Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/christin/seekerd/judges

Text File | 1995-05-02 | 107KB | 2,017 lines

                        JUDGES 1
 1:1  Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the
children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for
us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
 1:2  And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have
delivered the land into his hand.
 1:3  And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me
into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I
likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with
him.
 1:4  And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites
and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in
Bezek ten thousand men.
 1:5  And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought
against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
 1:6  But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and
caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
 1:7  And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having
their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [their
meat] under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me.
And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
 1:8  Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem,
and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword,
and set the city on fire.
 1:9  And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight
against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the
south, and in the valley.
 1:10  And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in
Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before [was] Kirjatharba:) and
they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
 1:11  And from thence he went against the inhabitants of
Debir: and the name of Debir before [was] Kirjathsepher:
 1:12  And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and
taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
 1:13  And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother,
took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
 1:14  And it came to pass, when she came [to him], that she
moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from
off [her] ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
 1:15  And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast
given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb
gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
 1:16  And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law,
went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of
Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which [lieth] in the south
of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
 1:17  And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew
the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed
it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
 1:18  Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon
with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
 1:19  And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out [the
inhabitants of] the mountain; but could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
 1:20  And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he
expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
 1:21  And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the
Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell
with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
 1:22  And the house of Joseph, they also went up against
Bethel: and the LORD [was] with them.
 1:23  And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the
name of the city before [was] Luz.)
 1:24  And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and
they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into
the city, and we will show thee mercy.
 1:25  And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they
smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the
man and all his family.
 1:26  And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and
built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which [is] the
name thereof unto this day.
 1:27  Neither did Manasseh drive out [the inhabitants of]
Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the
inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam
and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns:
but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
 1:28  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they
put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them
out.
 1:29  Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt
in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
 1:30  Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron,
nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among
them, and became tributaries.
 1:31  Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho,
nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor
of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
 1:32  But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the
inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
 1:33  Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of
Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless
the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became
tributaries unto them.
 1:34  And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the
mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the
valley:
 1:35  But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon,
and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed,
so that they became tributaries.
 1:36  And the coast of the Amorites [was] from the going up to
Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

                        JUDGES 2
 2:1  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim,
and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought
you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said,
I will never break my covenant with you.
 2:2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this
land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed
my voice: why have ye done this?
 2:3  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from
before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and
their gods shall be a snare unto you.
 2:4  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake
these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people
lifted up their voice, and wept.
 2:5  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they
sacrificed there unto the LORD.
 2:6  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of
Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
 2:7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua,
and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had
seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
 2:8  And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD,
died, [being] an hundred and ten years old.
 2:9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the
hill Gaash.
 2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their
fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which
knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for
Israel.
 2:11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and served Baalim:
 2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which
brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods,
of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and
bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
 2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and
Ashtaroth.
 2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them,
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about,
so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
 2:15  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was
against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD
had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
 2:16  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered
them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
 2:17  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but
they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto
them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers
walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; [but] they did
not so.
 2:18  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD
was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their
enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD
because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed
them and vexed them.
 2:19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, [that]
they returned, and corrupted [themselves] more than their
fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down
unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from
their stubborn way.
 2:20  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he
said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant
which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my
voice;
 2:21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before
them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
 2:22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will
keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did
keep [it], or not.
 2:23  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving
them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of
Joshua.

                        JUDGES 3
 3:1  Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove
Israel by them, [even] as many [of Israel] as had not known all
the wars of Canaan;
 3:2  Only that the generations of the children of Israel might
know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew
nothing thereof;
 3:3  [Namely], five lords of the Philistines, and all the
Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in
mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of
Hamath.
 3:4  And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether
they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he
commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
 3:5  And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites,
Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and
Jebusites:
 3:6  And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave
their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
 3:7  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the
groves.
 3:8  Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel,
and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of
Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served
Chushanrishathaim eight years.
 3:9  And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the
LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who
delivered them, [even] Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's
younger brother.
 3:10  And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged
Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered
Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his
hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
 3:11  And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son
of Kenaz died.
 3:12  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab
against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the
LORD.
 3:13  And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and
Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of
palm trees.
 3:14  So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab
eighteen years.
 3:15  But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the
LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a
Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel
sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
 3:16  But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a
cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his
right thigh.
 3:17  And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and
Eglon [was] a very fat man.
 3:18  And when he had made an end to offer the present, he
sent away the people that bare the present.
 3:19  But he himself turned again from the quarries that
[were] by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O
king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went
out from him.
 3:20  And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer
parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have
a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of [his] seat.
 3:21  And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger
from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
 3:22  And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat
closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out
of his belly; and the dirt came out.
 3:23  Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the
doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
 3:24  When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they
saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour [were] locked, they
said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.
 3:25  And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he
opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key,
and opened [them]: and, behold, their lord [was] fallen down
dead on the earth.
 3:26  And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond
the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
 3:27  And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a
trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel
went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
 3:28  And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD
hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And
they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward
Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
 3:29  And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand
men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a
man.
 3:30  So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel.
And the land had rest fourscore years.
 3:31  And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew
of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also
delivered Israel.

                        JUDGES 4
 4:1  And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
 4:2  And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of
Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host [was]
Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
 4:3  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he
had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily
oppressed the children of Israel.
 4:4  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she
judged Israel at that time.
 4:5  And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between
Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel
came up to her for judgment.
 4:6  And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of
Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of
Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and
take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and
of the children of Zebulun?
 4:7  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the
captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude;
and I will deliver him into thine hand.
 4:8  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I
will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go.
 4:9  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding
the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for
the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And
Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
 4:10  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he
went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up
with him.
 4:11  Now Heber the Kenite, [which was] of the children of
Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the
Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which
[is] by Kedesh.
 4:12  And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was
gone up to mount Tabor.
 4:13  And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, [even]
nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that [were]
with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of
Kishon.
 4:14  And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this [is] the day
in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not
the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount
Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
 4:15  And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all [his] chariots,
and all [his] host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so
that Sisera lighted down off [his] chariot, and fled away on
his feet.
 4:16  But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the
host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of
Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; [and] there was not a
man left.
 4:17  Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael
the wife of Heber the Kenite: for [there was] peace between
Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
 4:18  And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him,
Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had
turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a
mantle.
 4:19  And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little
water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of
milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
 4:20  Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent,
and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee,
and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
 4:21  Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took
an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the
nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he
was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
 4:22  And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to
meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man
whom thou seekest. And when he came into her [tent], behold,
Sisera lay dead, and the nail [was] in his temples.
 4:23  So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan
before the children of Israel.
 4:24  And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and
prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had
destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

                        JUDGES 5
 5:1  Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that
day, saying,
 5:2  Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the
people willingly offered themselves.
 5:3  Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, [even] I,
will sing unto the LORD; I will sing [praise] to the LORD God
of Israel.
 5:4  LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst
out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens
dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
 5:5  The mountains melted from before the LORD, [even] that
Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
 5:6  In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of
Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked
through byways.
 5:7  [The inhabitants of] the villages ceased, they ceased in
Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in
Israel.
 5:8  They chose new gods; then [was] war in the gates: was
there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
 5:9  My heart [is] toward the governors of Israel, that
offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the
LORD.
 5:10  Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in
judgment, and walk by the way.
 5:11  [They that are delivered] from the noise of archers in
the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the
righteous acts of the LORD, [even] the righteous acts [toward
the inhabitants] of his villages in Israel: then shall the
people of the LORD go down to the gates.
 5:12  Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song:
arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of
Abinoam.
 5:13  Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the
nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over
the mighty.
 5:14  Out of Ephraim [was there] a root of them against
Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir
came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the
pen of the writer.
 5:15  And the princes of Issachar [were] with Deborah; even
Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley.
For the divisions of Reuben [there were] great thoughts of
heart.
 5:16  Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the
bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben [there
were] great searchings of heart.
 5:17  Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in
ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches.
 5:18  Zebulun and Naphtali [were] a people [that] jeoparded
their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
 5:19  The kings came [and] fought, then fought the kings of
Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain
of money.
 5:20  They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses
fought against Sisera.
 5:21  The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river,
the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
 5:22  Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the
prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.
 5:23  Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye
bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the
help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
 5:24  Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the
Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
 5:25  He asked water, [and] she gave [him] milk; she brought
forth butter in a lordly dish.
 5:26  She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the
workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she
smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through
his temples.
 5:27  At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet
he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
 5:28  The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried
through the lattice, Why is his chariot [so] long in coming?
why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
 5:29  Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer
to herself,
 5:30  Have they not sped? have they [not] divided the prey; to
every man a damsel [or] two; to Sisera a prey of divers
colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers
colours of needlework on both sides, [meet] for the necks of
[them that take] the spoil?
 5:31  So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but [let] them
that love him [be] as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.
And the land had rest forty years.

                        JUDGES 6
 6:1  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven
years.
 6:2  And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: [and]
because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the
dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
 6:3  And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the
Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the
east, even they came up against them;
 6:4  And they encamped against them, and destroyed the
increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
 6:5  For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and
they came as grasshoppers for multitude; [for] both they and
their camels were without number: and they entered into the
land to destroy it.
 6:6  And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
 6:7  And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried
unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
 6:8  That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel,
which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I
brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the
house of bondage;
 6:9  And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out
from before you, and gave you their land;
 6:10  And I said unto you, I [am] the LORD your God; fear not
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have
not obeyed my voice.
 6:11  And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an
oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the
Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress,
to hide [it] from the Midianites.
 6:12  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said
unto him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
 6:13  And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be
with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where [be] all
his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the
LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us,
and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
 6:14  And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
 6:15  And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save
Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the
least in my father's house.
 6:16  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee,
and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
 6:17  And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy
sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me.
 6:18  Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee,
and bring forth my present, and set [it] before thee. And he
said, I will tarry until thou come again.
 6:19  And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened
cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and
he put the broth in a pot, and brought [it] out unto him under
the oak, and presented [it].
 6:20  And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and
the unleavened cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour
out the broth. And he did so.
 6:21  Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the
staff that [was] in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and
consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of
the LORD departed out of his sight.
 6:22  And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the
LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an
angel of the LORD face to face.
 6:23  And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear
not: thou shalt not die.
 6:24  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and
called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
 6:25  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said
unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second
bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal
that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that [is] by it:
 6:26  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of
this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock,
and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which
thou shalt cut down.
 6:27  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the
LORD had said unto him: and [so] it was, because he feared his
father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not
do [it] by day, that he did [it] by night.
 6:28  And when the men of the city arose early in the morning,
behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut
down that [was] by it, and the second bullock was offered upon
the altar [that was] built.
 6:29  And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing?
And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of
Joash hath done this thing.
 6:30  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy
son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of
Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that [was] by it.
 6:31  And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye
plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him,
let him be put to death whilst [it is yet] morning: if he [be]
a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] hath cast down
his altar.
 6:32  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying,
Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his
altar.
 6:33  Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the
children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and
pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
 6:34  But the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew
a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
 6:35  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also
was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and
unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
 6:36  And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said,
 6:37  Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; [and]
if the dew be on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the
earth [beside], then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said.
 6:38  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and
thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the
fleece, a bowl full of water.
 6:39  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot
against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I
pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry
only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
 6:40  And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the
fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

                        JUDGES 7
 7:1  Then Jerubbaal, who [is] Gideon, and all the people that
[were] with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of
Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north
side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
 7:2  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with
thee [are] too many for me to give the Midianites into their
hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine
own hand hath saved me.
 7:3  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,
saying, Whosoever [is] fearful and afraid, let him return and
depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the
people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand.
 7:4  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too]
many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for
thee there: and it shall be, [that] of whom I say unto thee,
This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of
whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the
same shall not go.
 7:5  So he brought down the people unto the water: and the
LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with
his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
 7:6  And the number of them that lapped, [putting] their hand
to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the
people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
 7:7  And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men
that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into
thine hand: and let all the [other] people go every man unto
his place.
 7:8  So the people took victuals in their hand, and their
trumpets: and he sent all [the rest of] Israel every man unto
his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of
Midian was beneath him in the valley.
 7:9  And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said
unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have
delivered it into thine hand.
 7:10  But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy
servant down to the host:
 7:11  And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall
thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went
he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed
men that [were] in the host.
 7:12  And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the
children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers
for multitude; and their camels [were] without number, as the
sand by the sea side for multitude.
 7:13  And when Gideon was come, behold, [there was] a man that
told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a
dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of
Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and
overturned it, that the tent lay along.
 7:14  And his fellow answered and said, This [is] nothing else
save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel:
[for] into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the
host.
 7:15  And it was [so], when Gideon heard the telling of the
dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and
returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD
hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
 7:16  And he divided the three hundred men [into] three
companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty
pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
 7:17  And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and,
behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be
[that], as I do, so shall ye do.
 7:18  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that [are] with
me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the
camp, and say, [The sword] of the LORD, and of Gideon.
 7:19  So Gideon, and the hundred men that [were] with him,
came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the
middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they
blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that [were] in their
hands.
 7:20  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the
pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the
trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried,
The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
 7:21  And they stood every man in his place round about the
camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
 7:22  And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD
set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all
the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, [and]
to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
 7:23  And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out
of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and
pursued after the Midianites.
 7:24  And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim,
saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them
the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of
Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto
Bethbarah and Jordan.
 7:25  And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and
Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew
at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the
heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

                        JUDGES 8
 8:1  And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou
served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to
fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
 8:2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison
of you? [Is] not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better
than the vintage of Abiezer?
 8:3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian,
Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
 8:4  And Gideon came to Jordan, [and] passed over, he, and the
three hundred men that [were] with him, faint, yet pursuing
[them].
 8:5  And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you,
loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be]
faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of
Midian.
 8:6  And the princes of Succoth said, [Are] the hands of Zebah
and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto
thine army?
 8:7  And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered
Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh
with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
 8:8  And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them
likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of
Succoth had answered [him].
 8:9  And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I
come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
 8:10  Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their hosts
with them, about fifteen thousand [men], all that were left of
all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an
hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
 8:11  And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in
tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host:
for the host was secure.
 8:12  And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them,
and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and
discomfited all the host.
 8:13  And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before
the sun [was up],
 8:14  And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and
inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of
Succoth, and the elders thereof, [even] threescore and
seventeen men.
 8:15  And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold
Zebah and Zalmunna with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, [Are]
the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we
should give bread unto thy men [that are] weary?
 8:16  And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the
wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth.
 8:17  And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men
of the city.
 8:18  Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men
[were they] whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou
[art], so [were] they; each one resembled the children of a
king.
 8:19  And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of
my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I
would not slay you.
 8:20  And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, [and] slay
them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because
he [was] yet a youth.
 8:21  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon
us: for as the man [is, so is] his strength. And Gideon arose,
and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that
[were] on their camels' necks.
 8:22  Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over
us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou
hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
 8:23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,
neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over
you.
 8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of
you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey.
(For they had golden earrings, because they [were]
Ishmaelites.)
 8:25  And they answered, We will willingly give [them]. And
they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the
earrings of his prey.
 8:26  And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested
was a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold; beside
ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that [was] on the
kings of Midian, and beside the chains that [were] about their
camels' necks.
 8:27  And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his
city, [even] in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring
after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
 8:28  Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel,
so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was
in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
 8:29  And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own
house.
 8:30  And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body
begotten: for he had many wives.
 8:31  And his concubine that [was] in Shechem, she also bare
him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
 8:32  And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and
was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
 8:33  And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that
the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after
Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
 8:34  And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their
God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their
enemies on every side:
 8:35  Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal,
[namely], Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had
showed unto Israel.

                        JUDGES 9
 9:1  And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto
his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the
family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
 9:2  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem,
Whether [is] better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, [which are] threescore and ten persons, reign over
you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I [am] your
bone and your flesh.
 9:3  And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all
the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined
to follow Abimelech; for they said, He [is] our brother.
 9:4  And they gave him threescore and ten [pieces] of silver
out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain
and light persons, which followed him.
 9:5  And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew
his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, [being] threescore and ten
persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the
youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
 9:6  And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the
house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain
of the pillar that [was] in Shechem.
 9:7  And when they told [it] to Jotham, he went and stood in
the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried,
and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that
God may hearken unto you.
 9:8  The trees went forth [on a time] to anoint a king over
them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
 9:9  But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my
fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be
promoted over the trees?
 9:10  And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, [and]
reign over us.
 9:11  But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my
sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
 9:12  Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, [and]
reign over us.
 9:13  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine,
which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
 9:14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou,
[and] reign over us.
 9:15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye
anoint me king over you, [then] come [and] put your trust in my
shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and
devour the cedars of Lebanon.
 9:16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in
that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well
with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according
to the deserving of his hands;
 9:17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life
far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
 9:18  And ye are risen up against my father's house this day,
and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one
stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant,
king over the men of Shechem, because he [is] your brother;)
 9:19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal
and with his house this day, [then] rejoice ye in Abimelech,
and let him also rejoice in you:
 9:20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour
the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come
out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and
devour Abimelech.
 9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and
dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
 9:22  When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
 9:23  Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with
Abimelech:
 9:24  That the cruelty [done] to the threescore and ten sons
of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech
their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem,
which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
 9:25  And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the
top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that
way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
 9:26  And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and
went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their
confidence in him.
 9:27  And they went out into the fields, and gathered their
vineyards, and trode [the grapes], and made merry, and went
into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed
Abimelech.
 9:28  And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who [is] Abimelech, and
who [is] Shechem, that we should serve him? [is] not [he] the
son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor
the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
 9:29  And would to God this people were under my hand! then
would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase
thine army, and come out.
 9:30  And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of
Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
 9:31  And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying,
Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to
Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.
 9:32  Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that [is]
with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
 9:33  And it shall be, [that] in the morning, as soon as the
sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and,
behold, [when] he and the people that [is] with him come out
against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find
occasion.
 9:34  And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that [were]
with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four
companies.
 9:35  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the
entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and
the people that [were] with him, from lying in wait.
 9:36  And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold,
there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul
said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as [if
they were] men.
 9:37  And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people
down by the middle of the land, and another company come along
by the plain of Meonenim.
 9:38  Then said Zebul unto him, Where [is] now thy mouth,
wherewith thou saidst, Who [is] Abimelech, that we should serve
him? [is] not this the people that thou hast despised? go out,
I pray now, and fight with them.
 9:39  And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought
with Abimelech.
 9:40  And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and
many were overthrown [and] wounded, [even] unto the entering of
the gate.
 9:41  And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal
and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
 9:42  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went
out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
 9:43  And he took the people, and divided them into three
companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold,
the people [were] come forth out of the city; and he rose up
against them, and smote them.
 9:44  And Abimelech, and the company that [was] with him,
rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the
city: and the two [other] companies ran upon all [the people]
that [were] in the fields, and slew them.
 9:45  And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and
he took the city, and slew the people that [was] therein, and
beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
 9:46  And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard
[that], they entered into an hold of the house of the god
Berith.
 9:47  And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower
of Shechem were gathered together.
 9:48  And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the
people that [were] with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his
hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and
laid [it] on his shoulder, and said unto the people that [were]
with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, [and] do as I
[have done].
 9:49  And all the people likewise cut down every man his
bough, and followed Abimelech, and put [them] to the hold, and
set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the
tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
 9:50  Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against
Thebez, and took it.
 9:51  But there was a strong tower within the city, and
thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city,
and shut [it] to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.
 9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against
it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with
fire.
 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon
Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
 9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his
armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me,
that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man
thrust him through, and he died.
 9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead,
they departed every man unto his place.
 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he
did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:
 9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render
upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the
son of Jerubbaal.

                        JUDGES 10
 10:1  And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola
the son of Puah the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he
dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
 10:2  And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died,
and was buried in Shamir.
 10:3  And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel
twenty and two years.
 10:4  And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts,
and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto
this day, which [are] in the land of Gilead.
 10:5  And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
 10:6  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of
Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the
gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines,
and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
 10:7  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he
sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands
of the children of Ammon.
 10:8  And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of
Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that [were]
on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which
[is] in Gilead.
 10:9  Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to
fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the
house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
 10:10  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying,
We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our
God, and also served Baalim.
 10:11  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, [Did]
not [I deliver you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites,
from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
 10:12  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the
Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered
you out of their hand.
 10:13  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods:
wherefore I will deliver you no more.
 10:14  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them
deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
 10:15  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have
sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;
deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
 10:16  And they put away the strange gods from among them, and
served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of
Israel.
 10:17  Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and
encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled
themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
 10:18  And the people [and] princes of Gilead said one to
another, What man [is he] that will begin to fight against the
children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of
Gilead.

                        JUDGES 11
 11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour,
and he [was] the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
 11:2  And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons
grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou
shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou [art] the son
of a strange woman.
 11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the
land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and
went out with him.
 11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the
children of Ammon made war against Israel.
 11:5  And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war
against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out
of the land of Tob:
 11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain,
that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
 11:7  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye
hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye
come unto me now when ye are in distress?
 11:8  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore
we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and
fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all
the inhabitants of Gilead.
 11:9  And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring
me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the
LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD
be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
 11:11  Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the
people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah
uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
 11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the
children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that
thou art come against me to fight in my land?
 11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the
messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when
they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and
unto Jordan: now therefore restore those [lands] again
peaceably.
 11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the
children of Ammon:
 11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not
away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
 11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through
the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
 11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,
saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the
king of Edom would not hearken [thereto]. And in like manner
they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not [consent]:
and Israel abode in Kadesh.
 11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and
compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by
the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other
side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for
Arnon [was] the border of Moab.
 11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the
Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us
pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
 11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast:
but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in
Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
 11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his
people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel
possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that
country.
 11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from
Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto
Jordan.
 11:23  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the
Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou
possess it?
 11:24  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth
thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out
from before us, them will we possess.
 11:25  And now [art] thou any thing better than Balak the son
of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or
did he ever fight against them,
 11:26  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in
Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that [be] along by
the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye
not recover [them] within that time?
 11:27  Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou
doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge
this day between the children of Israel and the children of
Ammon.
 11:28  Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not
unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
 11:29  Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he
passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of
Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over [unto] the
children of Ammon.
 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If
thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine
hands,
 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the
doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the
children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer
it up for a burnt offering.
 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to
fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to
Minnith, [even] twenty cities, and unto the plain of the
vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of
Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and,
behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and
with dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he had
neither son nor daughter.
 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his
clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very
low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have
opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, [if] thou hast opened
thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath
proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken
vengeance for thee of thine enemies, [even] of the children of
Ammon.
 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done
for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon
the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away [for] two months:
and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity
upon the mountains.
 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she
returned unto her father, who did with her [according] to his
vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a
custom in Israel,
 11:40  [That] the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament
the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

                        JUDGES 12
 12:1  And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and
went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou
over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call
us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with
fire.
 12:2  And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at
great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you,
ye delivered me not out of their hands.
 12:3  And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life
in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and
the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye
come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
 12:4  Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead,
and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim,
because they said, Ye Gileadites [are] fugitives of Ephraim
among the Ephraimites, [and] among the Manassites.
 12:5  And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before
the Ephraimites: and it was [so] that when those Ephraimites
which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead
said unto him, [Art] thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
 12:6  Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said
Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce [it] right. Then
they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and
there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two
thousand.
 12:7  And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah
the Gileadite, and was buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.
 12:8  And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
 12:9  And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, [whom] he
sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his
sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
 12:10  Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
 12:11  And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he
judged Israel ten years.
 12:12  And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon
in the country of Zebulun.
 12:13  And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite,
judged Israel.
 12:14  And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on
threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.
 12:15  And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and
was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of
the Amalekites.

                        JUDGES 13
 13:1  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight
of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the
Philistines forty years.
 13:2  And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of
the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was]
barren, and bare not.
 13:3  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and
said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not:
but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
 13:4  Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine
nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:
 13:5  For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no
razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite
unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines.
 13:6  Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man
of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him
not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
 13:7  But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and
bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat
any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God
from the womb to the day of his death.
 13:8  Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let
the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and
teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
 13:9  And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel
of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but
Manoah her husband [was] not with her.
 13:10  And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her
husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto
me, that came unto me the [other] day.
 13:11  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to
the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest
unto the woman? And he said, I [am].
 13:12  And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How
shall we order the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?
 13:13  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that
I said unto the woman let her beware.
 13:14  She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
[thing]: all that I commanded her let her observe.
 13:15  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray
thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid
for thee.
 13:16  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou
detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer
a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah
knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD.
 13:17  And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is]
thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee
honour?
 13:18  And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest
thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?
 13:19  So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered
[it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did
wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
 13:20  For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward
heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended
in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on
[it], and fell on their faces to the ground.
 13:21  But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah
and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the
LORD.
 13:22  And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die,
because we have seen God.
 13:23  But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to
kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat
offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all
these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such
things] as these.
 13:24  And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson:
and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
 13:25  And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times
in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

                        JUDGES 14
 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in
Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and
said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there]
never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all
my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me;
for she pleaseth me well.
 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of
the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
 14:5  Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a
young lion roared against him.
 14:6  And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and
he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing
in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he
had done.
 14:7  And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she
pleased Samson well.
 14:8  And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned
aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was]
a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
 14:9  And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating,
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they
did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out
of the carcase of the lion.
 14:10  So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made
there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
 14:11  And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they
brought thirty companions to be with him.
 14:12  And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a
riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the
seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give
you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
 14:13  But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto
him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
 14:14  And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they
could not in three days expound the riddle.
 14:15  And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said
unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare
unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house
with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? [is it] not
[so]?
 14:16  And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost
but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle
unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And
he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
 14:17  And she wept before him the seven days, while their
feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he
told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the
riddle to the children of her people.
 14:18  And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh
day before the sun went down, What [is] sweeter than honey? and
what [is] stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye
had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
 14:19  And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went
down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their
spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
father's house.
 14:20  But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he
had used as his friend.

                        JUDGES 15
 15:1  But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of
wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he
said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father
would not suffer him to go in.
 15:2  And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst
utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is]
not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee,
instead of her.
 15:3  And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more
blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
 15:4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took
firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the
midst between two tails.
 15:5  And when he had set the brands on fire, he let [them] go
into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both
the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards
[and] olives.
 15:6  Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they
answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had
taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the
Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
 15:7  And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet
will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
 15:8  And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter:
and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
 15:9  Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and
spread themselves in Lehi.
 15:10  And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against
us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to
him as he hath done to us.
 15:11  Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the
rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the
Philistines [are] rulers over us? what [is] this [that] thou
hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me,
so have I done unto them.
 15:12  And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee,
that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And
Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall
upon me yourselves.
 15:13  And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind
thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will
not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and
brought him up from the rock.
 15:14  [And] when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted
against him: and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him,
and the cords that [were] upon his arms became as flax that was
burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
 15:15  And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his
hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
 15:16  And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon
heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
 15:17  And it came to pass, when he had made an end of
speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and
called that place Ramathlehi.
 15:18  And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and
said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of
thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the
hand of the uncircumcised?
 15:19  But God clave an hollow place that [was] in the jaw,
and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his
spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name
thereof Enhakkore, which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
 15:20  And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines
twenty years.

                        JUDGES 16
 16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and
went in unto her.
 16:2  [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come
hither. And they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all
night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,
saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
 16:3  And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and
took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and
went away with them, bar and all, and put [them] upon his
shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that [is]
before Hebron.
 16:4  And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in
the valley of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah.
 16:5  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and
said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength
[lieth], and by what [means] we may prevail against him, that
we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one
of us eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.
 16:6  And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee,
wherein thy great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest
be bound to afflict thee.
 16:7  And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven
green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be
as another man.
 16:8  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her
seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him
with them.
 16:9  Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with her in
the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon
thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is
broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not
known.
 16:10  And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked
me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou
mightest be bound.
 16:11  And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new
ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as
another man.
 16:12  Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him
therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee,
Samson. And [there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber.
And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
 16:13  And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked
me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.
And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my
head with the web.
 16:14  And she fastened [it] with the pin, and said unto him,
The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of
his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the
web.
 16:15  And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee,
when thine heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these
three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength
[lieth].
 16:16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with
her words, and urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto
death;
 16:17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her,
There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a
Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then
my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be
like any [other] man.
 16:18  And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his
heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines,
saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart.
Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought
money in their hand.
 16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called
for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of
his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went
from him.
 16:20  And she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson.
And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at
other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the
LORD was departed from him.
 16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and
brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass;
and he did grind in the prison house.
 16:22  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after
he was shaven.
 16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them
together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god,
and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson
our enemy into our hand.
 16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god:
for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy,
and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
 16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that
they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they
called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them
sport: and they set him between the pillars.
 16:26  And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand,
Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house
standeth, that I may lean upon them.
 16:27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the
lords of the Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon
the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport.
 16:28  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only
this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the
Philistines for my two eyes.
 16:29  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon
which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one
with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And
he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon
the lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the
dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he
slew in his life.
 16:31  Then his brethren and all the house of his father came
down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him
between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his
father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

                        JUDGES 17
 17:1  And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name [was]
Micah.
 17:2  And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred
[shekels] of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou
cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver
[is] with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed [be thou]
of the LORD, my son.
 17:3  And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of
silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated
the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a
graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore
it unto thee.
 17:4  Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his
mother took two hundred [shekels] of silver, and gave them to
the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten
image: and they were in the house of Micah.
 17:5  And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an
ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who
became his priest.
 17:6  In those days [there was] no king in Israel, [but] every
man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.
 17:7  And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the
family of Judah, who [was] a Levite, and he sojourned there.
 17:8  And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah
to sojourn where he could find [a place]: and he came to mount
Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
 17:9  And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said
unto him, I [am] a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to
sojourn where I may find [a place].
 17:10  And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me
a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten [shekels] of
silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So
the Levite went in.
 17:11  And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and
the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
 17:12  And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man
became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
 17:13  Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me
good, seeing I have a Levite to [my] priest.

                        JUDGES 18
 18:1  In those days [there was] no king in Israel: and in
those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance
to dwell in; for unto that day [all their] inheritance had not
fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
 18:2  And the children of Dan sent of their family five men
from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol,
to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them,
Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to
the house of Micah, they lodged there.
 18:3  When they [were] by the house of Micah, they knew the
voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither,
and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest
thou in this [place]? and what hast thou here?
 18:4  And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with
me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
 18:5  And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of
God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be
prosperous.
 18:6  And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the
LORD [is] your way wherein ye go.
 18:7  Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw
the people that [were] therein, how they dwelt careless, after
the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and [there was]
no magistrate in the land, that might put [them] to shame in
[any] thing; and they [were] far from the Zidonians, and had no
business with [any] man.
 18:8  And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol:
and their brethren said unto them, What [say] ye?
 18:9  And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them:
for we have seen the land, and, behold, it [is] very good: and
[are] ye still? be not slothful to go, [and] to enter to
possess the land.
 18:10  When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to
a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place
where [there is] no want of any thing that [is] in the earth.
 18:11  And there went from thence of the family of the
Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men
appointed with weapons of war.
 18:12  And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in
Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this
day: behold, [it is] behind Kirjathjearim.
 18:13  And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came
unto the house of Micah.
 18:14  Then answered the five men that went to spy out the
country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that
there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven
image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have
to do.
 18:15  And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of
the young man the Levite, [even] unto the house of Micah, and
saluted him.
 18:16  And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of
war, which [were] of the children of Dan, stood by the entering
of the gate.
 18:17  And the five men that went to spy out the land went up,
[and] came in thither, [and] took the graven image, and the
ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest
stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men
[that were] appointed with weapons of war.
 18:18  And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the
carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten
image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?
 18:19  And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand
upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a
priest: [is it] better for thee to be a priest unto the house
of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family
in Israel?
 18:20  And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod,
and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst
of the people.
 18:21  So they turned and departed, and put the little ones
and the cattle and the carriage before them.
 18:22  [And] when they were a good way from the house of
Micah, the men that [were] in the houses near to Micah's house
were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
 18:23  And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they
turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that
thou comest with such a company?
 18:24  And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made,
and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and
what [is] this [that] ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
 18:25  And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy
voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and
thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.
 18:26  And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah
saw that they [were] too strong for him, he turned and went
back unto his house.
 18:27  And they took [the things] which Micah had made, and
the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people
[that were] at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the
edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
 18:28  And [there was] no deliverer, because it [was] far from
Zidon, and they had no business with [any] man; and it was in
the valley that [lieth] by Bethrehob. And they built a city,
and dwelt therein.
 18:29  And they called the name of the city Dan, after the
name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the
name of the city [was] Laish at the first.
 18:30  And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and
Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his
sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
captivity of the land.
 18:31  And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he
made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

                        JUDGES 19
 19:1  And it came to pass in those days, when [there was] no
king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on
the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of
Bethlehemjudah.
 19:2  And his concubine played the whore against him, and went
away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and
was there four whole months.
 19:3  And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak
friendly unto her, [and] to bring her again, having his servant
with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her
father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he
rejoiced to meet him.
 19:4  And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained
him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and
drink, and lodged there.
 19:5  And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose
early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the
damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart
with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
 19:6  And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them
together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be
content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart
be merry.
 19:7  And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law
urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
 19:8  And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to
depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I
pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat
both of them.
 19:9  And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his
concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's
father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward
evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to
an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to
morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
 19:10  But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up
and departed, and came over against Jebus, which [is]
Jerusalem; and [there were] with him two asses saddled, his
concubine also [was] with him.
 19:11  [And] when they [were] by Jebus, the day was far spent;
and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and
let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in
it.
 19:12  And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside
hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the
children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
 19:13  And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw
near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or
in Ramah.
 19:14  And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went
down upon them [when they were] by Gibeah, which [belongeth] to
Benjamin.
 19:15  And they turned aside thither, to go in [and] to lodge
in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of
the city: for [there was] no man that took them into his house
to lodging.
 19:16  And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of
the field at even, which [was] also of mount Ephraim; and he
sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place [were]
Benjamites.
 19:17  And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring
man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither
goest thou? and whence comest thou?
 19:18  And he said unto him, We [are] passing from
Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence
[am] I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I [am now] going to
the house of the LORD; and there [is] no man that receiveth me
to house.
 19:19  Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses;
and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid,
and for the young man [which is] with thy servants: [there is]
no want of any thing.
 19:20  And the old man said, Peace [be] with thee; howsoever
[let] all thy wants [lie] upon me; only lodge not in the
street.
 19:21  So he brought him into his house, and gave provender
unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and
drink.
 19:22  [Now] as they were making their hearts merry, behold,
the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house
round about, [and] beat at the door, and spake to the master of
the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came
into thine house, that we may know him.
 19:23  And the man, the master of the house, went out unto
them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, [nay], I pray you,
do not [so] wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine
house, do not this folly.
 19:24  Behold, [here is] my daughter a maiden, and his
concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and
do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do
not so vile a thing.
 19:25  But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took
his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew
her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when
the day began to spring, they let her go.
 19:26  Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell
down at the door of the man's house where her lord [was], till
it was light.
 19:27  And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the
doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold,
the woman his concubine was fallen down [at] the door of the
house, and her hands [were] upon the threshold.
 19:28  And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none
answered. Then the man took her [up] upon an ass, and the man
rose up, and gat him unto his place.
 19:29  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife,
and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, [together]
with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the
coasts of Israel.
 19:30  And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no
such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of
Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider
of it, take advice, and speak [your minds].

                        JUDGES 20
 20:1  Then all the children of Israel went out, and the
congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to
Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
 20:2  And the chief of all the people, [even] of all the
tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the
people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
 20:3  (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of
Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of
Israel, Tell [us], how was this wickedness?
 20:4  And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain,
answered and said, I came into Gibeah that [belongeth] to
Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
 20:5  And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the
house round about upon me by night, [and] thought to have slain
me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.
 20:6  And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent
her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel:
for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
 20:7  Behold, ye [are] all children of Israel; give here your
advice and counsel.
 20:8  And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not
any [of us] go to his tent, neither will we any [of us] turn
into his house.
 20:9  But now this [shall be] the thing which we will do to
Gibeah; [we will go up] by lot against it;
 20:10  And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all
the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a
thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people,
that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin,
according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
 20:11  So all the men of Israel were gathered against the
city, knit together as one man.
 20:12  And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe
of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done
among you?
 20:13  Now therefore deliver [us] the men, the children of
Belial, which [are] in Gibeah, that we may put them to death,
and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin
would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children
of Israel:
 20:14  But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves
together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle
against the children of Israel.
 20:15  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time
out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword,
beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven
hundred chosen men.
 20:16  Among all this people [there were] seven hundred chosen
men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair
[breadth], and not miss.
 20:17  And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered
four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these [were] men
of war.
 20:18  And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the
house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us
shall go up first to the battle against the children of
Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah [shall go up] first.
 20:19  And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and
encamped against Gibeah.
 20:20  And the men of Israel went out to battle against
Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to
fight against them at Gibeah.
 20:21  And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah,
and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day
twenty and two thousand men.
 20:22  And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves,
and set their battle again in array in the place where they put
themselves in array the first day.
 20:23  (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the
LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I
go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my
brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)
 20:24  And the children of Israel came near against the
children of Benjamin the second day.
 20:25  And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the
second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of
Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
 20:26  Then all the children of Israel, and all the people,
went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat
there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
 20:27  And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for
the ark of the covenant of God [was] there in those days,
 20:28  And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron,
stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go
out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or
shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will
deliver them into thine hand.
 20:29  And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
 20:30  And the children of Israel went up against the children
of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array
against Gibeah, as at other times.
 20:31  And the children of Benjamin went out against the
people, [and] were drawn away from the city; and they began to
smite of the people, [and] kill, as at other times, in the
highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the
other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
 20:32  And the children of Benjamin said, They [are] smitten
down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel
said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the
highways.
 20:33  And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place,
and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait
of Israel came forth out of their places, [even] out of the
meadows of Gibeah.
 20:34  And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men
out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not
that evil [was] near them.
 20:35  And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the
children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty
and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.
 20:36  So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten:
for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because
they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside
Gibeah.
 20:37  And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah;
and the liers in wait drew [themselves] along, and smote all
the city with the edge of the sword.
 20:38  Now there was an appointed sign between the men of
Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great
flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
 20:39  And when the men of Israel retired in the battle,
Benjamin began to smite [and] kill of the men of Israel about
thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down
before us, as [in] the first battle.
 20:40  But when the flame began to arise up out of the city
with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and,
behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
 20:41  And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of
Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon
them.
 20:42  Therefore they turned [their backs] before the men of
Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook
them; and them which [came] out of the cities they destroyed in
the midst of them.
 20:43  [Thus] they enclosed the Benjamites round about, [and]
chased them, [and] trode them down with ease over against
Gibeah toward the sunrising.
 20:44  And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all
these [were] men of valour.
 20:45  And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the
rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five
thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew
two thousand men of them.
 20:46  So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty
and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these [were] men
of valour.
 20:47  But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness
unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
 20:48  And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of
Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well
the men of [every] city, as the beast, and all that came to
hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

                        JUDGES 21
 21:1  Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There
shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
 21:2  And the people came to the house of God, and abode there
till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept
sore;
 21:3  And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass
in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in
Israel?
 21:4  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose
early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings.
 21:5  And the children of Israel said, Who [is there] among
all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation
unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him
that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely
be put to death.
 21:6  And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin
their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel
this day.
 21:7  How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing
we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our
daughters to wives?
 21:8  And they said, What one [is there] of the tribes of
Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold,
there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
 21:9  For the people were numbered, and, behold, [there were]
none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
 21:10  And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men
of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the
inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with
the women and the children.
 21:11  And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall
utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by
man.
 21:12  And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead
four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with
any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which
[is] in the land of Canaan.
 21:13  And the whole congregation sent [some] to speak to the
children of Benjamin that [were] in the rock Rimmon, and to
call peaceably unto them.
 21:14  And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave
them wives which they had saved alive of the women of
Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
 21:15  And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that
the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
 21:16  Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we
do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are
destroyed out of Benjamin?
 21:17  And they said, [There must be] an inheritance for them
that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out
of Israel.
 21:18  Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters:
for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [be] he
that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
 21:19  Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD
in Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from
Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
 21:20  Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,
saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
 21:21  And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come
out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and
catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go
to the land of Benjamin.
 21:22  And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren
come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be
favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to
each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at
this time, [that] ye should be guilty.
 21:23  And the children of Benjamin did so, and took [them]
wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom
they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance,
and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
 21:24  And the children of Israel departed thence at that
time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went
out from thence every man to his inheritance.
 21:25  In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man
did [that which was] right in his own eyes.