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?
And the LORD said,
Judah
shall go up:
behold,
I have delivered
the land
into his hand.
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.
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.
And
they found Adonibezek
in Bezek:
and
they
fought against him,
and
they slew
the Canaanites
and the Perizzites.
But Adonibezek fled;
and they
pursued
after him,
and caught him,
and cut off
his thumbs
and his great toes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And from thence
he went against the inhabitants
of Debir:
and the name
of Debir
before was Kirjathsepher:
And Caleb said,
He that
smiteth Kirjathsepher,
and taketh it,
to him
will
I give Achsah
my daughter
to wife.
And Othniel
the son
of Kenaz,
Caleb's younger brother,
took it:
and he
gave him
Achsah his daughter
to wife.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Also Judah
took Gaza
with the coast
thereof,
and Askelon
with the coast
thereof,
and Ekron
with the coast
thereof.
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.
And
they gave Hebron
unto Caleb,
as Moses said:
and
he expelled thence
the three sons
of Anak.
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.
And the house
of Joseph,
they also went up
against Bethel:
and the LORD
was with them.
And the house
of Joseph sent
to descry Bethel.
(Now the name
of the city
before was Luz.)
And the spies
saw
a man
come forth
out of the city,
and
they
said unto him,
Shew us,
we pray thee,
the entrance
into the city,
and
we will shew
thee mercy.
And
when
he shewed them
the entrance
into the city,
they smote the city
with the edge
of the sword;
but they let go
the man
and all
his family.
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.
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.
And it
came
to pass,
when Israel
was strong,
that they put
the Canaanites
to tribute,
and
did not utterly drive them out.
Neither did
Ephraim
drive
out the Canaanites
that dwelt
in Gezer;
but the Canaanites
dwelt
in Gezer
among them.
Neither did
Zebulun
drive
out the inhabitants
of Kitron,
nor the inhabitants
of Nahalol;
but the Canaanites
dwelt among them,
and became tributaries.
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:
But the Asherites
dwelt
among the Canaanites,
the inhabitants
of the land:
for they did not drive them
out.
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.
And the Amorites
forced
the children
of Dan
into the mountain:
for they
would not suffer them to
come down
to the valley:
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.
And
the coast
of the Amorites
was from the going
up to Akrabbim,
from the rock,
and upward.
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.
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?
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.
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.
And they
called
the name
of that place Bochim:
and
they sacrificed there
unto the LORD.
And when Joshua
had let
the people go,
the children
of Israel
went every man
unto his inheritance
to possess the land.
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.
And Joshua
the son
of Nun,
the servant
of the LORD,
died,
being an hundred
and ten years old.
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.
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.
And the children
of Israel
did evil
in the sight
of the LORD,
and served
Baalim:
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.
And
they forsook the LORD,
and served Baal
and Ashtaroth.
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.
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.
Nevertheless
the LORD
raised
up judges,
which delivered them
out of the hand
of those
that spoiled them.
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.
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.
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.
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;
I also will not henceforth drive
out any from
before them
of the nations
which Joshua
left when
he died:
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.
Therefore the LORD
left those nations,
without driving them
out hastily;
neither delivered
he them
into the hand
of Joshua.
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;
Only that
the generations
of the children
of Israel
might know,
to teach them war,
at the least
such as before knew nothing
thereof;
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.
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.
And the children
of Israel
dwelt
among the Canaanites, Hittites,
and Amorites,
and Perizzites,
and Hivites,
and Jebusites:
And they
took
their daughters to be
their wives,
and gave
their daughters
to their sons,
and served
their gods.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And the land
had rest forty years.
And Othniel
the son of Kenaz died.
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.
And he
gathered
unto him the children
of Ammon
and Amalek,
and went
and smote Israel,
and possessed
the city
of palm trees.
So the children
of Israel
served Eglon
the king
of Moab eighteen years.
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.
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.
And he
brought
the present
unto Eglon king
of Moab:
and Eglon
was a
very fat man.
And
when he
had made
an end
to offer
the present,
he sent away
the people that bare
the present.
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.
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.
And Ehud put forth
his left hand,
and took
the dagger
from his right thigh,
and thrust it
into his belly:
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.
Then Ehud
went forth
through the porch,
and shut
the doors
of the parlour
upon him,
and locked them.
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.
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.
And Ehud
escaped
while they tarried,
and passed
beyond the quarries,
and escaped
unto Seirath.
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.
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.
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.
So Moab
was subdued
that day
under the hand
of Israel.
And the land
had rest fourscore years.
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.
And the children
of Israel
again did evil
in the sight
of the LORD,
when Ehud
was dead.
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.
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.
And Deborah,
a prophetess,
the wife
of Lapidoth,
she judged Israel
at that time.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And
they shewed
Sisera that Barak
the son
of Abinoam
was gone
up to mount Tabor.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Again
he said unto her,
Stand in the door
of the tent,
and it
shall be,
when any man
doth come
and enquire
of thee,
and say,
Is there
any man here?
that thou
shalt say,
No.
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.
And,
behold,
as Barak
pursued Sisera,
Jael
came out
to meet him,
and
said unto him,
Come,
and
I will shew thee
the man whom
thou seekest.
And
when he
came
into her tent,
behold,
Sisera lay dead,
and the nail
was in his temples.
So God
subdued
on that day Jabin
the king
of Canaan
before the children
of Israel.
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.
Then sang Deborah
and Barak
the son
of Abinoam
on that day,
saying,
Praise
ye the LORD
for the avenging
of Israel,
when the people
willingly offered themselves.
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.
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.
The mountains
melted from
before the LORD,
even that Sinai
from before the LORD God
of Israel.
In the days
of Shamgar
the son of Anath,
in the days
of Jael,
the highways
were unoccupied,
and the travellers
walked
through byways.
The inhabitants
of the villages ceased,
they ceased
in Israel,
until that I Deborah arose,
that I
arose
a mother
in Israel.
They chose new gods;
then was
war in the gates:
was there a shield
or spear
seen among forty thousand
in Israel?
My heart
is toward
the governors
of Israel,
that offered themselves
willingly among the people.
Bless ye the LORD.
Speak,
ye that ride
on white asses,
ye that
sit
in judgment,
and walk
by the way.
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.
Awake,
awake,
Deborah:
awake,
awake,
utter a song:
arise,
Barak,
and lead
thy captivity captive,
thou son
of Abinoam.
Then he
made him
that remaineth
have dominion
over the nobles
among the people:
the LORD
made me
have dominion
over the mighty.
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.
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.
Why abodest
thou
among the sheepfolds,
to hear the bleatings
of the flocks?
For the divisions
of Reuben
there were
great searchings
of heart.
Gilead abode
beyond Jordan:
and why
did
Dan remain
in ships?
Asher continued
on the sea shore,
and abode
in his breaches.
Zebulun
and Naphtali
were a people
that jeoparded their lives
unto the death
in the high places
of the field.
The kings
came
and fought,
then fought
the kings
of Canaan
in Taanach
by the waters
of Megiddo;
they
took
no gain
of money.
They fought
from heaven;
the stars
in their courses
fought
against Sisera.
The river
of Kishon
swept them away,
that ancient river,
the river Kishon.
O my soul,
thou hast trodden
down strength.
Then were
the horsehoofs
broken
by the means
of the pransings,
the pransings
of their mighty ones.
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.
Blessed above women
shall Jael
the wife
of Heber
the Kenite be,
blessed
shall
she be above women
in the tent.
He asked water,
and
she gave him milk;
she brought forth
butter
in a lordly dish.
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.
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.
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?
Her wise ladies
answered her,
yea,
she returned
answer
to herself,
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?
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
And Israel
was greatly impoverished
because
of the Midianites;
and the children
of Israel
cried
unto the LORD.
And it
came
to pass,
when the children
of Israel
cried
unto the LORD
because
of the Midianites,
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;
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;
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.
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.
And
the angel
of the LORD
appeared unto him,
and
said unto him,
The LORD
is with thee,
thou mighty man
of valour.
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.
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?
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.
And the LORD
said unto him,
Surely I
will be
with thee,
and
thou shalt smite
the Midianites
as one man.
And
he said unto him,
If now
I have found
grace in thy sight,
then shew me
a sign
that thou
talkest with me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And the LORD
said unto him,
Peace
be
unto thee;
fear not:
thou shalt not die.
Then Gideon
built
an altar
there unto the LORD,
and called
it Jehovahshalom:
unto this day
it is yet in Ophrah
of the Abiezrites.
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:
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.
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.
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.
And
they said one
to another,
Who hath done
this thing?
And
when
they enquired
and asked,
they said,
Gideon the son
of Joash
hath done
this thing.
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.
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.
Therefore on that day
he called him Jerubbaal,
saying,
Let Baal
plead against him,
because
he hath thrown
down his altar.
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.
But
the Spirit
of the LORD
came upon Gideon,
and
he blew a trumpet;
and Abiezer
was gathered
after him.
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.
And Gideon
said
unto God,
If thou
wilt save Israel
by mine hand,
as thou
hast said,
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.
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.
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.
And God
did
so that night:
for it
was dry
upon the fleece only,
and there was dew
on all the ground.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But
if thou
fear to go down,
go thou
with Phurah
thy servant down
to the host:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And
they stood every man
in his place round
about the camp;
and all
the host ran,
and cried,
and fled.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
And Gideon
came
to Jordan,
and passed over,
he,
and the three hundred men
that were with him,
faint,
yet pursuing them.
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.
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?
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.
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.
And
he spake also
unto the men
of Penuel,
saying,
When I
come again
in peace,
I will break down
this tower.
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.
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.
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.
And Gideon
the son
of Joash
returned
from battle
before the sun
was up,
And caught
a young man
of the men
of Succoth,
and
enquired of him:
and he
described
unto him the princes
of Succoth,
and the elders
thereof,
even threescore
and seventeen men.
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?
And he
took
the elders
of the city,
and thorns
of the wilderness
and briers,
and with them he
taught the men
of Succoth.
And he
beat
down the tower
of Penuel,
and slew
the men
of the city.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And Gideon
said unto them,
I will not rule
over you,
neither shall
my son
rule over you:
the LORD
shall rule
over you.
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.)
And
they answered,
We will willingly give them.
And
they spread
a garment,
and did cast therein every man
the earrings
of his prey.
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.
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.
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.
And Jerubbaal
the son
of Joash
went
and dwelt
in his own house.
And Gideon
had threescore
and
ten sons
of his body begotten:
for he
had many wives.
And his concubine
that was in Shechem,
she also bare him a son,
whose name
he called Abimelech.
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.
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.
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:
Neither shewed
they kindness
to the house
of Jerubbaal,
namely,
Gideon,
according to all the goodness
which he
had shewed
unto Israel.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The trees
went forth
on a time
to anoint a king
over them;
and they
said
unto the olive tree,
Reign thou over us.
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?
And the trees
said
to the fig tree,
Come thou,
and
reign over us.
But the fig tree
said unto them,
Should I
forsake my sweetness,
and my good fruit,
and go
to be promoted
over the trees?
Then said
the trees
unto the vine,
Come thou,
and
reign over us.
And the vine
said unto them,
Should I
leave my wine,
which cheereth God
and man,
and go
to be promoted
over the trees?
Then said all
the trees
unto the bramble,
Come thou,
and
reign over us.
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.
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;
(For my father
fought
for you,
and adventured
his life far,
and delivered you
out of the hand
of Midian:
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;)
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:
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.
And Jotham ran away,
and fled,
and went to Beer,
and dwelt there,
for fear
of Abimelech his brother.
When Abimelech
had reigned three years
over Israel,
Then God
sent
an evil spirit
between Abimelech
and the men
of Shechem;
and the men
of Shechem
dealt treacherously
with Abimelech:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
And
when Zebul
the ruler
of the city heard the words
of Gaal
the son of Ebed,
his anger
was kindled.
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.
Now therefore up
by night,
thou
and the people
that is
with thee,
and lie
in wait
in the field:
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.
And Abimelech
rose up,
and all
the people
that were with him,
by night,
and they
laid
wait
against Shechem
in four companies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And Gaal
went out
before the men
of Shechem,
and fought
with Abimelech.
And Abimelech
chased him,
and he
fled
before him,
and many
were overthrown
and wounded,
even unto
the entering
of the gate.
And Abimelech
dwelt
at Arumah:
and Zebul
thrust
out Gaal
and his brethren,
that they
should not dwell
in Shechem.
And it
came
to pass
on the morrow,
that the people
went out
into the field;
and
they told
Abimelech.
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.
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.
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.
And
when all
the men
of the tower
of Shechem
heard that,
they entered
into an hold
of the house
of the god Berith.
And it
was told Abimelech,
that all the men
of the tower
of Shechem
were gathered together.
And Abimelech gat
him up to mount Zalmon,
he and all
the people
that were with him;
and Abimelech
took
an axe
in his hand,
and cut down
a bough
from the trees,
and took it,
and laid it
on his shoulder,
and said
unto the people
that were with him,
What
ye have seen me do,
make haste,
and do as I
have done.
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.
Then went Abimelech
to Thebez,
and encamped
against Thebez,
and took it.
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.
And Abimelech
came
unto the tower,
and fought
against it,
and went hard
unto the door
of the tower
to burn it
with fire.
And a certain woman
cast
a piece
of a millstone
upon Abimelech's head,
and
all to brake his skull.
Then
he called hastily
unto the young man
his armourbearer,
and
said unto him,
Draw thy sword,
and slay me,
that men
say not of me,
A women
slew him.
And his young man
thrust him through,
and he died.
And
when the men
of Israel
saw that Abimelech
was dead,
they departed every man
unto his place.
Thus God
rendered
the wickedness
of Abimelech,
which he
did unto his father,
in slaying
his seventy brethren:
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.
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.
And
he judged Israel twenty
and three years,
and died,
and was buried
in Shamir.
And
after him
arose Jair,
a Gileadite,
and judged Israel twenty
and two years.
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.
And Jair died,
and was buried
in Camon.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Yet
ye have forsaken me,
and served
other gods:
wherefore
I will deliver
you no more.
Go and cry
unto the gods
which ye
have chosen;
let them
deliver you
in the time
of your tribulation.
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.
And they put away
the strange gods
from among them,
and served
the LORD:
and his soul
was grieved for the misery
of Israel.
Then the children
of Ammon
were gathered together,
and encamped
in Gilead.
And the children
of Israel
assembled themselves together,
and encamped
in Mizpeh.
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.
Now Jephthah
the Gileadite
was a
mighty man
of valour,
and
he was the son
of an harlot:
and Gilead
begat Jephthah.
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.
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.
And it
came to pass
in process
of time,
that the children
of Ammon
made
war against Israel.
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:
And they
said
unto Jephthah, Come,
and be
our captain,
that we
may fight
with the children
of Ammon.
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?
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.
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?
And
the elders
of Gilead
said unto Jephthah,
The LORD
be witness between us,
if we
do not so according to
thy words.
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.
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?
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.
And Jephthah
sent messengers
again unto the king
of the children
of Ammon:
And
said unto him,
Thus saith Jephthah,
Israel
took not away
the land of Moab,
nor the land
of the children
of Ammon:
But
when Israel
came up
from Egypt,
and walked
through the wilderness
unto the Red sea,
and came
to Kadesh;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And
they possessed all
the coasts
of the Amorites,
from Arnon
even unto Jabbok,
and
from the wilderness
even unto Jordan.
So now the LORD God
of Israel
hath dispossessed
the Amorites
from before his people Israel,
and shouldest thou
possess it?
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.
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,
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?
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.
Howbeit the king
of the children
of Ammon
hearkened not
unto the words
of Jephthah
which he
sent him.
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.
And Jephthah
vowed
a vow
unto the LORD,
and said,
If thou
shalt without
fail
deliver
the children
of Ammon
into mine hands,
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.
So Jephthah
passed over
unto the children
of Ammon
to fight against them;
and the LORD
delivered them
into his hands.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
That the daughters
of Israel
went yearly
to lament the daughter
of Jephthah the Gileadite
four days
in a year.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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;
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.
And Jephthah
judged Israel six years.
Then died Jephthah
the Gileadite,
and was buried
in one
of the cities
of Gilead.
And
after him Ibzan
of Bethlehem judged Israel.
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.
Then died Ibzan,
and was buried
at Bethlehem.
And
after him Elon,
a Zebulonite,
judged Israel;
and
he judged
Israel ten years.
And Elon
the Zebulonite died,
and was buried
in Aijalon
in the country
of Zebulun.
And
after him
Abdon the son
of Hillel,
a Pirathonite,
judged Israel.
And
he had forty sons
and thirty nephews,
that rode on threescore
and ten ass colts:
and
he judged
Israel eight years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Now therefore beware,
I pray thee,
and drink not wine
nor strong drink,
and eat not
any unclean thing:
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.
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:
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.
Then Manoah
intreated
the LORD,
and said,
O my Lord,
let the man
of God which
thou didst send
come again unto us,
and teach us what
we shall do
unto the child
that shall be born.
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.
And the woman
made haste,
and ran,
and shewed
her husband,
and
said unto him,
Behold,
the man
hath appeared unto me,
that came
unto me the other day.
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.
And Manoah said,
Now let
thy words
come to pass.
How shall
we order
the child,
and how shall
we do unto him?
And
the angel
of the LORD
said unto Manoah,
Of all
that I
said
unto the woman let
her beware.
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.
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.
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.
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?
And
the angel
of the LORD
said unto him,
Why askest
thou thus
after my name,
seeing
it is secret?
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.
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.
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.
And Manoah
said
unto his wife,
We shall surely die,
because
we have seen God.
But his wife
said unto him,
If the LORD
were pleased
to kill us,
he would not have received
a burnt
offering
and a meat
offering
at our hands,
neither would
he have shewed us all
these things,
nor would as
at this time
have told us such things
as these.
And the woman
bare a son,
and called
his name Samson:
and the child grew,
and the LORD
blessed him.
And
the Spirit
of the LORD
began to move him
at times
in the camp
of Dan
between Zorah
and Eshtaol.
And Samson
went down
to Timnath,
and saw a woman
in Timnath
of the daughters
of the Philistines.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And he went down,
and talked
with the woman;
and
she pleased Samson well.
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.
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.
So his father
went down
unto the woman:
and Samson
made there
a feast;
for so
used the young men to do.
And it
came
to pass,
when
they saw him,
that they
brought
thirty companions
to be with him.
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:
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
But Samson's wife
was given
to his companion,
whom
he had used
as his friend.
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.
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.
And Samson
said concerning them,
Now shall
I be more blameless
than the Philistines,
though I
do them
a displeasure.
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.
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.
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.
And Samson
said unto them,
Though
ye have done this,
yet will
I be avenged
of you,
and after that
I will cease.
And
he smote them hip
and thigh
with a great slaughter:
and
he went down
and dwelt
in the top
of the rock Etam.
Then the Philistines
went up,
and pitched
in Judah,
and spread themselves
in Lehi.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And he
found
a new jawbone
of an ass,
and put forth
his hand,
and took it,
and slew a thousand men
therewith.
And Samson said,
With the jawbone
of an ass,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jaw
of an ass
have
I slain
a thousand men.
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.
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?
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.
And
he judged Israel
in the days
of the Philistines twenty years.
Then went Samson
to Gaza,
and saw there
an harlot,
and went in
unto her.
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.
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.
And it
came
to pass afterward,
that he
loved
a woman
in the valley
of Sorek,
whose name was Delilah.
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.
And Delilah
said
to Samson,
Tell me,
I pray thee,
wherein thy great strength lieth,
and wherewith
thou mightest be bound
to afflict thee.
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.
Then the lords
of the Philistines brought up to
her seven green withs which
had not been dried,
and
she
bound him with them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And it
came
to pass,
when
she pressed him daily
with her words,
and urged him,
so that
his soul
was vexed
unto death;
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.
And when Delilah
saw that
he had told
her all his heart,
she sent
and called for
the lords
of the Philistines,
saying,
Come up this once,
for he
hath shewed me all
his heart.
Then the lords
of the Philistines
came up
unto her,
and brought money
in their hand.
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.
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.
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.
Howbeit
the hair
of his head
began
to grow again
after he was shaven.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And there was a man
of mount Ephraim,
whose name was Micah.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In those days
there was no king
in Israel,
but every man
did that which
was right
in his own eyes.
And there was
a young man
out of Bethlehemjudah
of the family
of Judah,
who was a Levite,
and
he sojourned there.
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.
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.
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.
And the Levite
was content
to dwell
with the man;
and the young man
was unto him
as one
of his sons.
And Micah
consecrated
the Levite;
and the young man
became
his priest,
and was in the house
of Micah.
Then said Micah,
Now know
I that
the LORD
will do me good,
seeing
I have
a Levite
to my priest.
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.
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.
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?
And
he said unto them,
Thus and thus
dealeth Micah
with me,
and hath hired me,
and
I am his priest.
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.
And the priest
said unto them,
Go in peace:
before the LORD
is your way
wherein ye go.
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.
And
they came
unto their brethren
to Zorah
and Eshtaol:
and their brethren
said unto them,
What say ye?
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.
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.
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.
And they went up,
and pitched
in Kirjathjearim,
in Judah:
wherefore
they called
that place Mahanehdan
unto this day:
behold,
it is behind Kirjathjearim.
And
they passed thence
unto mount Ephraim,
and came
unto the house
of Micah.
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.
And
they turned thitherward,
and came
to the house
of the young man the Levite,
even unto the house
of Micah,
and saluted him.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
So they
turned
and departed,
and put
the little ones
and the cattle
and the carriage
before them.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And they
set them
up Micah's graven image,
which he made,
all the time
that the house
of God was in Shiloh.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And
when the man
rose up to depart,
his father in law
urged him:
therefore he
lodged
there again.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And they
passed
on and went their way;
and the sun
went down
upon them
when
they were by Gibeah,
which belongeth
to Benjamin.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
And the old man said,
Peace
be
with thee;
howsoever
let all
thy wants
lie upon me;
only lodge not
in the street.
So he
brought him
into his house,
and gave provender
unto the asses:
and
they washed
their feet,
and did eat
and drink.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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?
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.
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.
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.
Behold,
ye are all children
of Israel;
give here
your advice and counsel.
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.
But now
this shall be the thing
which we
will do
to Gibeah;
we will go up
by lot
against it;
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.
So all the men
of Israel
were gathered
against the city,
knit together
as one man.
And the tribes
of Israel sent men
through all
the tribe
of Benjamin,
saying,
What wickedness
is
this that is done
among you?
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.
But the children
of Benjamin
gathered themselves
together out of the cities
unto Gibeah,
to go out
to battle
against the children
of Israel.
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.
Among all
this people
there were
seven hundred chosen men lefthanded;
every one
could sling
stones
at an hair breadth,
and not miss.
And the men
of Israel,
beside Benjamin,
were numbered
four hundred thousand men
that drew sword:
all these
were men
of war.
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.
And the children
of Israel
rose up
in the morning,
and encamped
against Gibeah.
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.
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.
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.
(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.)
And the children
of Israel
came near
against the children
of Benjamin
the second day.
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.
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.
And the children
of Israel
enquired
of the LORD,
(for the ark
of the covenant
of God
was there
in those days,
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.
And Israel set liers
in wait round
about Gibeah.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And
when the men
of Israel
turned again,
the men
of Benjamin
were amazed:
for they
saw that evil
was come upon them.
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.
Thus
they inclosed
the Benjamites round about,
and chased them,
and trode
them down
with ease over
against Gibeah
toward the sunrising.
And there fell
of Benjamin eighteen thousand men;
all these
were men
of valour.
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.
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.
But six hundred men
turned
and fled
to the wilderness
unto the rock Rimmon,
and abode
in the rock
Rimmon four months.
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.
Now the men
of Israel
had sworn
in Mizpeh,
saying,
There shall not any
of us give
his daughter
unto Benjamin
to wife.
And the people
came to the house
of God,
and abode
there till
even before God,
and lifted
up their voices,
and wept sore;
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?
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.
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.
And the children
of Israel
repented them
for Benjamin
their brother,
and said,
There
is
one tribe
cut off
from Israel this day.
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?
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.
For the people
were numbered,
and,
behold,
there were
none of the inhabitants
of Jabeshgilead there.
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.
And this
is the thing that
ye shall do,
Ye shall utterly destroy
every male,
and every woman that
hath lain
by man.
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.
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.
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.
And the people
repented them
for Benjamin,
because
that the LORD
had made
a breach
in the tribes
of Israel.
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?
And they said,
There
must be
an inheritance
for them that
be escaped
of Benjamin,
that a tribe
be not destroyed out of Israel.
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.
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.
Therefore they
commanded
the children
of Benjamin,
saying,
Go and lie
in wait
in the vineyards;
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.
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.
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.
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.
In those days
there was no king
in Israel:
every man
did
that which
was right
in his own eyes.