Bible (King James)/Judges

==Chapter 1==
 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the
children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for
us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
 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.
==Chapter 2==
 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.
==Chapter 3==
 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.
==Chapter 4==
 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.
==Chapter 5==
 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.
==Chapter 6==
 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.
==Chapter 7==
 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.
==Chapter 8==
 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.
==Chapter 9==
 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.
==Chapter 10==
 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.
==Chapter 11==
 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.
==Chapter 12==
 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.
==Chapter 13==
 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.
==Chapter 14==
 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.
==Chapter 15==
 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.
==Chapter 16==
 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.
==Chapter 17==
 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 a 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.
==Chapter 18==
 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.
==Chapter 19==
 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.
==Chapter 20==
 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.
==Chapter 21==
 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.