The World English Bible (WEB)

Chapter 34

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6:1 The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

6:2 The hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. 6:3 So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them; 6:4 and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey. 6:5 For they came up with their livestock and their tents; they came in as locusts for mult.i.tude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it. 6:6 Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried to Yahweh. 6:7 It happened, when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh because of Midian, 6:8 that Yahweh sent a prophet to the children of Israel: and he said to them, Thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; 6:9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land; 6:10 and I said to you, I am Yahweh your G.o.d; you shall not fear the G.o.ds of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not listened to my voice. 6:11 The angel of Yahweh came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. 6:12 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him, and said to him, Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor. 6:13 Gideon said to him, Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt? but now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. 6:14 Yahweh looked at him, and said, Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent you? 6:15 He said to him, Oh, Lord, with which shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Mana.s.seh, and I am the least in my father"s house. 6:16 Yahweh said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man. 6:17 He said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. 6:18 Please don"t go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you. He said, I will wait until you come again. 6:19 Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. 6:20 The angel of G.o.d said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. He did so. 6:21 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 went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Yahweh departed out of his sight. 6:22 Gideon saw that he was the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, Alas, Lord Yahweh! because I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face.

6:23 Yahweh said to him, Peace be to you; don"t be afraid: you shall not die. 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it Yahweh is Peace: to this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

6:25 It happened the same night, that Yahweh said to him, Take your father"s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it; 6:26 and build an altar to Yahweh your G.o.d on the top of this stronghold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.

6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him: and it happened, because he feared his father"s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 6:28 When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built. 6:29 They said one to another, Who has done this thing? When they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing. 6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it. 6:31 Joash said to all who stood against him, Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? he who will contend for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning: if he be a G.o.d, let him contend for himself, because one has broken down his altar. 6:32 Therefore on that day he named him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar. 6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east a.s.sembled themselves together; and they pa.s.sed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. 6:34 But the Spirit of Yahweh came on Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him. 6:35 He sent messengers throughout all Mana.s.seh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

6:36 Gideon said to G.o.d, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, 6:37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken. 6:38 It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. 6:39 Gideon said to G.o.d, Don"t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew. 6:40 G.o.d did so that night: for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 7:2 Yahweh said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My own hand has saved me. 7:3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead. There returned of the people twenty-two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. 7:4 Yahweh said to Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go. 7:5 So he brought down the people to the water: and Yahweh said to Gideon, Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him you shall set by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink. 7:6 The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water. 7:7 Yahweh said to Gideon, By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his place. 7:8 So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men: and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley. 7:9 It happened the same night, that Yahweh said to him, Arise, get you down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand. 7:10 But if you fear to go down, go you with Purah your servant down to the camp: 7:11 and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your will hands be strengthened to go down into the camp. Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp. 7:12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for mult.i.tude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seash.o.r.e for mult.i.tude. 7:13 When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat. 7:14 His fellow answered, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: into his hand G.o.d has delivered Midian, and all the army. 7:15 It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Yahweh has delivered into your hand the army of Midian. 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers. 7:17 He said to them, Look on me, and do likewise: and behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do. 7:18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow you the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For Yahweh and for Gideon. 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands. 7:20 The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they cried, The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon. 7:21 They stood every man in his place around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight. 7:22 They blew the three hundred trumpets, and Yahweh set every man"s sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth s.h.i.ttah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. 7:23 The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Mana.s.seh, and pursued after Midian. 7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan. 7:25 They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian: and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

8:1 The men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that you didn"t call us, when you went to fight with Midian? They did chide with him sharply. 8:2 He said to them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn"t the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 8:3 G.o.d has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. 8:4 Gideon came to the Jordan, and pa.s.sed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing. 8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. 8:6 The princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?

8:7 Gideon said, Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. 8:8 He went up there to Penuel, and spoke to them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. 8:9 He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.

8:11 Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of n.o.bah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army was secure.

8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army. 8:13 Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres. 8:14 He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men. 8:15 He came to the men of Succoth, and said, See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary? 8:16 He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. 8:17 He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city. 8:18 Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you killed at Tabor? They answered, As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. 8:19 He said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother: as Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you. 8:20 He said to Jether his firstborn, Up, and kill them. But the youth didn"t draw his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth. 8:21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise you, and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength. Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels" necks. 8:22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son"s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian. 8:23 Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Yahweh shall rule over you. 8:24 Gideon said to them, I would make a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 8:25 They answered, We will willingly give them. They spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil. 8:26 The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels" necks. 8:27 Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the prost.i.tute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house. 8:28 So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 8:29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives. 8:31 His concubine who was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 8:32 Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

8:33 It happened, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and played the prost.i.tute after the Baals, and made Baal Berith their G.o.d. 8:34 The children of Israel didn"t remember Yahweh their G.o.d, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side; 8:35 neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

9:1 Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother"s brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother"s father, saying, 9:2 Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?

Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 9:3 His mother"s brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. 9:4 They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him. 9:5 He went to his father"s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone: but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. 9:6 All the men of Shechem a.s.sembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem. 9:7 When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that G.o.d may listen to you. 9:8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign you over us. 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor G.o.d and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?

9:10 The trees said to the fig tree, Come you, and reign over us. 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave back and forth over the trees? 9:12 The trees said to the vine, Come you, and reign over us. 9:13 The vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers G.o.d and man, and go to wave back and forth over the trees? 9:14 Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come you, and reign over us. 9:15 The bramble said to the trees, If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 9:16 Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands 9:17 (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: 9:18 and you are risen up against my father"s house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother); 9:19 if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice you in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 9:20 but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 9:21 Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. 9:22 Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. 9:23 G.o.d sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: 9:24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 9:25 The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. 9:26 Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers, and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. 9:27 They went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and held festival, and went into the house of their G.o.d, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. 9:28 Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn"t he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve you the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: but why should we serve him? 9:29 Would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. He said to Abimelech, Increase your army, and come out. 9:30 When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. 9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech craftily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers are come to Shechem; and behold, they constrain the city to take part against you. 9:32 Now therefore, up by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field: 9:33 and it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early, and rush on the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion. 9:34 Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.

9:35 Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambush. 9:36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the tops of the mountains. Zebul said to him, You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

9:37 Gaal spoke again and said, Behold, there come people down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim. 9:38 Then said Zebul to him, Where is now your mouth, that you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out now, I pray, and fight with them. 9:39 Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and there fell many wounded, even to the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech lived at Arumah: and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, that they should not dwell in Shechem. 9:42 It happened on the next day, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. 9:43 He took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field; and he looked, and behold, the people came forth out of the city; He rose up against them, and struck them. 9:44 Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed on all who were in the field, and struck them. 9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were therein: and he beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. 9:46 When all the men of the tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of Elberith. 9:47 It was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 9:48 Abimelech got him up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder: and he said to the people who were with him, What you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. 9:49 All the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. 9:50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. 9:51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and there fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut themselves in, and got them up to the roof of the tower. 9:52 Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 9:53 A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech"s head, and broke his skull. 9:54 Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, A woman killed him. His young man thrust him through, and he died. 9:55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place. 9:56 Thus G.o.d requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in killing his seventy brothers; 9:57 and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did G.o.d requite on their heads: and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

10:1 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 10:2 He judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. 10:3 After him arose Jair, the Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth Jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 10:5 Jair died, and was buried in Kamon. 10:6 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baals, and the Ashtaroth, and the G.o.ds of Syria, and the G.o.ds of Sidon, and the G.o.ds of Moab, and the G.o.ds of the children of Ammon, and the G.o.ds of the Philistines; and they forsook Yahweh, and didn"t serve him. 10:7 The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.

10:8 They troubled and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years oppressed they all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 10:9 The children of Ammon pa.s.sed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. 10:10 The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, saying, We have sinned against you, even because we have forsaken our G.o.d, and have served the Baals. 10:11 Yahweh said to the children of Israel, Didn"t I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 10:12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and you cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 10:13 Yet you have forsaken me, and served other G.o.ds: therefore I will save you no more. 10:14 Go and cry to the G.o.ds which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress. 10:15 The children of Israel said to Yahweh, We have sinned: do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, we pray you, this day. 10:16 They put away the foreign G.o.ds from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. The children of Israel a.s.sembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpah. 10:18 The people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prost.i.tute: and Gilead became the father of Jephthah. 11:2 Gilead"s wife bore him sons; and when his wife"s sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, You shall not inherit in our father"s house; for you are the son of another woman. 11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him. 11:4 It happened after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 11:5 It was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah out of the land of Tob; 11:6 and they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 11:7 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Didn"t you hate me, and drive me out of my father"s house? and why are you come to me now when you are in distress? 11:8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 11:9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Yahweh deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 11:10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Yahweh shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do. 11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them: and Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh in Mizpah. 11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you are come to me to fight against my land? 11:13 The king of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 11:14 Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon; 11:15 and he said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel didn"t take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon, 11:16 but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh; 11:17 then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pa.s.s through your land; but the king of Edom didn"t listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 11:18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn"t come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 11:19 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let us pa.s.s, we pray you, through your land to my place. 11:20 But Sihon didn"t trust Israel to pa.s.s through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

11:21 Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 11:22 They possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan. 11:23 So now Yahweh, the G.o.d of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess them? 11:24 Won"t you possess that which Chemosh your G.o.d gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our G.o.d has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess. 11:25 Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 11:26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why didn"t you recover them within that time? 11:27 I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me: Yahweh, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. 11:28 However the king of the children of Ammon didn"t listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him. 11:29 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jephthah, and he pa.s.sed over Gilead and Mana.s.seh, and pa.s.sed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he pa.s.sed over to the children of Ammon. 11:30 Jephthah vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, 11:31 then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh"s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 11:32 So Jephthah pa.s.sed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh delivered them into his hand. 11:33 He struck them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abelcheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 11:34 Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house; and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 11:35 It happened, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I can"t go back. 11:36 She said to him, My father, you have opened your mouth to Yahweh; do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth, because Yahweh has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, even on the children of Ammon. 11:37 She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions. 11:38 He said, Go. He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her virginity on the mountains. 11:39 It happened at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she was a virgin. It was a custom in Israel, 11:40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

12:1 The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and pa.s.sed northward; and they said to Jephthah, Why did you pa.s.s over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didn"t call us to go with you? we will burn your house on you with fire. 12:2 Jephthah said to them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, you didn"t save me out of their hand. 12:3 When I saw that you didn"t save me, I put my life in my hand, and pa.s.sed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand: why then are you come up to me this day, to fight against me? 12:4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Mana.s.seh.

12:5 The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. It was so, that when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? If he said, No; 12:6 then said they to him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he couldn"t manage to p.r.o.nounce it right: then they laid hold on him, and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time of Ephraim forty-two thousand. 12:7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. 12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. 12:10 Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem. 12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12:12 Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. 12:13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty sons" sons, who rode on seventy donkey colts: and he judged Israel eight years. 12:15 Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

13:1 The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh; and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn"t bear. 13:3 The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and said to her, See now, you are barren, and don"t bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son. 13:4 Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don"t eat any unclean thing: 13:5 for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a n.a.z.irite to G.o.d from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of G.o.d came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of G.o.d, very awesome; and I didn"t ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name: 13:7 but he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a n.a.z.irite to G.o.d from the womb to the day of his death. 13:8 Then Manoah entreated Yahweh, and said, Oh, Lord, please let the man of G.o.d whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born. 13:9 G.o.d listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of G.o.d came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah, her husband, wasn"t with her. 13:10 The woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me the other day. 13:11 Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are you the man who spoke to the woman? He said, I am. 13:12 Manoah said, Now let your words happen: what shall be the ordering of the child, and how shall we do to him? 13:13 The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her beware. 13:14 She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe. 13:15 Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, I pray you, let us detain you, that we may make ready a kid for you. 13:16 The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I won"t eat of your bread; and if you will make ready a burnt offering, you must offer it to Yahweh. For Manoah didn"t know that he was the angel of Yahweh. 13:17 Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, What is your name, that when your words happen, we may honor you? 13:18 The angel of Yahweh said to him, Why do you ask after my name, seeing it is wonderful? 13:19 So Manoah took the kid with the meal offering, and offered it on the rock to Yahweh: and the angel did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. 13:20 For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. 13:21 But the angel of Yahweh did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh. 13:22 Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen G.o.d. 13:23 But his wife said to him, If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn"t have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these. 13:24 The woman bore a son, and named him Samson: and the child grew, and Yahweh blessed him. 13:25 The Spirit of Yahweh began to move him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 14:2 He came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me as wife. 14:3 Then his father and his mother said to him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncirc.u.mcised Philistines? Samson said to his father, Get her for me; for she pleases me well. 14:4 But his father and his mother didn"t know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel. 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and behold, a young lion roared against him. 14:6 The Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he didn"t tell his father or his mother what he had done. 14:7 He went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. 14:8 After a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carca.s.s of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 14:9 He took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave to them, and they ate: but he didn"t tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion. 14:10 His father went down to the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. 14:11 It happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 14:12 Samson said to them, Let me now put forth a riddle to you: if you can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing; 14:13 but if you can"t declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. They said to him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it. 14:14 He said to them,

Out of the eater came forth food. Out of the strong came forth sweetness. They couldn"t in three days declare the riddle. 14:15 It happened on the seventh day, that they said to Samson"s wife, Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father"s house with fire: have you called us to impoverish us? is it not so? 14:16 Samson"s wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and don"t love me: you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people, and haven"t told it me. He said to her, Behold, I haven"t told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you? 14:17 She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it happened on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 14:18 The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? He said to them,

If you hadn"t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn"t have found out my riddle. 14:19 The Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and struck thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger was kindled, and he went up to his father"s house. 14:20 But Samson"s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

15:1 But it happened after a while, 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 wouldn"t allow him to go in. 15:2 Her father said, I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: isn"t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead. 15:3 Samson said to them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief. 15:4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between every two tails. 15:5 When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves. 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? They said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 15:7 Samson said to them, If you do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 15:8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam. 15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 15:10 The men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us. 15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don"t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them. 15:12 They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.

Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves. 15:13 They spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand: but surely we will not kill you.

They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands. 15:15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith. 15:16 Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men. 15:17 It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi. 15:18 He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncirc.u.mcised. 15:19 But G.o.d split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day. 15:20 He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prost.i.tute, and went in to her. 16:2 It was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Let be until morning light, then we will kill him. 16:3 Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron. 16:4 It came to pa.s.s afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 16:5 The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will each give you of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. 16:6 Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, Please, in which your great strength lies, and with which you might be bound to afflict you.

16:7 Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 16:9 Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner chamber. She said to him, "The Philistines are on you, Samson!" He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known. 16:10 Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, Please, with which you might be bound. 16:11 He said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. The ambush was waiting in the inner chamber. He broke them off his arms like a thread. 16:13 Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto you have mocked me, and told me lies: tell me with which you might be bound. He said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web. 16:14 She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. 16:15 She said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me in which your great strength lies. 16:16 It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death. 16:17 He told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a n.a.z.irite to G.o.d from my mother"s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man." 16:18 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 has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.

16:19 She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 16:20 She said, The Philistines are on you, Samson. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he didn"t know that Yahweh had departed from him. 16:21 The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bra.s.s; and he ground at the mill in the prison. 16:22 However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved. 16:23 The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their G.o.d, and to rejoice; for they said, Our G.o.d has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their G.o.d; for they said, Our G.o.d has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us. 16:25 It happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. They called for Samson out of the prison; and he made sport before them. They set him between the pillars: 16:26 and Samson said to the boy who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house rests, that I may lean on them. 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.

16:28 Samson called to Yahweh, and said, Lord Yahweh, remember me, Please, and strengthen me, Please, only this once, G.o.d, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. 16:30 Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life. 16:31 Then his brothers 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 burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.

17:1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 17:2 He said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you did utter a curse, and did also speak it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. His mother said, Blessed be my son of Yahweh. 17:3 He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it to you. 17:4 When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

17:5 The man Micah had a house of G.o.ds, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 17:7 There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.

17:8 The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled. 17:9 Micah said to him, Whence come you? He said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 17:10 Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of clothing, and your food. So the Levite went in. 17:11 The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. 17:12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 17:13 Then said Micah, Now know I that Yahweh will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

18:2 The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land. They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

18:3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, Who brought you here? and what do you in this place? and what have you here?

18:4 He said to them, Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest. 18:5 They said to him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of G.o.d, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 18:6 The priest said to them, Go in peace: before Yahweh is your way wherein you go. 18:7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man. 18:8 They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, What say you? 18:9 They said, Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good: and are you still? don"t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land. 18:10 When you go, you shall come to a people secure, and the land is large; for G.o.d has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth. 18:11 There set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war. 18:12 They went up, and encamped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan, to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim. 18:13 They pa.s.sed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. 18:14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what you have to do. 18:15 They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 18:16 The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 18:17 The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war. 18:18 When these went into Micah"s house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What do you? 18:19 They said to him, Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel? 18:20 The priest"s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people. 18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them. 18:22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah"s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 18:23 They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company? 18:24 He said, you have taken away my G.o.ds which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I more? and how then say you to me, What ails you? 18:25 The children of Dan said to him, "Don"t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household." 18:26 The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. 18:27 They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire. 18:28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein. 18:29 They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first. 18:30 The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 18:31 So they set them up Micah"s engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of G.o.d was in Shiloh.

19:1 It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.

19:2 His concubine played the prost.i.tute against him, and went away from him to her father"s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there the s.p.a.ce of four months. 19:3 Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father"s house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. 19:4 His father-in-law, the young lady"s father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there. 19:5 It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady"s father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way. 19:6 So they sat down, ate, and drank, both of them together: and the young lady"s father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry. 19:7 The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again. 19:8 He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady"s father said, Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them. 19:9 When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady"s father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home. 19:10 But the man wouldn"t stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him. 19:11 When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. 19:12 His master said to him, We won"t turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pa.s.s over to Gibeah.

19:13 He said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah. 19:14 So they pa.s.sed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 19:15 They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to lodge. 19:16 Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites. 19:17 He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? and whence come you? 19:18 He said to him, We are pa.s.sing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim; from there am I, and I went to Bethlehem Judah: and I am now going to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into his house. 19:19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything. 19:20 The old man said, Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don"t lodge in the street. 19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet, and ate and drink. 19:22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into your house, that we may know him.

19:23 The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, please don"t act so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, don"t do this folly. 19:24 Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man don"t do any such folly. 19:25 But the men wouldn"t listen to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man"s house where her lord was, until it was light. 19:27 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, with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 He said to her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and got him to his place. 19:29 When he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid

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