Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/christin/godswrd2/disk2/books4.arc/JDG.DAT

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JDG  1:1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the
children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for
us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
JDG 1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have
delivered the land into his hand.
JDG 1:3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me
into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I
likewise will go with thee into thy lot.  So Simeon went with
him.
JDG 1:4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites
and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in
Bezek ten thousand men.
JDG 1:5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought
against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
JDG 1:6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and
caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
JDG 1:7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having
their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat
under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me.  And
they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
JDG 1:8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem,
and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and
set the city on fire.
JDG 1:9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight
against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the
south, and in the valley.
JDG 1:10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in
Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and
they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
JDG 1:11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of
Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:
JDG 1:12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and
taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
JDG 1:13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother,
took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
JDG 1:14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she
moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off
her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
JDG 1:15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou
hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.  And
Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
JDG 1:16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law,
went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah
into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad;
and they went and dwelt among the people.
JDG 1:17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew
the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed
it.  And the name of the city was called Hormah.
JDG 1:18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and
Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast
thereof.
JDG 1:19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the
inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
JDG 1:20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he
expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
JDG 1:21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the
Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with
the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
JDG 1:22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against
Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
JDG 1:23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel.  (Now
the name of the city before was Luz.)
JDG 1:24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and
they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the
city, and we will shew thee mercy.
JDG 1:25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city,
they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go
the man and all his family.
JDG 1:26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and
built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name
thereof unto this day.
JDG 1:27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of
Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the
inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam
and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but
the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
JDG 1:28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they
put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them
out.
JDG 1:29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt
in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
JDG 1:30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of
Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt
among them, and became tributaries.
JDG 1:31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho,
nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor
of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
JDG 1:32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the
inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
JDG 1:33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of
Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless
the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became
tributaries unto them.
JDG 1:34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the
valley:
JDG 1:35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon,
and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed,
so that they became tributaries.
JDG 1:36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to
Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
JDG 2:1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim,
and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you
unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I
will never break my covenant with you.
JDG 2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this
land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed
my voice: why have ye done this?
JDG 2:3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from
before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their
gods shall be a snare unto you.
JDG 2:4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake
these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people
lifted up their voice, and wept.
JDG 2:5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they
sacrificed there unto the LORD.
JDG 2:6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of
Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
JDG 2:7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had
seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
JDG 2:8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD,
died, being an hundred and ten years old.
JDG 2:9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the
hill Gaash.
JDG 2:10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their
fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which
knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for
Israel.
JDG 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim:
JDG 2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which
brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods,
of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed
themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
JDG 2:13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and
Ashtaroth.
JDG 2:14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and
he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them,
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so
that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
JDG 2:15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was
against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had
sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
JDG 2:16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered
them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
JDG 2:17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but
they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto
them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers
walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did
not so.
JDG 2:18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD
was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their
enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD
because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them
and vexed them.
JDG 2:19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they
returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in
following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them;
they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn
way.
JDG 2:20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and
he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant
which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my
voice;
JDG 2:21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before
them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
JDG 2:22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will
keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did
keep it, or not.
JDG 2:23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving
them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of
Joshua.
JDG 3:1 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove
Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the
wars of Canaan;
JDG 3:2 Only that the generations of the children of Israel
might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew
nothing thereof;
JDG 3:3 Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the
Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in
mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of
Hamath.
JDG 3:4 And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether
they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he
commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
JDG 3:5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites,
Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and
Jebusites:
JDG 3:6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and
gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
JDG 3:7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the
groves.
JDG 3:8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel,
and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of
Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim
eight years.
JDG 3:9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the
LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who
delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger
brother.
JDG 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged
Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered
Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his
hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
JDG 3:11 And the land had rest forty years.  And Othniel the son
of Kenaz died.
JDG 3:12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab
against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the
LORD.
JDG 3:13 And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and
Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of
palm trees.
JDG 3:14 So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab
eighteen years.
JDG 3:15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD,
the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a
Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel
sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
JDG 3:16 But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a
cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his
right thigh.
JDG 3:17 And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and
Eglon was a very fat man.
JDG 3:18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he
sent away the people that bare the present.
JDG 3:19 But he himself turned again from the quarries that were
by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king:
who said, Keep silence.  And all that stood by him went out from
him.
JDG 3:20 And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer
parlour, which he had for himself alone.  And Ehud said, I have
a message from God unto thee.  And he arose out of his seat.
JDG 3:21 And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger
from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
JDG 3:22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat
closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out
of his belly; and the dirt came out.
JDG 3:23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the
doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
JDG 3:24 When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they
saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they
said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.
JDG 3:25 And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold,
he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a
key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down
dead on the earth.
JDG 3:26 And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond
the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
JDG 3:27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a
trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel
went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
JDG 3:28 And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD
hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.  And
they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward
Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
JDG 3:29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand
men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a
man.
JDG 3:30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel.
And the land had rest fourscore years.
JDG 3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew
of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also
delivered Israel.
JDG 4:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight
of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
JDG 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of
Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was
Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
JDG 4:3 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he
had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily
oppressed the children of Israel.
JDG 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she
judged Israel at that time.
JDG 4:5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between
Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel
came up to her for judgment.
JDG 4:6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of
Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of
Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and
take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and
of the children of Zebulun?
JDG 4:7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera,
the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his
multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
JDG 4:8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I
will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
JDG 4:9 And she said, I will surely go with thee:
notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for
thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a
woman.  And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
JDG 4:10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he
went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up
with him.
JDG 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of
Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the
Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which
is by Kedesh.
JDG 4:12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam
was gone up to mount Tabor.
JDG 4:13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even
nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with
him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
JDG 4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in
which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the
LORD gone out before thee?  So Barak went down from mount Tabor,
and ten thousand men after him.
JDG 4:15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots,
and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so
that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his
feet.
JDG 4:16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the
host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera
fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
JDG 4:17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of
Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between
Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
JDG 4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him,
Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not.  And when he had
turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a
mantle.
JDG 4:19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little
water to drink; for I am thirsty.  And she opened a bottle of
milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
JDG 4:20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent,
and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and
say, Is there any man here?  that thou shalt say, No.
JDG 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and
took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote
the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for
he was fast asleep and weary.  So he died.
JDG 4:22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to
meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man
whom thou seekest.  And when he came into her tent, behold,
Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
JDG 4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan
before the children of Israel.
JDG 4:24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and
prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had
destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
JDG 5:1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that
day, saying,
JDG 5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the
people willingly offered themselves.
JDG 5:3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I,
will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of
Israel.
JDG 5:4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst
out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens
dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
JDG 5:5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that
Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
JDG 5:6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of
Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked
through byways.
JDG 5:7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in
Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in
Israel.
JDG 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was
there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
JDG 5:9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered
themselves willingly among the people.  Bless ye the LORD.
JDG 5:10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in
judgment, and walk by the way.
JDG 5:11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in
the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the
righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the
inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of
the LORD go down to the gates.
JDG 5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song:
arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of
Abinoam.
JDG 5:13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the
nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the
mighty.
JDG 5:14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek;
after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down
governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the
writer.
JDG 5:15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even
Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley.
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.
JDG 5:16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the
bleatings of the flocks?  For the divisions of Reuben there were
great searchings of heart.
JDG 5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in
ships?  Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches.
JDG 5:18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their
lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
JDG 5:19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of
Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of
money.
JDG 5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses
fought against Sisera.
JDG 5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient
river, the river Kishon.  O my soul, thou hast trodden down
strength.
JDG 5:22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the
pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
JDG 5:23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye
bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the
help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
JDG 5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the
Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
JDG 5:25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought
forth butter in a lordly dish.
JDG 5:26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the
workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she
smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through
his temples.
JDG 5:27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet
he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
JDG 5:28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried
through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming?  why
tarry the wheels of his chariots?
JDG 5:29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer
to herself,
JDG 5:30 Have they not sped?  have they not divided the prey; to
every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a
prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of
needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take
the spoil?
JDG 5:31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them
that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.
And the land had rest forty years.
JDG 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven
years.
JDG 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and
because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the
dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
JDG 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites
came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even
they came up against them;
JDG 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the
increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
JDG 6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and
they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their
camels were without number: and they entered into the land to
destroy it.
JDG 6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
JDG 6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried
unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
JDG 6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of
Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel,
I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the
house of bondage;
JDG 6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them
out from before you, and gave you their land;
JDG 6:10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have
not obeyed my voice.
JDG 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an
oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the
Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress,
to hide it from the Midianites.
JDG 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said
unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
JDG 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be
with us, why then is all this befallen us?  and where be all his
miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD
bring us up from Egypt?  but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and
delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
JDG 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
JDG 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I
save Israel?  behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am
the least in my father's house.
JDG 6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee,
and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
JDG 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy
sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
JDG 6:18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee,
and bring forth my present, and set it before thee.  And he
said, I will tarry until thou come again.
JDG 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and
unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a
basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto
him under the oak, and presented it.
JDG 6:20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and
the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out
the broth.  And he did so.
JDG 6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the
staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and
consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.  Then the angel of
the LORD departed out of his sight.
JDG 6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the
LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God!  for because I have seen an
angel of the LORD face to face.
JDG 6:23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear
not: thou shalt not die.
JDG 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and
called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
JDG 6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said
unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second
bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal
that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
JDG 6:26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top
of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock,
and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which
thou shalt cut down.
JDG 6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as
the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his
father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not
do it by day, that he did it by night.
JDG 6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the
morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove
was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered
upon the altar that was built.
JDG 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this
thing?  And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the
son of Joash hath done this thing.
JDG 6:30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy
son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of
Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
JDG 6:31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye
plead for Baal?  will ye save him?  he that will plead for him,
let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a
god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his
altar.
JDG 6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying,
Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his
altar.
JDG 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the
children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and
pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
JDG 6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he
blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
JDG 6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who
also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher,
and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet
them.
JDG 6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said,
JDG 6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and
if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the
earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said.
JDG 6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and
thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the
fleece, a bowl full of water.
JDG 6:39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot
against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray
thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon
the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
JDG 6:40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the
fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
JDG 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that
were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of
Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side
of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
JDG 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with
thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their
hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own
hand hath saved me.
JDG 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,
saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and
depart early from mount Gilead.  And there returned of the
people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand.
JDG 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too
many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for
thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This
shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of
whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the
same shall not go.
JDG 7:5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the
LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with
his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
JDG 7:6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand
to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the
people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
JDG 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men
that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into
thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his
place.
JDG 7:8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their
trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his
tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of
Midian was beneath him in the valley.
JDG 7:9 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said
unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have
delivered it into thine hand.
JDG 7:10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy
servant down to the host:
JDG 7:11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall
thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host.  Then went
he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed
men that were in the host.
JDG 7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the
children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers
for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand
by the sea side for multitude.
JDG 7:13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that
told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a
dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of
Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and
overturned it, that the tent lay along.
JDG 7:14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else
save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for
into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
JDG 7:15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the
dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and
returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD
hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
JDG 7:16 And he divided the three hundred men into three
companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty
pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
JDG 7:17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise:
and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be
that, as I do, so shall ye do.
JDG 7:18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me,
then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp,
and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
JDG 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came
unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle
watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the
trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
JDG 7:20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake
the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the
trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried,
The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
JDG 7:21 And they stood every man in his place round about the
camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
JDG 7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD
set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all
the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to
the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
JDG 7:23 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out
of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and
pursued after the Midianites.
JDG 7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount
Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take
before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.  Then all the
men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters
unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
JDG 7:25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and
Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew
at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the
heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
JDG 8:1 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou
served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to
fight with the Midianites?  And they did chide with him
sharply.
JDG 8:2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in
comparison of you?  Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim
better than the vintage of Abiezer?
JDG 8:3 God hath delivered into your hands the princes of
Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison
of you?  Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had
said that.
JDG 8:4 And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the
three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
JDG 8:5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you,
loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be
faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of
Midian.
JDG 8:6 And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah
and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto
thine army?
JDG 8:7 And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered
Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh
with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
JDG 8:8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them
likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of
Succoth had answered him.
JDG 8:9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I
come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
JDG 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts
with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all
the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred
and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
JDG 8:11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in
tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for
the host was secure.
JDG 8:12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after
them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
discomfited all the host.
JDG 8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before
the sun was up,
JDG 8:14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and
enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of
Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen
men.
JDG 8:15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold
Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the
hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should
give bread unto thy men that are weary?
JDG 8:16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth.
JDG 8:17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men
of the city.
JDG 8:18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of
men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?  And they answered, As thou
art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.
JDG 8:19 And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my
mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would
not slay you.
JDG 8:20 And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay
them.  But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because
he was yet a youth.
JDG 8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon
us: for as the man is, so is his strength.  And Gideon arose,
and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that
were on their camels' necks.
JDG 8:22 Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over
us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou
hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
JDG 8:23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,
neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over
you.
JDG 8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of
you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey.
(For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
JDG 8:25 And they answered, We will willingly give them.  And
they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the
earrings of his prey.
JDG 8:26 And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested
was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside
ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings
of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels'
necks.
JDG 8:27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his
city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring
after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
JDG 8:28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel,
so that they lifted up their heads no more.  And the country was
in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
JDG 8:29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his
own house.
JDG 8:30 And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body
begotten: for he had many wives.
JDG 8:31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare
him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
JDG 8:32 And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and
was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
JDG 8:33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that
the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after
Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
JDG 8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD
their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their
enemies on every side:
JDG 8:35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal,
namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had
shewed unto Israel.
JDG 9:1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto
his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the
family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
JDG 9:2 Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of
Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you,
or that one reign over you?  remember also that I am your bone
and your flesh.
JDG 9:3 And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of
all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts
inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.
JDG 9:4 And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver
out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain
and light persons, which followed him.
JDG 9:5 And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew
his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten
persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest
son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
JDG 9:6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all
the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the
plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
JDG 9:7 And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in
the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried,
and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God
may hearken unto you.
JDG 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over
them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
JDG 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my
fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be
promoted over the trees?
JDG 9:10 And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and
reign over us.
JDG 9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my
sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
JDG 9:12 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign
over us.
JDG 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine,
which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
JDG 9:14 Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou,
and reign over us.
JDG 9:15 And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye
anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my
shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour
the cedars of Lebanon.
JDG 9:16 Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in
that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with
Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the
deserving of his hands;
JDG 9:17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life
far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
JDG 9:18 And ye are risen up against my father's house this day,
and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one
stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king
over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
JDG 9:19 If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with
Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in
Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
JDG 9:20 But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and
devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire
come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo,
and devour Abimelech.
JDG 9:21 And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and
dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
JDG 9:22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
JDG 9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with
Abimelech:
JDG 9:24 That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of
Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech
their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem,
which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
JDG 9:25 And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the
top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that
way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
JDG 9:26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and
went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their
confidence in him.
JDG 9:27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their
vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into
the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed
Abimelech.
JDG 9:28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and
who is Shechem, that we should serve him?  is not he the son of
Jerubbaal?  and Zebul his officer?  serve the men of Hamor the
father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
JDG 9:29 And would to God this people were under my hand!  then
would I remove Abimelech.  And he said to Abimelech, Increase
thine army, and come out.
JDG 9:30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of
Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
JDG 9:31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying,
Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to
Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.
JDG 9:32 Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is
with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
JDG 9:33 And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the
sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and,
behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against
thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
JDG 9:34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were
with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four
companies.
JDG 9:35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the
entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the
people that were with him, from lying in wait.
JDG 9:36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold,
there come people down from the top of the mountains.  And Zebul
said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they
were men.
JDG 9:37 And Gaal spake again, and said, See there come people
down by the middle of the land, and another company come along
by the plain of Meonenim.
JDG 9:38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth,
wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve
him?  is not this the people that thou hast despised?  go out, I
pray now, and fight with them.
JDG 9:39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought
with Abimelech.
JDG 9:40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and
many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the
gate.
JDG 9:41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out
Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
JDG 9:42 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went
out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
JDG 9:43 And he took the people, and divided them into three
companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold,
the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up
against them, and smote them.
JDG 9:44 And Abimelech, and the company that was with him,
rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the
city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that
were in the fields, and slew them.
JDG 9:45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and
he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat
down the city, and sowed it with salt.
JDG 9:46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard
that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.
JDG 9:47 And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the
tower of Shechem were gathered together.
JDG 9:48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all
the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his
hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid
it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him,
What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.
JDG 9:49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his
bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set
the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of
Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
JDG 9:50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against
Thebez, and took it.
JDG 9:51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and
thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city,
and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.
JDG 9:52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against
it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with
fire.
JDG 9:53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon
Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
JDG 9:54 Then he called hastily unto the young man his
armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me,
that men say not of me, A women slew him.  And his young man
thrust him through, and he died.
JDG 9:55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,
they departed every man unto his place.
JDG 9:56 Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he
did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:
JDG 9:57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render
upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son
of Jerubbaal.
JDG 10:1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola
the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he
dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
JDG 10:2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died,
and was buried in Shamir.
JDG 10:3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged
Israel twenty and two years.
JDG 10:4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts,
and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto
this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
JDG 10:5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
JDG 10:6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of
Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods
of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
forsook the LORD, and served not him.
JDG 10:7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and
he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the
hands of the children of Ammon.
JDG 10:8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of
Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on
the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in
Gilead.
JDG 10:9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to
fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the
house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
JDG 10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD,
saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have
forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
JDG 10:11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not
I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from
the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
JDG 10:12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the
Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered
you out of their hand.
JDG 10:13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods:
wherefore I will deliver you no more.
JDG 10:14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let
them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
JDG 10:15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have
sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;
deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
JDG 10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them,
and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of
Israel.
JDG 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and
encamped in Gilead.  And the children of Israel assembled
themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
JDG 10:18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to
another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the
children of Ammon?  he shall be head over all the inhabitants of
Gilead.
JDG 11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour,
and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
JDG 11:2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons
grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou
shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of
a strange woman.
JDG 11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the
land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and
went out with him.
JDG 11:4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the
children of Ammon made war against Israel.
JDG 11:5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war
against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out
of the land of Tob:
JDG 11:6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain,
that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
JDG 11:7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye
hate me, and expel me out of my father's house?  and why are ye
come unto me now when ye are in distress?
JDG 11:8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore
we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and
fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all
the inhabitants of Gilead.
JDG 11:9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye
bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and
the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
JDG 11:10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD
be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
JDG 11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the
people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered
all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
JDG 11:12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the
children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that
thou art come against me to fight in my land?
JDG 11:13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto
the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land,
when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and
unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
JDG 11:14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of
the children of Ammon:
JDG 11:15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took
not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of
Ammon:
JDG 11:16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through
the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
JDG 11:17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,
saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king
of Edom would not hearken thereto.  And in like manner they sent
unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel
abode in Kadesh.
JDG 11:18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and
compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by
the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side
of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was
the border of Moab.
JDG 11:19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the
Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us
pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
JDG 11:20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his
coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched
in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
JDG 11:21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his
people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel
possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that
country.
JDG 11:22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites,
from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto
Jordan.
JDG 11:23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the
Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou
possess it?
JDG 11:24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god
giveth thee to possess?  So whomsoever the LORD our God shall
drive out from before us, them will we possess.
JDG 11:25 And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son
of Zippor, king of Moab?  did he ever strive against Israel, or
did he ever fight against them,
JDG 11:26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in
Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the
coasts of Arnon, three hundred years?  why therefore did ye not
recover them within that time?
JDG 11:27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou
doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge
this day between the children of Israel and the children of
Ammon.
JDG 11:28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened
not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
JDG 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he
passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of
Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the
children of Ammon.
JDG 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If
thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine
hands,
JDG 11:31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the
doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the
children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer
it up for a burnt offering.
JDG 11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to
fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
JDG 11:33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to
Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the
vineyards, with a very great slaughter.  Thus the children of
Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
JDG 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and,
behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with
dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither
son nor daughter.
JDG 11:35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his
clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter!  thou hast brought me very
low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened
my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
JDG 11:36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened
thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath
proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken
vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of
Ammon.
JDG 11:37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done
for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon
the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
JDG 11:38 And he said, Go.  And he sent her away for two months:
and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity
upon the mountains.
JDG 11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she
returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow
which he had vowed: and she knew no man.  And it was a custom in
Israel,
JDG 11:40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the
daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
JDG 12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together,
and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst
thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not
call us to go with thee?  we will burn thine house upon thee
with fire.
JDG 12:2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at
great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you,
ye delivered me not out of their hands.
JDG 12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life
in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and
the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come
up unto me this day, to fight against me?
JDG 12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead,
and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim,
because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among
the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.
JDG 12:5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before
the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites
which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead
said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite?  If he said, Nay;
JDG 12:6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he
said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right.
Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and
there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two
thousand.
JDG 12:7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years.  Then died
Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of
Gilead.
JDG 12:8 And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
JDG 12:9 And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he
sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his
sons.  And he judged Israel seven years.
JDG 12:10 Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
JDG 12:11 And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and
he judged Israel ten years.
JDG 12:12 And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in
Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
JDG 12:13 And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite,
judged Israel.
JDG 12:14 And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on
threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
JDG 12:15 And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and
was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of
the Amalekites.
JDG 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the
Philistines forty years.
JDG 13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of
the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and
bare not.
JDG 13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and
said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but
thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
JDG 13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine
nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
JDG 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no
razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite
unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out
of the hand of the Philistines.
JDG 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man
of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him
not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
JDG 13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and
bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat
any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from
the womb to the day of his death.
JDG 13:8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord,
let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and
teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
JDG 13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel
of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but
Manoah her husband was not with her.
JDG 13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her
husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto
me, that came unto me the other day.
JDG 13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to
the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto
the woman?  And he said, I am.
JDG 13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass.  How
shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
JDG 13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all
that I said unto the woman let her beware.
JDG 13:14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
JDG 13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray
thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid
for thee.
JDG 13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though
thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt
offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD.  For
Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
JDG 13:17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is
thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee
honour?
JDG 13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest
thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
JDG 13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered
it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and
Manoah and his wife looked on.
JDG 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward
heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended
in the flame of the altar.  And Manoah and his wife looked on
it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
JDG 13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah
and to his wife.  Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the
LORD.
JDG 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die,
because we have seen God.
JDG 13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased
to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a
meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all
these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things
as these.
JDG 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson:
and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
JDG 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times
in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
JDG 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in
Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
JDG 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and
said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
JDG 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there
never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all
my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines?  And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me;
for she pleaseth me well.
JDG 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of
the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
JDG 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother,
to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a
young lion roared against him.
JDG 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and
he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in
his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had
done.
JDG 14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she
pleased Samson well.
JDG 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned
aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a
swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
JDG 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating,
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they
did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of
the carcase of the lion.
JDG 14:10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson
made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
JDG 14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they
brought thirty companions to be with him.
JDG 14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a
riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the
seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
JDG 14:13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.  And they said unto
him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
JDG 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.  And they
could not in three days expound the riddle.
JDG 14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said
unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto
us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with
fire: have ye called us to take that we have?  is it not so?
JDG 14:16 And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost
but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle
unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me.  And he
said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell it thee?
JDG 14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their
feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he
told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle
to the children of her people.
JDG 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh
day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey?  And
what is stronger than a lion?  and he said unto them, If ye had
not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
JDG 14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went
down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their
spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the
riddle.  And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
father's house.
JDG 14:20 But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he
had used as his friend.
JDG 15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time
of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and
he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber.  But her
father would not suffer him to go in.
JDG 15:2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst
utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not
her younger sister fairer than she?  take her, I pray thee,
instead of her.
JDG 15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more
blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
JDG 15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and
took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in
the midst between two tails.
JDG 15:5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go
into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the
shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and
olives.
JDG 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this?  And
they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he
had taken his wife, and given her to his companion.  And the
Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
JDG 15:7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this,
yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
JDG 15:8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter:
and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
JDG 15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and
spread themselves in Lehi.
JDG 15:10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against
us?  And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to
him as he hath done to us.
JDG 15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of
the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the
Philistines are rulers over us?  what is this that thou hast
done unto us?  And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so
have I done unto them.
JDG 15:12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee,
that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines.  And
Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon
me yourselves.
JDG 15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind
thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will
not kill thee.  And they bound him with two new cords, and
brought him up from the rock.
JDG 15:14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted
against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him,
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was
burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
JDG 15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth
his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
JDG 15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps
upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
JDG 15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of
speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and
called that place Ramathlehi.
JDG 15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and
said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of
thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the
hand of the uncircumcised?
JDG 15:19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and
there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit
came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof
Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
JDG 15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines
twenty years.
JDG 16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and
went in unto her.
JDG 16:2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come
hither.  And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all
night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,
saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
JDG 16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight,
and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts,
and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his
shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is
before Hebron.
JDG 16:4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in
the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
JDG 16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and
said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength
lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may
bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us
eleven hundred pieces of silver.
JDG 16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee,
wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be
bound to afflict thee.
JDG 16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven
green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be
as another man.
JDG 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her
seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him
with them.
JDG 16:9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in
the chamber.  And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon
thee, Samson.  And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is
broken when it toucheth the fire.  So his strength was not
known.
JDG 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked
me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou
mightest be bound.
JDG 16:11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new
ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as
another man.
JDG 16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him
therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee,
Samson.  And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber.
And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
JDG 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast
mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be
bound.  And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of
my head with the web.
JDG 16:14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him,
The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.  And he awaked out of his
sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the
web.
JDG 16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love
thee, when thine heart is not with me?  thou hast mocked me
these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great
strength lieth.
JDG 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with
her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
JDG 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her,
There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a
Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my
strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like
any other man.
JDG 16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his
heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines,
saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart.
Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought
money in their hand.
JDG 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called
for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of
his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went
from him.
JDG 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at
other times before, and shake myself.  And he wist not that the
LORD was departed from him.
JDG 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes,
and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of
brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
JDG 16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after
he was shaven.
JDG 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them
together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god,
and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our
enemy into our hand.
JDG 16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god:
for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy,
and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
JDG 16:25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry,
that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.  And
they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them
sport: and they set him between the pillars.
JDG 16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the
hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house
standeth, that I may lean upon them.
JDG 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the
lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the
roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport.
JDG 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only
this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the
Philistines for my two eyes.
JDG 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon
which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one
with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
JDG 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.  And
he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the
lords, and upon all the people that were therein.  So the dead
which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in
his life.
JDG 16:31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came
down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between
Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father.  And
he judged Israel twenty years.
JDG 17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was
Micah.
JDG 17:2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels
of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst,
and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me;
I took it.  And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my
son.
JDG 17:3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of
silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated
the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a
graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it
unto thee.
JDG 17:4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his
mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the
founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and
they were in the house of Micah.
JDG 17:5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an
ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became
his priest.
JDG 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every
man did that which was right in his own eyes.
JDG 17:7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the
family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
JDG 17:8 And the man departed out of the city from
Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he
came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
JDG 17:9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou?  And he
said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to
sojourn where I may find a place.
JDG 17:10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me
a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of
silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals.  So
the Levite went in.
JDG 17:11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and
the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
JDG 17:12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man
became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
JDG 17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me
good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
JDG 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those
days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to
dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen
unto them among the tribes of Israel.
JDG 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men
from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol,
to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them,
Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the
house of Micah, they lodged there.
JDG 18:3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the
voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither,
and said unto him, Who brought thee hither?  and what makest
thou in this place?  and what hast thou here?
JDG 18:4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with
me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
JDG 18:5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of
God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be
prosperous.
JDG 18:6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the
LORD is your way wherein ye go.
JDG 18:7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw
the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the
manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no
magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any
thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business
with any man.
JDG 18:8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol:
and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
JDG 18:9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them:
for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are
ye still?  be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the
land.
JDG 18:10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to
a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place
where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.
JDG 18:11 And there went from thence of the family of the
Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men
appointed with weapons of war.
JDG 18:12 And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in
Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this
day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
JDG 18:13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came
unto the house of Micah.
JDG 18:14 Then answered the five men that went to spy out the
country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that
there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven
image, and a molten image?  now therefore consider what ye have
to do.
JDG 18:15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of
the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and
saluted him.
JDG 18:16 And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons
of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering
of the gate.
JDG 18:17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went
up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the
ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest
stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that
were appointed with weapons of war.
JDG 18:18 And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the
carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten
image.  Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?
JDG 18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand
upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a
priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of
one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in
Israel?
JDG 18:20 And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the
ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the
midst of the people.
JDG 18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones
and the cattle and the carriage before them.
JDG 18:22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah,
the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were
gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
JDG 18:23 And they cried unto the children of Dan.  And they
turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that
thou comest with such a company?
JDG 18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made,
and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more?  and
what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
JDG 18:25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy
voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and
thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.
JDG 18:26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah
saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back
unto his house.
JDG 18:27 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the
priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that
were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of
the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
JDG 18:28 And there was no deliverer, because it was far from
Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the
valley that lieth by Bethrehob.  And they built a city, and
dwelt therein.
JDG 18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the
name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the
name of the city was Laish at the first.
JDG 18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and
Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his
sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
captivity of the land.
JDG 18:31 And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he
made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
JDG 19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no
king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on
the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of
Bethlehemjudah.
JDG 19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and
went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah,
and was there four whole months.
JDG 19:3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak
friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant
with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her
father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he
rejoiced to meet him.
JDG 19:4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained
him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and
drink, and lodged there.
JDG 19:5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose
early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the
damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart
with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
JDG 19:6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them
together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be
content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart
be merry.
JDG 19:7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law
urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
JDG 19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to
depart; and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I
pray thee.  And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat
both of them.
JDG 19:9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his
concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's
father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward
evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to
an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow
get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
JDG 19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up
and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem;
and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also
was with him.
JDG 19:11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent;
and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let
us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
JDG 19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside
hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children
of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
JDG 19:13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw
near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in
Ramah.
JDG 19:14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun
went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to
Benjamin.
JDG 19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge
in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of
the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to
lodging.
JDG 19:16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out
of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he
sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
JDG 19:17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring
man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither
goest thou?  and whence comest thou?
JDG 19:18 And he said unto him, We are passing from
Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am
I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house
of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.
JDG 19:19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses;
and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid,
and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no
want of any thing.
JDG 19:20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever
let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
JDG 19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender
unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and
drink.
JDG 19:22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold,
the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house
round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of
the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came
into thine house, that we may know him.
JDG 19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto
them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do
not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house,
do not this folly.
JDG 19:24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his
concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do
with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not
so vile a thing.
JDG 19:25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took
his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew
her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when
the day began to spring, they let her go.
JDG 19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and
fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was,
till it was light.
JDG 19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the
doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the
woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house,
and her hands were upon the threshold.
JDG 19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going.  But
none answered.  Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the
man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
JDG 19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife,
and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with
her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts
of Israel.
JDG 19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no
such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel
came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it,
take advice, and speak your minds.
JDG 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the
congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to
Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
JDG 20:2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes
of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of
God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
JDG 20:3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children
of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of
Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
JDG 20:4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was
slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to
Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
JDG 20:5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the
house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain
me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.
JDG 20:6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and
sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of
Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
JDG 20:7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your
advice and counsel.
JDG 20:8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will
not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn
into his house.
JDG 20:9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to
Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
JDG 20:10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all
the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a
thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people,
that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin,
according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
JDG 20:11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the
city, knit together as one man.
JDG 20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the
tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done
among you?
JDG 20:13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of
Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and
put away evil from Israel.  But the children of Benjamin would
not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of
Israel.
JDG 20:14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves
together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle
against the children of Israel.
JDG 20:15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that
time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew
sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered
seven hundred chosen men.
JDG 20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen
men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth,
and not miss.
JDG 20:17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered
four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of
war.
JDG 20:18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the
house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us
shall go up first to the battle against the children of
Benjamin?  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.
JDG 20:19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and
encamped against Gibeah.
JDG 20:20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against
Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight
against them at Gibeah.
JDG 20:21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah,
and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day
twenty and two thousand men.
JDG 20:22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged
themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place
where they put themselves in array the first day.
JDG 20:23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before
the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying,
Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin
my brother?  And the LORD said, Go up against him.)
JDG 20:24 And the children of Israel came near against the
children of Benjamin the second day.
JDG 20:25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the
second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of
Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
JDG 20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people,
went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there
before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered
burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
JDG 20:27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for
the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
JDG 20:28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron,
stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out
to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall
I cease?  And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver
them into thine hand.
JDG 20:29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
JDG 20:30 And the children of Israel went up against the
children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in
array against Gibeah, as at other times.
JDG 20:31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the
people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to
smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the
highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the
other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
JDG 20:32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten
down before us, as at the first.  But the children of Israel
said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the
highways.
JDG 20:33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place,
and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait
of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the
meadows of Gibeah.
JDG 20:34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men
out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not
that evil was near them.
JDG 20:35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the
children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty
and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.
JDG 20:36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were
smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites,
because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set
beside Gibeah.
JDG 20:37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah;
and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the
city with the edge of the sword.
JDG 20:38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of
Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great
flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
JDG 20:39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle,
Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about
thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down
before us, as in the first battle.
JDG 20:40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city
with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and,
behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
JDG 20:41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of
Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon
them.
JDG 20:42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of
Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook
them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in
the midst of them.
JDG 20:43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and
chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah
toward the sunrising.
JDG 20:44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all
these were men of valour.
JDG 20:45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto
the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways
five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and
slew two thousand men of them.
JDG 20:46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were
twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were
men of valour.
JDG 20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness
unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
JDG 20:48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children
of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well
the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand:
also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
JDG 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying,
There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to
wife.
JDG 21:2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode
there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept
sore;
JDG 21:3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to
pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in
Israel?
JDG 21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose
early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and
peace offerings.
JDG 21:5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all
the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto
the LORD?  For they had made a great oath concerning him that
came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be
put to death.
JDG 21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin
their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel
this day.
JDG 21:7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing
we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our
daughters to wives?
JDG 21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of
Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD?  And, behold,
there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
JDG 21:9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were
none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
JDG 21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men
of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the
inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the
women and the children.
JDG 21:11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall
utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by
man.
JDG 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead
four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with
any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which
is in the land of Canaan.
JDG 21:13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the
children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call
peaceably unto them.
JDG 21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave
them wives which they had saved alive of the women of
Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
JDG 21:15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because
that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
JDG 21:16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we
do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are
destroyed out of Benjamin?
JDG 21:17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them
that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out
of Israel.
JDG 21:18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters:
for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that
giveth a wife to Benjamin.
JDG 21:19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD
in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from
Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
JDG 21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,
saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
JDG 21:21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come
out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and
catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go
to the land of Benjamin.
JDG 21:22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren
come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be
favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to
each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at
this time, that ye should be guilty.
JDG 21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them
wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they
caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and
repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
JDG 21:24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that
time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went
out from thence every man to his inheritance.
JDG 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man
did that which was right in his own eyes.