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