 presence of the sons of Israel.
11:34 And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo,
 his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with
 choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter.
11:35 And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth
 his garments, and saith, `Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me
 greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me;
 and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able
 to turn back.'
11:36 And she saith unto him, `My father -- thou hast opened thy
 mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy
 mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine
 enemies, on the Bene-Ammon.'
11:37 And she saith unto her father, `Let this thing be done to
 me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down
 on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.'
11:38 And he saith, `Go;' and he sendeth her away two months,
 and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her
 virginity on the hills;
11:39 and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she
 turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which
 he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in
 Israel:
11:40 from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to
 the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.
12:1 And the men of Ephraim are called together, and pass over
 northward, and say to Jephthah, `Wherefore has thou passed over
 to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and on us hast not called to
 go with thee? thy house we burn over thee with fire.'
12:2 And Jephthah saith unto them, `A man of great strife I have
 been (I and my people) with the Bene-Ammon, and I call you, and
 ye have not saved me out of their hand,
12:3 and I see that thou art not a saviour, and I put my life in
 my hand, and pass over unto the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah giveth
 them into my hand -- and why have ye come up unto me this day to
 fight against me?'
12:4 And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fighteth
 with Ephraim, and the men of Gilead smite Ephraim, because they
 said, `Fugitives of Ephraim [are] ye Gileadites, in the midst
 of Ephraim -- in the midst of Manasseh.'
12:5 And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim,
 and it hath been, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim say,
 `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An
 Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'
12:6 that they say to him, `Say, I pray thee, Shibboleth;' and
 he saith, `Sibboleth,' and is not prepared to speak right -- and
 they seize him, and slaughter him at the passages of the
 Jordan, and there fall at that time, of Ephraim, forty and two
 chiefs.
12:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years, and Jephthah the
 Gileadite dieth, and is buried in [one of] the cities of
 Gilead.
12:8 And after him Ibzan of Beth-Lehem judgeth Israel,
12:9 and he hath thirty sons and thirty daughters, he hath sent
 without and thirty daughters hath brought in to his sons from
 without; and he judgeth Israel seven years.
12:10 And Ibzan dieth, and is buried in Beth-Lehem.
12:11 And after him Elon the Zebulunite judgeth Israel, and he
 judgeth Israel ten years,
12:12 and Elon the Zebulunite dieth, and is buried in Aijalon,
 in the land of Zebulun.
12:13 And after him, Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite,
 judgeth Israel,
12:14 and he hath forty sons, and thirty grandsons, riding on
 seventy ass-colts, and he judgeth Israel eight years.
12:15 And Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, dieth, and is
 buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country
 of the Amalekite.
13:1 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes
 of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of the
 Philistines forty years.
13:2 And there is a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the
 Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is] barren, and hath
 not borne;
13:3 and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and
 saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren, and hast
 not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a
 son.
13:4 And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine,
 and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,
13:5 for, lo, thou art conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor
 doth not go up on his head, for a Nazarite to God is the youth
 from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel out of the hand
 of the Philistines.'
13:6 And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying,
 `A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance [is] as the
 appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not
 asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to
 me;
13:7 and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a
 son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat
 any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the
 womb till the day of his death.'
13:8 And Manoah maketh entreaty unto Jehovah, and saith, `O, my
 Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let him come in, I
 pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth
 who is born.'
13:9 And God hearkeneth to the voice of Manoah, and the
 messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she [is]
 sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,
13:10 and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her
 husband, and saith unto him, `Lo, he hath appeared unto me -- the
 man who came on [that] day unto me.'
13:11 And Manoah riseth, and goeth after his wife, and cometh
 unto the man, and saith to him, `Art thou the man who spake
 unto the woman?' and he saith, `I [am].'
13:12 And Manoah saith, `Now let thy words come to pass; what is
 the custom of the youth -- and his work?'
13:13 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `Of all
 that I said unto the woman let her take heed;
13:14 of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth
 not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any
 unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her
 she doth observe.'
13:15 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `Let us
 detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the
 goats.'
13:16 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `If thou
 detain me -- I do not eat of thy bread; and if thou prepare a
 burnt-offering -- to Jehovah thou dost offer it;' for Manoah hath
 not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
13:17 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `What [is]
 thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured
 thee.'
13:18 And the messenger of Jehovah saith to him, `Why [is]
 this -- thou dost ask for My name? -- and it [is] Wonderful.'
13:19 And Manoah taketh the kid of the goats, and the present,
 and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is doing
 wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,
13:20 and it cometh to pass, in the going up of the flame from
 off the altar toward the heavens, that the messenger of Jehovah
 goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife are
 looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,
13:21 and the messenger of Jehovah hath not added again to
 appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then hath Manoah known
 that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
13:22 And Manoah saith unto his wife, `We certainly die, for we
 have seen God.'
13:23 And his wife saith to him, `If Jehovah were desirous to
 put us to death, He had not received from our hands
 burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor
 as [at this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'
13:24 And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson,
 and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him,
13:25 and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the
 camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14:1 And Samson goeth down to Timnath, and seeth a woman in
 Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,
14:2 and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his
 mother, and saith, `A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the
 daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a
 wife.'
14:3 And his father saith to him -- also his mother, `Is there not
 among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a
 woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the
 uncircumcised Philistines?' and Samson saith unto his father,
 `Take her for me, for she is right in mine eyes.'
14:4 And his father and his mother have not known that from
 Jehovah it [is], that a meeting he is seeking of the
 Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over
 Israel.
14:5 And Samson goeth down -- also his father and his mother, to
 Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of Timnath, and lo, a
 lion's whelp roareth at meeting him,
14:6 and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he
 rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is nothing in his
 hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother
 that which he hath done.
14:7 And he goeth down and speaketh to the woman, and she is
 right in the eyes of Samson;
14:8 and he turneth back after [some] days to take her, and
 turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company
 of bees [are] in the body of the lion -- and honey.
14:9 And he taketh it down on to his hands, and goeth on, going
 and eating; and he goeth unto his father, and unto his mother,
 and giveth to them, and they eat, and he hath not declared to
 them that from the body of the lion he took down the honey.
14:10 And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson
 maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;
14:11 and it cometh to pass when they see him, that they take
 thirty companions, and they are with him.
14:12 And Samson saith to them, `Let me, I pray you, put forth
 to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me [in] the
 seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have
 given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of
 garments;
14:13 and if ye are not able to declare [it] to me, then ye have
 given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of
 garments.' And they say to him, `Put forth thy riddle, and we
 hear it!'
14:14 And he saith to them: `Out of the eater came forth meat,
 And out of the strong came forth sweetness;' and they were not
 able to declare the riddle [in] three days.
14:15 And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say
 to Samson's wife, `Entice thy husband, that he declare to us
 the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with
 fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?'
14:16 And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, `Thou hast
 only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put
 forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not
 declared it;' and he saith to her, `Lo, to my father and to my
 mother I have not declared [it] -- and to thee I declare [it]!'
14:17 And she weepeth for it the seven days [in] which their
 banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day
 that he declareth [it] to her, for she hath distressed him; and
 she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.
14:18 And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day,
 before the sun goeth in: -- `What [is] sweeter than honey? And
 what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them: `Unless ye
 had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.'
14:19 And the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he
 goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty men, and
 taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring
 the riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house
 of his father;
14:20 and Samson's wife becometh his companion's, who [is] his
 friend.
15:1 And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of
 wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid
 of the goats, and saith, `I go in unto my wife, to the inner
 chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in,
15:2 and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst
 certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her
 sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray
 thee, to thee, instead of her.'
15:3 And Samson saith of them, `I am more innocent this time
 than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.'
15:4 And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and
 taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch
 between the two tails, in the midst,
15:5 and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth [them] out
 into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth [it]
 from heap even unto standing corn, even unto
 vineyard -- olive-yard.
15:6 And the Philistines say, `Who hath done this?' And they
 say, `Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken
 away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;' and the
 Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.
15:7 And Samson saith to them, `Though ye do thus, nevertheless
 I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!'
15:8 And he smiteth them hip and thigh -- a great smiting, and
 goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.
15:9 And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are
 spread out in Lehi,
15:10 and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against
 us?' and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to
 him as he hath done to us.'
15:11 And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of
 the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the
 Philistines are rulers over us? and what [is] this thou hast
 done to us?' And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did
 to them.'
15:12 And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down -- to
 give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith
 to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'
15:13 And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind
 thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do
 not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands,
 new ones, and bring him up from the rock.
15:14 He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted
 at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him,
 and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which
 they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his
 hands,
15:15 and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth
 forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand
 men.
15:16 And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass
 upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a
 thousand men.'
15:17 And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he
 casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that
 place Ramath-Lehi;
15:18 and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah,
 and saith, `Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant
 this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have
 fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'
15:19 And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and
 waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh
 back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name
 `The fountain of him who is calling,' which [is] in Lehi unto
 this day.
15:20 And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines
 twenty years.
16:1 And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a
 harlot, and goeth in unto her;
16:2 [it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come
 in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the
 night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all
 the night, saying, `Till the light of the morning -- then we have
 slain him.'
16:3 And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and
 riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors
 of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and
 removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and
 taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which [is] on the
 front of Hebron.
16:4 And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in
 the valley of Sorek, and her name [is] Delilah,
16:5 and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and
 say to her, `Entice him, and see wherein his great power [is],
 and wherein we are able for him -- and we have bound him to
 afflict him, and we -- we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred
 silverlings.'
16:6 And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to
 me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound,
 to afflict thee.'
16:7 And Samson saith unto her, `If they bind me with seven
 green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak,
 and have been as one of the human race.'
16:8 And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven
 green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with
 them.
16:9 And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and
 she saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and
 he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its
 smelling fire, and his power hath not been known.
16:10 And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Lo, thou hast played upon
 me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to
 me, wherewith thou art bound.'
16:11 And he saith unto her, `If they certainly bind me with
 thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I
 have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'
16:12 And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him
 with them, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee,
 Samson;' and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he
 breaketh them from off his arms as a thread.
16:13 And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Hitherto thou hast played
 upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith
 thou art bound.' And he saith unto her, `If thou weavest the
 seven locks of my head with the web.'
16:14 And she fixeth [it] with the pin, and saith unto him,
 `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of
 his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine,
 and with the web.
16:15 And she saith unto him, `How dost thou say, I have loved
 thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast
 played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great
 power [is].'
16:16 And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her
 words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved
 to death,
16:17 that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her,
 `A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I
 [am] from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then
 hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and
 have been as any of the human race.'
16:18 And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his
 heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the
 Philistines, saying, `Come up this time, for he hath declared
 to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have
 come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand.
16:19 and she maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a
 man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to
 afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off him;
16:20 and she saith, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and
 he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `I go out as time by
 time, and shake myself;' and he hath not known that Jehovah
 hath turned aside from off him.
16:21 And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and
 bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters;
 and he is grinding in the prison-house.
16:22 And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he
 hath been shaven,
16:23 and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered
 together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and
 to rejoice; and they say, `Our god hath given into our hand
 Samson our enemy.'
16:24 And the people see him, and praise their god, for they
 said, `Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is
 laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.'
16:25 And it cometh to pass, when their heart [is] glad, that
 they say, `Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and
 they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth
 before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars.
16:26 And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on
 his hand, `Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which
 the house is established, and I lean upon them.'
16:27 And the house hath been full of men and of women, and
 thither [are] all the princes of the Philistines, and on the
 roof [are] about three thousand men and women, who are looking
 on the playing of Samson.
16:28 And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord Jehovah,
 remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only
 this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once --
 because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.'
16:29 And Samson turneth aside [to] the two middle pillars, on
 which the house is established, and on which it is supported,
 [to] the one with his right hand, and one with his left;
16:30 and Samson saith, `Let me die with the Philistines,' and
 he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the
 princes, and on all the people who [are] in it, and the dead
 whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom
 he put to death in his life.
16:31 And his brethren come down, and all the house of his
 father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between
 Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father;
 and he hath judged Israel twenty years.
17:1 And there is a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his
 name [is] Micah,
17:2 and he saith to his mother, `The eleven hundred silverlings
 which have been taken of thine, and [of which] thou hast sworn,
 and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver [is] with me, I
 have taken it;' and his mother saith, `Blessed [is] my son of
 Jehovah.'
17:3 And he giveth back the eleven hundred silverlings to his
 mother, and his mother saith, `I had certainly sanctified the
 silver to Jehovah, from my hand, for my son, to make a graven
 image, and a molten image; and now, I give it back to thee.'
17:4 And he giveth back the money to his mother, and his mother
 taketh two hundred silverlings, and giveth them to a refiner,
 and he maketh them a graven image, and a molten image, and it
 is in the house of Micah.
17:5 As to the man Micah, he hath a house of gods, and he maketh
 an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrateth the hand of one of his
 sons, and he is to him for a priest;
17:6 in those days there is no king in Israel, each that which
 is right in his own eyes doth.
17:7 And there is a young man of Beth-Lehem-Judah, of the family
 of Judah, and he [is] a Levite, and he [is] a sojourner there.
17:8 And the man goeth out of the city, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah,
 to sojourn where he doth find, and cometh to the hill-country
 of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, to work his way.
17:9 And Micah saith to him, `Whence comest thou?' and he saith
 unto him, `A Levite [am] I, of Beth-Lehem-Judah, and I am going
 to sojourn where I do find.'
17:10 And Micah saith to him, `Dwell with me, and be to me for a
 father and for a priest, and I give to thee ten silverlings for
 the days, and a suit of garments, and thy sustenance;' and the
 Levite goeth [in].
17:11 And the Levite is willing to dwell with the man, and the
 young man is to him as one of his sons.
17:12 And Micah consecrateth the hand of the Levite, and the
 young man is to him for a priest, and he is in the house of
 Micah,
17:13 and Micah saith, `Now I have known that Jehovah doth good
 to me, for the Levite hath been to me for a priest.'
18:1 In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days
 the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to
 inhabit, for [that] hath not fallen to it unto that day in the
 midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance.
18:2 And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of
 them, men, sons of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to
 traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them,
 `Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of
 Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there.
18:3 They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have
 discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn
 aside there, and say to him, `Who hath brought thee hither? and
 what art thou doing in this [place?] and what to thee here?'
18:4 And he saith unto them, `Thus and thus hath Micah done to
 me; and he hireth me, and I am to him for a priest.'
18:5 And they say to him, `Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we
 know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.'
18:6 And the priest saith to them, `Go in peace; over-against
 Jehovah [is] your way in which ye go.'
18:7 And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the
 people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according
 to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is
 none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing
 restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have
 no word with [any] man.
18:8 And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol,
 and their brethren say to them, `What -- ye?'
18:9 And they say, `Rise, and we go up against them, for we have
 seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be
 not slothful to go -- to enter to possess the land.
18:10 When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the
 land [is] large on both hands, for God hath given it into your
 hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in
 the land.'
18:11 And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite,
 from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with
 weapons of war.
18:12 And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah,
 therefore they have called that place, `Camp of Dan,' till this
 day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.
18:13 And they pass over thence [to] the hill-country of
 Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah.
18:14 And the five men, those going to traverse the land of
 Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, `Have ye known that
 there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven
 image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.'
18:15 And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of
 the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of
 welfare, --
18:16 (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war,
 who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of
 the gate), --
18:17 yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go
 up -- they have come in thither -- they have taken the graven image,
 and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image -- and the
 priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six
 hundred men who are girded with weapons of war --
18:18 yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the
 graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten
 image; and the priest saith unto them, `What are ye doing?'
18:19 and they say to him, `Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy
 mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a
 priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one
 man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'
18:20 And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the
 ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into
 the midst of the people,
18:21 and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle,
 and the baggage, before them.
18:22 They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the
 men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah
 have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,
18:23 and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their
 faces, and say to Micah, `What -- to thee that thou hast been
 called together?'
18:24 And he saith, `My gods which I made ye have taken, and the
 priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what [is] this ye
 say unto me, What -- to thee!'
18:25 And the sons of Dan say unto him, `Let not thy voice be
 heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou
 hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;'
18:26 and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that
 they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his
 house.
18:27 And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the
 priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people
 quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword,
 and the city have burnt with fire,
18:28 and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Zidon,
 and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley
 which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in
 it,
18:29 and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan
 their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the
 name of the city at the first.
18:30 And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven
 image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his
 sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day
 of the removal of [the people] of the land.
18:31 And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which
 he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.
19:1 And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king
 in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the
 sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a
 wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;
19:2 and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she
 goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto
 Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.
19:3 And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto
 her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him,
 and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of
 her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and
 rejoiceth to meet him.
19:4 And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the
 young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat
 and drink, and lodge there.
19:5 And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise
 early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of
 the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, `Support thy heart
 with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'
19:6 And they sit and eat both of them together, and drink, and
 the father of the young woman saith unto the man, `Be willing,
 I pray thee, and lodge all night, and let thy heart be glad.'
19:7 And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on
 him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.
19:8 And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to
 go, and the father of the young woman saith, `Support, I pray
 thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the
 day, and they eat, both of them.
19:9 And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his
 young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman,
 saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward
 evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the
 day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen
 early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy
 tent.'
19:10 And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and
 he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It
 [is] Jerusalem), and with him [are] a couple of asses saddled;
 and his concubine [is] with him.
19:11 They [are] near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down,
 and the young man saith unto his lord, `Come, I pray thee, and
 we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge in it.'
19:12 And his lord saith unto him, `Let us not turn aside unto
 the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel,
 thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'
19:13 And he saith to his young man, `Come, and we draw near to
 one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'
19:14 And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goeth in upon
 them near Gibeah, which is to Benjamin;
19:15 and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and
 he goeth in and sitteth in a broad place of the city, and there
 is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.
19:16 And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from
 the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country
 of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of
 the place [are] Benjamites.
19:17 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the
 traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith,
 `Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'
19:18 And he saith unto him, `We are passing over from
 Beth-Lehem-Judah unto the sides of the hill-country of
 Ephraim -- thence I [am], and I go unto Beth-Lehem-Judah; and to
 the house of Jehovah I am going, and there is no man gathering
 me into the house,
19:19 and both straw and provender are for our asses, and also
 bread and wine there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for
 the young man with thy servants; there is no lack of anything.'
19:20 And the old man saith, `Peace to thee; only, all thy lack
 [is] on me, only in the broad place lodge not.'
19:21 And he bringeth him in to his house, and mixeth [food] for
 the asses, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.
19:22 They are making their heart glad, and lo, men of the city,
 men -- sons of worthlessness -- have gone round about the house,
 beating on the door, and they speak unto the old man, the
 master of the house, saying, `Bring out the man who hath come
 unto thine house, and we know him.'
19:23 And the man, the master of the house, goeth out unto them,
 and saith unto them, `Nay, my brethren, do not evil, I pray
 you, after that this man hath come in unto my house, do not
 this folly;
19:24 lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me
 bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them
 that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this
 foolish thing.'
19:25 And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and
 the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth [her] out
 unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon
 her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the
 ascending of the dawn;
19:26 and the woman cometh in at the turning of the morning, and
 falleth at the opening of the man's house, where her lord [is],
 till the light.
19:27 And her lord riseth in the morning, and openeth the doors
 of the house, and goeth out to go on his way, and lo, the
 woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house,
 and her hands [are] on the threshold,
19:28 and he saith unto her, `Rise, and we go;' and there is
 none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man
 riseth and goeth to his place,
19:29 and cometh in unto his house, and taketh the knife, and
 layeth hold on his concubine, and cutteth her in pieces to her
 bones -- into twelve pieces, and sendeth her into all the border
 of Israel.
19:30 And it hath come to pass, every one who seeth hath said,
 `There hath not been -- yea, there hath not been seen like this,
 from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the
 land of Egypt till this day; set your [heart] upon it, take
 counsel, and speak.'
20:1 And all the sons of Israel go out, and the company is
 assembled as one man, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and the
 land of Gilead, unto Jehovah, at Mizpeh.
20:2 And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of
 Israel, station themselves in the assembly of the people of
 God, four hundred thousand footmen drawing sword.
20:3 And the sons of Benjamin hear that the sons of Israel have
 gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel say, `Speak ye, how
 hath this evil been?'
20:4 And the man, the Levite, husband of the woman who hath been
 murdered, answereth and saith, `Into Gibeah (which [is] to
 Benjamin) I have come, I and my concubine, to lodge;
20:5 and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go
 round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay,
 and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth;
20:6 and I lay hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and
 send her into all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for
 they have done wickedness and folly in Israel;
20:7 lo, ye [are] all sons of Israel; give for you a word and
 counsel here.'
20:8 And all the people rise as one man, saying, `None of us
 doth go to his tent, and none of us doth turn aside to his
 house;
20:9 and now, this [is] the thing which we do to Gibeah -- against
 it by lot!
20:10 and we have taken ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes
 of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of a
 myriad, to receive provision for the people, to do, at their
 coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly which
 it hath done in Israel.'
20:11 And every man of Israel is gathered unto the city, as one
 man -- companions.
20:12 And the tribes of Israel send men among all the tribes of
 Benjamin, saying, `What [is] this evil which hath been among
 you?
20:13 And now, give up the men -- sons of worthlessness -- which
 [are] in Gibeah, and we put them to death, and we put away evil
 from Israel.' And [the sons of] Benjamin have not been willing
 to hearken to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel;
20:14 and the sons of Benjamin are gathered out of the cities to
 Gibeah, to go out to battle with the sons of Israel.
20:15 And the sons of Benjamin number themselves on that day;
 out of the cities [are] twenty and six thousand men drawing
 sword, apart from the inhabitants of Gibeah, [who] numbered
 themselves, seven hundred chosen men;
20:16 among all this people [are] seven hundred chosen men,
 bound of their right hand, each of these slinging with a stone
 at the hair, and he doth not err.
20:17 And the men of Israel numbered themselves, apart from
 Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, drawing sword, each of
 these a man of war.
20:18 And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and
 the sons of Israel say, `Who doth go up for us at the
 commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah
 saith, `Judah -- at the commencement.'
20:19 And the sons of Israel rise in the morning, and encamp
 against Gibeah,
20:20 and the men of Israel go out to battle with Benjamin, and
 the men of Israel set themselves in array with them, [for]
 battle against Gibeah,
20:21 and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy
 in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men -- to the
 earth.
20:22 And the people, the men of Israel, strengthen themselves,
 and add to set the battle in array in the place where they
 arranged themselves on the first day.
20:23 And the sons of Israel go up and weep before Jehovah till
 the evening, and ask of Jehovah, saying, `Do I add to draw nigh
 to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother?' And Jehovah
 saith, `Go up against him.'
20:24 And the sons of Israel draw near unto the sons of Benjamin
 on the second day,
20:25 and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the
 second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen
 thousand men -- to the earth; all these are drawing sword.
20:26 And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and
 come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and
 fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend
 burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
20:27 And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there [is] the
 ark of the covenant of God in those days,
20:28 and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, is standing
 before it in those days -- saying, `Do I add again to go out to
 battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or do I cease?'
 And Jehovah saith, `Go up, for to-morrow I give him into thy
 hand.'
20:29 And Israel setteth liers in wait against Gibeah, round
 about,
20:30 and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin,
 on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as
 time by time.
20:31 And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they
 have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite [some]
 of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of
 which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in
 the field), [are] about thirty men of Israel.
20:32 And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us
 as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us
 flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'
20:33 And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and
 arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is
 coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.
20:34 And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen
 men out of all Israel -- and the battle [is] grievous, and they
 have not known that the evil is striking against them.
20:35 And Jehovah smiteth Benjamin before Israel, and the sons
 of Israel destroy in Benjamin, on that day, twenty and five
 thousand, and a hundred men; all these [are] drawing sword.
20:36 And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been
 smitten -- and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they
 have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah,
20:37 and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and
 the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the
 city by the mouth of the sword.
20:38 And there was the appointed sign to the men of Israel with
 the ambush -- their causing to go up a great volume of smoke from
 the city.
20:39 And the men of Israel turn in battle, and Benjamin hath
 begun to smite the wounded among the men of Israel, about
 thirty men, for they said, `Surely they are utterly smitten
 before us, as [at] the first battle;
20:40 and the volume hath begun to go up from the city -- a pillar
 of smoke -- and Benjamin turneth behind, and lo, gone up hath the
 perfection of the city toward the heavens.
20:41 And the men of Israel have turned, and the men of Benjamin
 are troubled, for they have seen that the evil hath stricken
 against them --
20:42 and they turn before the men of Israel unto the way of the
 wilderness, and the battle hath followed them; and those who
 [are] from the city are destroying them in their midst;
20:43 they have compassed the Benjamites -- they have pursued them
 -- with ease they have trodden them down till over-against Gibeah,
 at the sun-rising.
20:44 And there fall of Benjamin eighteen thousand men -- the
 whole of these [are] men of valour;
20:45 and they turn and flee toward the wilderness, unto the
 rock of Rimmon; and they glean of them in the highways five
 thousand men, and follow after them unto Gidom, and smite of
 them two thousand men.
20:46 And all those falling of Benjamin are twenty and five
 thousand men drawing sword, on that day -- the whole of these
 [are] men of valour;
20:47 and there turn and flee into the wilderness, unto the rock
 of Rimmon six hundred men, and they dwell in the rock Rimmon
 four months.
20:48 And the men of Israel have turned back unto the sons of
 Benjamin, and smite them by the mouth of the sword out of the
 city, -- men unto cattle, unto all that is found; also all the
 cities which are found they have sent into fire.
21:1 And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, `None
 of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.'
21:2 And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the
 evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a
 great weeping,
21:3 and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in
 Israel -- to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'
21:4 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the people rise
 early, and build there an altar, and cause to ascend
 burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
21:5 And the sons of Israel say, `Who [is] he that hath not come
 up in the assembly out of all the tribes of Israel unto
 Jehovah?' for the great oath hath been concerning him who hath
 not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, `He is surely put
 to death.'
21:6 And the sons of Israel repent concerning Benjamin their
 brother, and say, `There hath been to-day cut off one tribe
 from Israel,
21:7 what do we do for them -- for those who are left -- for wives,
 and we -- we have sworn by Jehovah not to give to them of our
 daughters for wives?'
21:8 And they say, `Who is [that] one out of the tribes of
 Israel who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh?' and lo,
 none hath come in unto the camp from Jabesh-Gilead -- unto the
 assembly.
21:9 And the people numbered themselves, and lo, there is not
 there a man of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.
21:10 And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons
 of valour, and command them, saying, `Go -- and ye have smitten
 the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword,
 even the women and the infants.
21:11 And this [is] the thing which ye do; every male, and every
 woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.'
21:12 And they find out of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four
 hundred young women, virgins, who have not known man by the
 lying of a male, and they bring them in unto the camp at
 Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan.
21:13 And all the company send, and speak, unto the sons of
 Benjamin who [are] in the rock Rimmon, and proclaim to them
 peace;
21:14 and Benjamin turneth back at that time, and they give to
 them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of
 Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for [all of] them so.
21:15 And the people repented concerning Benjamin, for Jehovah
 had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.
21:16 And the elders of the company say, `What do we do to the
 remnant for wives -- for the women have been destroyed out of
 Benjamin?'
21:17 And they say, `A possession of an escaped party [is] to
 Benjamin, and a tribe is not blotted out from Israel;
21:18 and we -- we are not able to give to them wives out of our
 daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed
 [is] he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'
21:19 And they say, `Lo, a festival of Jehovah [is] in Shiloh,
 from time to time, which [is] on the north of Beth-El, at the
 rising of the sun, by the highway which is going up from
 Beth-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.'
21:20 And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, `Go -- and ye
 have laid wait in the vineyards,
21:21 and have seen, and lo, if the daughters of Shiloh come out
 to dance in dances -- then ye have gone out from the vineyards,
 and caught for you each his wife out of the daughters of
 Shiloh, and gone to the land of Benjamin;
21:22 and it hath been, when their fathers or their brethren
 come in to plead unto us, that we have said unto them, Favour
 us [by] them, for we have not taken [to] each his wife in
 battle, for ye -- ye have not given to them at this time [that]
 ye are guilty.'
21:23 And the sons of Benjamin do so, and take women according
 to their number, out of the dancers whom they have taken
 violently away; and they go, and turn back unto their
 inheritance, and build the cities, and dwell in them.
21:24 And the sons of Israel go up and down thence at that time,
 each to his tribe, and to his family; and they go out thence
 each to his inheritance.
21:25 In those days there is no king in Israel; each doth that
 which is right in his own eyes.