Judges
1:1 Following Joshua’s passing, the Israelite tribes sought guidance from the LORD, inquiring, “Which of us should first march against the Canaanites to battle them?”
1:2 The LORD answered, “Judah shall lead. I have given the land into their control.”
1:3 Judah then said to Simeon, his sibling, “Join me in my territory to confront the Canaanites, and I too will accompany you in yours.” Consequently, Simeon allied with him.
1:4 As Judah advanced, the LORD enabled them to conquer the Canaanites and Perizzites, leading to ten thousand men’s defeat at Bezek.
1:5 In Bezek, they encountered Adonibezek, battled him, and overcame the Canaanites and Perizzites.
1:6 Adonibezek fled, but they chased, captured him, and amputated his thumbs and big toes.
1:7 Adonibezek lamented, “Seventy kings, stripped of their thumbs and big toes, scavenged under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” He was then brought to Jerusalem, where he died.
1:8 The Judahites battled against Jerusalem, captured it, struck it with the sword’s edge, and set it ablaze.
1:9 Subsequently, the Judahites descended to combat the Canaanites inhabiting the mountains, the Negev, and the lowlands.
1:10 In Hebron (formerly Kirjatharba), Judah attacked the Canaanites, defeating Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
1:11 From there, they advanced against Debir’s residents (previously Kirjathsepher).
1:12 Caleb proclaimed, “Whoever conquers Kirjathsepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.”
1:13 Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, seized the city, and Caleb gave him Achsah as a wife.
1:14 When she arrived, she urged him to request a field from her father. Dismounting her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you wish?”
1:15 She replied, “Bless me with a gift. You have given me arid land; also grant me springs of water.” Caleb then bestowed upon her the upper and lower springs.
1:16 Descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, journeyed from the City of Palms with Judahites to the Judean wilderness south of Arad, where they settled among the people.
1:17 Judah, with Simeon, annihilated the Canaanites in Zephath, completely destroying it. The city was renamed Hormah.
1:18 Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their territories.
1:19 The LORD aided Judah in driving out mountain inhabitants but couldn’t expel valley dwellers with iron chariots.
1:20 As Moses had directed, they granted Hebron to Caleb, who expelled Anak’s three sons.
1:21 The Benjamites didn’t expel the Jebusites in Jerusalem; hence, the Jebusites cohabitated with Benjamites in Jerusalem to this day.
1:22 The Josephites also attacked Bethel, with the LORD’s support.
1:23 They scouted Bethel (formerly Luz),
1:24 and upon seeing a man leave the city, they requested he show them the entrance, promising mercy.
1:25 He revealed the entry, and they struck the city with the sword but spared the man and his family.
1:26 The man then settled in Hittite territory, founded a city, naming it Luz, which remains its name.
1:27 Manasseh didn’t expel Bethshean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo residents, or their towns’ inhabitants, allowing Canaanites to stay in that land.
1:28 When Israel grew strong, they subjected Canaanites to forced labor but didn’t entirely expel them.
1:29 Likewise, Ephraim didn’t remove Gezer’s Canaanites, who dwelled among them.
1:30 Zebulun didn’t expel Kitron and Nahalol inhabitants; Canaanites lived among them, becoming forced laborers.
1:31 Asher didn’t expel residents of Accho, Zidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, Rehob;
1:32 they lived among Canaanites in the land, failing to expel them.
1:33 Naphtali didn’t drive out Bethshemesh and Bethanath inhabitants; they lived among Canaanites, subjecting them to forced labor.
1:34 Amorites confined Danites to the mountains, preventing them from descending to the valley.
1:35 Amorites chose to inhabit Mount Heres, Aijalon, Shaalbim, yet the Josephites subdued them, reducing them to forced labor.
1:36 The Amorite territory extended from Scorpion Pass, the rock, and upwards.
2:1 A LORD’s angel ascended from Gilgal to Bochim, declaring, “I led you from Egypt to the land I promised your forebears. I vowed never to break my covenant with you.
2:2 You mustn’t align with this land’s inhabitants or raze their altars. Yet you haven’t obeyed me. Why have you done this?”
2:3 Thus, I declared, “I won’t expel them; they’ll be thorns in your sides, and their gods, a snare to you.”
2:4 Upon hearing these words, the Israelites cried aloud, naming that place Bochim. They offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
2:5 After Joshua dismissed the people, each went to their inheritance to occupy the land.
2:6 They served the LORD throughout Joshua’s life and the elders who outlived him, having witnessed the LORD’s mighty deeds for Israel.
2:7 Joshua, Nun’s son and the LORD’s servant, passed away at 110 years.
2:8 They interred him within his inheritance’s boundary at Timnath-heres, in Ephraim’s mountains, north of Mount Gaash.
2:9 That generation joined their ancestors in death, and a new generation arose, unfamiliar with the LORD or His deeds for Israel.
2:10 The Israelites turned to evil in the LORD’s sight, worshipping Baalim.
2:11 They abandoned the LORD, their ancestors’ God, who brought them from Egypt, following and bowing to surrounding peoples’ gods, provoking the LORD.
2:12 Forsaking the LORD, they served Baal and Ashtaroth.
2:13 The LORD’s anger flared against Israel, delivering them to plunderers who despoiled them, selling them to surrounding enemies, rendering them unable to resist.
2:14 Whenever they ventured, the LORD’s hand was against them, as He had warned, and they were in great distress.
2:15 Nonetheless, the LORD raised judges to rescue them from plunderers.
2:16 Yet they wouldn’t listen to their judges, pursuing other gods and bowing to them. They quickly deviated from their ancestors’ path, disobeying the LORD’s commandments.
2:17 The LORD accompanied the judge, delivering them from enemies during the judge’s lifetime. He relented due to their groaning under oppression and harassment.
2:18 But when the judge died, they reverted, acting more corruptly than their ancestors, following and bowing to other gods, relentless in their ways.
2:19 The LORD’s anger intensified against Israel. He declared, “Since this nation has violated the covenant I made with their forebears and ignored my voice,
2:20 I will no longer expel any nations Joshua left.
2:21 They will test Israel to see if they follow the LORD’s path, as their forebears did.”
2:22 The LORD allowed those nations to remain, not swiftly driving them out or handing them over to Joshua.
3:1 The LORD left certain nations to test Israel, particularly those unfamiliar with Canaan’s wars.
3:2 This was to teach warfare to future generations of Israelites who had no prior experience.
3:3 These included the five Philistine rulers, all Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites living in Mount Lebanon from Baal-hermon to Hamath’s entrance.
3:4 These nations served to test Israel, to see if they would adhere to the LORD’s commandments given through Moses.
3:5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
3:6 They intermarried with them and worshipped their gods.
3:7 The Israelites sinned before the LORD, forgetting Him and serving Baalim and the groves.
3:8 Angered, the LORD surrendered them to Chushanrishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. The Israelites served him eight years.
3:9 In their distress, they cried to the LORD, who raised a deliverer, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
3:10 The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel. He judged Israel, waged war, and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim into his hands.
3:11 The land then had peace for forty years, until Othniel passed away.
3:12 Israel again sinned in the LORD’s sight. He empowered Eglon, king of Moab, against them.
3:13 Eglon allied with Ammon and Amalek, defeated Israel, and captured the city of palm trees.
3:14 Israel served Eglon eighteen years.
3:15 When they cried to the LORD, He raised Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, who sent a tribute to Eglon.
3:16 Ehud crafted a double-edged dagger, a cubit long, hiding it on his right thigh.
3:17 He presented the tribute to Eglon, who was very fat.
3:18 After presenting it, Ehud dismissed the bearers.
3:19 Returning from the quarries near Gilgal, he told Eglon, “I have a secret message for you.” The king commanded silence, and all attendants left.
3:20 Ehud approached Eglon, who was sitting alone in his cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king rose.
3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the dagger, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.
3:22 The handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed over it; Ehud couldn’t pull the dagger out, and Eglon’s bowels discharged.
3:23 Ehud left, locking the doors behind him.
3:24 When Eglon’s servants arrived, they found the doors locked and assumed he was relieving himself in the cool room.
3:25 They waited till embarrassed. When he didn’t open the doors, they unlocked them and found their lord dead.
3:26 Ehud escaped while they waited and reached Seirath.
3:27 On arriving, he sounded a trumpet in the Ephraim mountains. The Israelites followed him down, with him leading.
3:28 He told them, “Follow me, for the LORD has delivered the Moabites.” They followed, seized the Jordan fords leading to Moab, and allowed no one to cross.
3:29 They struck Moab, killing about ten thousand robust, valiant men. None escaped.
3:30 Moab was subdued under Israel’s hand, and the land had peace eighty years.
3:31 After him, Shamgar, son of Anath, killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, also saving Israel.
4:1 After Ehud’s death, Israel again sinned in the LORD’s sight.
4:2 The LORD gave them to Jabin, king of Canaan, in Hazor, whose army commander was Sisera, dwelling in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
4:3 Israel cried to the LORD against Sisera, who had nine hundred iron chariots and harshly oppressed Israel twenty years.
4:4 Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel then.
4:5 She sat under Deborah’s palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the Ephraim mountains, where Israelites sought her judgment.
4:6 She summoned Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali, saying, “Hasn’t the LORD commanded, ‘Lead to Mount Tabor, taking ten thousand from Naphtali and Zebulun’?
4:7 I will lure Sisera, Jabin’s army commander, with his chariots and troops to the Kishon River and deliver him to you.”
4:8 Barak said, “If you go with me, I’ll go; if not, I won’t.”
4:9 She agreed, warning him that the LORD would deliver Sisera into a woman’s hand. Deborah rose and accompanied Barak to Kedesh.
4:10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah went too.
4:11 Heber the Kenite, from Moses’ father-in-law Hobab’s clan, had pitched his tent near Kedesh at Zaanannim plain.
4:12 They informed Sisera that Barak had ascended Mount Tabor.
4:13 Sisera gathered his nine hundred iron chariots and all his men from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the Kishon River.
4:14 Deborah told Barak, “Go, for this is the day the LORD delivers Sisera. Isn’t the LORD before you?” So Barak descended Mount Tabor with ten thousand men.
4:15 The LORD routed Sisera, all his chariots, and army before Barak. Sisera dismounted and fled on foot.
4:16 Barak pursued the chariots and army to Harosheth of the Gentiles. Sisera’s entire force fell by the sword; no one survived.
4:17 Sisera fled on foot to Jael’s tent, wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin and Heber’s clan.
4:18 Jael met Sisera and invited him in, covering him with a mantle.
4:19 He asked for water; she gave him milk, covering him again.
4:20 He told her to stand at the tent door and deny any man’s presence if asked.
4:21 While he slept, Jael took a tent peg and hammer, silently approached, and drove the peg through his temple into the ground, killing him.
4:22 As Barak pursued Sisera, Jael emerged, showing him Sisera’s body.
4:23 Thus, God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before Israel.
4:24 Israel’s might grew against Jabin until they destroyed him.
5:1 Deborah and Barak sang that day, praising the LORD for avenging Israel, as the people willingly offered themselves.
5:2 Listen, kings; pay attention, princes. I will sing to the LORD, praising the God of Israel.
5:3 When the LORD marched from Seir and Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, and clouds dropped water.
5:4 Mountains quaked before the LORD, even Sinai before the God of Israel.
5:5 In Shamgar and Jael’s time, main roads were deserted, travelers used byways.
5:6 Village life ceased in Israel until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel.
5:7 When new gods were chosen, war came to the gates, and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
5:8 My heart is with Israel’s leaders, who willingly volunteered. Bless the LORD.
5:9 You who ride white donkeys, sit in judgment, and walk the roads, speak.
5:10 Those freed from archers at water wells will recount the LORD’s righteous acts, His deeds for His villages in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went to the gates.
5:11 Awake, Deborah; awake, sing a song. Arise, Barak, and capture your captives, son of Abinoam.
5:12 Those remaining ruled the nobles; the LORD gave me dominion over the mighty.
5:13 From Ephraim, a root against Amalek; after you, Benjamin, among your people. From Machir, leaders came down, and from Zebulun, those wielding the scribe’s pen.
5:14 Issachar’s princes were with Deborah, as was Issachar with Barak, sent into the valley on foot. In Reuben’s divisions, great heart-searching.
5:15 Why did you stay among the sheep pens, listening to the shepherds’ flutes? In Reuben’s divisions, great heart-searching.
5:16 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. Why did Dan remain in ships? Asher stayed on the seacoast, dwelling in his ports.
5:17 Zebulun and Naphtali risked their lives on the battlefield.
5:18 Kings came and fought, Canaan’s kings at Taanach by Megiddo’s waters, but they took no spoils.
5:19 From heaven, the stars fought against Sisera.
5:20 The Kishon River swept them away, the ancient river, the Kishon. My soul, trample down strength.
5:21 Then the horse hooves shattered from galloping, galloping mighty steeds.
5:22 Curse Meroz, said the LORD’s angel, curse its inhabitants bitterly for not aiding the LORD against the mighty.
5:23 Jael, Heber’s wife, shall be blessed above women in tents.
5:24 Above all women in the tent, Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, is blessed; most exalted among tent-dwelling women.
5:25 When he requested water, she offered milk; in a majestic dish, she presented curdled cream.
5:26 Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. She struck Sisera; she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
5:27 At her feet, he sank, he fell, he lay still; at her feet, he sank, he fell. Where he sank, there he fell—dead.
5:28 Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice, she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’
5:29 The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps repeating to herself,
5:30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a girl or two for each man, colourful garments as plunder for Sisera, colourful garments embroidered, two pieces of colourful embroidery for the neck of the looter?’
5:31 May all your enemies perish, O LORD! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength. Then the land had peace for forty years.
6:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.
6:2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.
6:4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.
6:5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.
6:6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
6:7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian,
6:8 he sent them a prophet, who said, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
6:9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
6:10 I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.’
6:11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
6:12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’
6:13 ‘But sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.’
6:14 The LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’
6:15 ‘But Lord,’ Gideon asked, ‘how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’
6:16 The LORD answered, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.’
6:17 Gideon replied, ‘If now I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
6:18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.’ And the LORD said, ‘I will wait until you return.’
6:19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
6:20 The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And Gideon did so.
6:21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.
6:22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, ‘Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!’
6:23 But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’
6:24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
6:25 That same night the LORD said to him, ‘Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
6:26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.’
6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
6:28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
6:29 They asked each other, ‘Who did this?’ When they carefully investigated, they were told, ‘Gideon son of Joash did it.’
6:30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, ‘Bring out your son. He must die because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.’
6:31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, ‘Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.’
6:32 So that day they called Gideon ‘Jerub-Baal’, saying, ‘Let Baal contend with him,’ because he broke down Baal’s altar.
6:33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
6:34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.
6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
6:36 Gideon said to God, ‘If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—
6:37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.’
6:38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
6:39 Then Gideon said to God, ‘Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.’
6:40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.
7:1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her,
7:3 announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’’ So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
7:4 The LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
7:5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.”
7:6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
7:7 The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”
7:8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.
7:9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.
7:10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah
7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
7:12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
7:13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
7:14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
7:15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”
7:16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
7:17 “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.
7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’”
7:19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
7:20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
7:21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
7:22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.
7:25 They captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
8:1 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.
8:2 But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?
8:3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.
8:4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.
8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
8:6 But the officials of Succoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”
8:7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
8:8 From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had.
8:9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”
8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.
8:11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army.
8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
8:13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.
8:14 He captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town.
8:15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’”
8:16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.
8:17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.
8:18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”
8:19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.”
8:20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.
8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.
8:22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
8:23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.”
8:24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)
8:25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it.
8:26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels’ necks.
8:27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.
8:28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they did not raise their heads again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land enjoyed peace for forty years.
8:29 Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went to live in his own house.
8:30 Gideon had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.
8:31 His concubine in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech.
8:32 Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
8:33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god
8:34 and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
8:35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.
9:1 Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan,
9:2 “Ask all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerubbaal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember, I am your flesh and blood.”
9:3 When his mother’s brothers spoke about him to all the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
9:4 They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers.
9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, escaped by hiding.
9:6 Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.
9:7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
9:8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
9:9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’
9:10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
9:11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’
9:12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
9:13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’
9:14 “Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come and be our king.’
9:15 “The bramble said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’
9:16 “Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves—
9:17 (remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian,
9:18 but today you have revolted against my father’s family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother)—
9:19 if you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerubbaal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!
9:20 But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!”
9:21 Jotham, seized by fear of his brother Abimelech, fled and sought refuge in Beer, where he made his abode.
9:22 Abimelech, having reigned over Israel for three years,
9:23 then witnessed the Lord sending a malevolent spirit between him and the men of Shechem, resulting in their betrayal.
9:24 This act was to bring retribution for the heinous slaughter of Jerubbaal’s seventy sons, their blood to be avenged upon Abimelech, their fratricidal kin, and the men of Shechem who had abetted in their murder.
9:25 The men of Shechem, in their treachery, lay in ambush atop the mountains, plundering all travellers passing their way, and news of this reached Abimelech.
9:26 Gaal, son of Ebed, arrived in Shechem with his brothers, swiftly gaining the trust of its people.
9:27 They celebrated in the vineyards, crushing grapes, feasting, and revelling, then entered their god’s temple to continue their banquet, cursing Abimelech amidst their merriment.
9:28 Gaal, son of Ebed, challenged the authority of Abimelech and Shechem, questioning their right to rule. He scorned Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, and his officer Zebul, urging allegiance to the lineage of Hamor, Shechem’s father.
9:29 He wished for power over the people, promising to dethrone Abimelech, mockingly suggesting that Abimelech increase his army for a confrontation.
9:30 Zebul, the city’s ruler, infuriated by Gaal’s words,
9:31 secretly sent word to Abimelech of Gaal’s arrival and his fortification of Shechem against him.
9:32 He advised Abimelech to ambush the city by night,
9:33 attacking at dawn, promising opportunity for retaliation against Gaal and his followers.
9:34 Abimelech and his forces advanced by night, setting up four divisions around Shechem in ambush.
9:35 As Gaal stood at the city gate, Abimelech and his men, previously concealed, emerged.
9:36 Gaal, spotting the approaching troops, was dismissed by Zebul, who suggested he mistook the mountain’s shadows for men.
9:37 Gaal, persisting, pointed out more troops descending from the central land and another group by the plain of Meonenim.
9:38 Zebul, confronting Gaal’s earlier braggadocio, challenged him to face the forces he had derided and to engage in battle with Abimelech.
9:39 Gaal led the men of Shechem into combat against Abimelech.
9:40 Abimelech routed Gaal, who fled, causing many to fall wounded up to the city gate.
9:41 Abimelech then resided at Arumah, while Zebul expelled Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.
9:42 The following day, as the people ventured into the fields, Abimelech was informed.
9:43 He divided his forces into three groups, laying in wait in the fields. Upon seeing the people emerge from the city, they attacked.
9:44 Abimelech and his group thrust forward to the city gate, while the other units attacked those in the fields, slaying them.
9:45 Abimelech besieged the city all day, capturing it, massacring its inhabitants, demolishing the city, and salting the earth.
9:46 Hearing this, all the men in the tower of Shechem sought refuge in the temple of their god Berith.
9:47 Abimelech was informed of their congregation.
9:48 He ascended Mount Zalmon with his troops, cut down a tree branch, shouldered it, and instructed his men to do likewise.
9:49 They then set the temple stronghold ablaze, killing about a thousand men and women.
9:50 Abimelech proceeded to Thebez, besieged and captured it.
9:51 However, the city’s tower remained a stronghold where all fled and barricaded themselves in.
9:52 Abimelech attacked the tower, attempting to burn its entrance.
9:53 A woman dropped a millstone on Abimelech’s head, fracturing his skull.
9:54 He hastily commanded his armour-bearer to kill him, to avoid the disgrace of perishing by a woman’s hand. The armour-bearer complied, and Abimelech died.
9:55 The Israelites, seeing Abimelech’s demise, returned to their homes.
9:56 Thus, the Lord requited the wickedness Abimelech had wrought against his father, murdering his seventy brothers.
9:57 And the evil of the men of Shechem was repaid upon them, fulfilling Jotham’s curse, son of Jerubbaal.
10:1 Subsequently, Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo of Issachar, arose to safeguard Israel, residing in Shamir in the Ephraim mountains.
10:2 He judged Israel for twenty-three years before his death, and was interred in Shamir.
10:3 After him, Jair, a Gileadite, ascended as Israel’s judge for twenty-two years.
10:4 He fathered thirty sons, each riding their own donkey colt, ruling over thirty towns in Gilead, collectively known as Havothjair.
10:5 Jair passed away and was laid to rest in Camon.
10:6 Yet again, the Israelites defied the Lord, worshipping Baalim, Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, Zidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines, forsaking the Lord.
10:7 The Lord’s wrath blazed against Israel, delivering them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites.
10:8 They oppressed and tormented the Israelites for eighteen years, affecting all residing east of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.
10:9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to wage war against Judah, Benjamin, and the Ephraimites, causing great distress in Israel.
10:10 In their anguish, the Israelites implored the Lord, confessing their sins of forsaking Him and worshipping Baalim.
10:11 The Lord reminded them of past deliverances from various oppressors and questioned their current fidelity.
10:12 Despite their distress, the Lord declined to rescue them, urging them to seek help from the gods they had chosen.
10:13 Yet the Israelites admitted their transgression, submitting to whatever the Lord deemed just, pleading only for immediate deliverance.
10:14 The Lord, moved by their plight,
10:15 relented as they discarded foreign gods, worshipping Him once more.
10:16 Thus, the Ammonites mobilized for war in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled in Mizpeh.
10:17 They pondered who might lead them against the Ammonites, promising leadership over Gilead to such a man.
11:1 Jephthah, a valiant Gileadite warrior, the son of a harlot, was born to Gilead.
11:2 When Gilead’s lawful sons matured, they ousted Jephthah, declaring he would inherit nothing in their father’s house due to his maternal lineage.
11:3 Jephthah fled from his kin, residing in the land of Tob, where he gathered a band of adventurers.
11:4 In time, the Ammonites declared war on Israel.
11:5 As the Ammonite threat loomed, the Gilead elders sought out Jephthah in Tob.
11:6 They implored him to lead them against the Ammonites.
11:7 Jephthah reminded them of their previous animosity and expulsion, questioning their sudden change of heart in times of distress.
11:8 They responded, urging his return to command them against Ammon, promising him leadership over all Gilead inhabitants.
11:9 Jephthah sought assurance of their pledge, should the Lord grant victory over the Ammonites.
11:10 They swore by the Lord to uphold their promise.
11:11 Jephthah agreed, assuming command, and voiced his conditions before the Lord in Mizpeh.
11:12 He then sent envoys to the Ammonite king, querying his reason for aggression.
11:13 The king claimed Israel had seized his land during their exodus from Egypt, demanding its return.
11:14 Jephthah sent a second delegation,
11:15 clarifying that Israel had not appropriated land from either Moab or Ammon.
11:16 He recounted Israel’s journey from Egypt, their respectful requests to traverse Edom and Moab, which were denied, leading them to sojourn in Kadesh.
11:17 Israel’s peaceful appeals to Edom and Moab were rebuffed, resulting in their detour through the wilderness, skirting Moab’s borders, and encamping beyond Arnon, avoiding Moabite territory.
11:18 Israel journeyed around Moab and Edom, then petitioned Sihon, the Amorite king in Heshbon, for passage through his domain.
11:19 Israel dispatched envoys to Sihon, ruler of the Amorites in Heshbon. Israel implored, “Permit us, please, to traverse your realm to our destination.”
11:20 Sihon, distrusting Israel’s passage through his land, mobilized his forces, encamping in Jahaz, to confront Israel.
11:21 The Lord, Israel’s God, handed Sihon and his people over to Israel, who vanquished them, thus claiming the Amorites’ territory.
11:22 They seized the entire Amorite domain, from Arnon to Jabbok, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
11:23 The Lord, God of Israel, expelled the Amorites for His people. Should you then claim their land?
11:24 Would you not claim what Chemosh, your deity, grants? Likewise, we claim lands our Lord God displaces before us.
11:25 Do you surpass Balak, Zippor’s son, king of Moab? Did he ever challenge Israel or wage war against them,
11:26 while Israel inhabited Heshbon, its towns, Aroer, its towns, and cities along Arnon’s banks for three centuries? Why didn’t you reclaim them during that time?
11:27 I’ve not wronged you, yet you wage war on me. Let the Lord, the Judge, arbitrate today between Israel and Ammon’s children.
11:28 However, Ammon’s king disregarded Jephthah’s messages.
11:29 The Spirit of the Lord descended upon Jephthah, who traversed Gilead, Manasseh, Mizpeh of Gilead, and then advanced against Ammon’s offspring.
11:30 Jephthah vowed to the Lord: “If You assuredly deliver Ammon’s children into my hands,
11:31 then whatever first exits my house to greet me upon my peaceful return from Ammon’s children shall belong to the Lord, offered as a burnt sacrifice.”
11:32 Jephthah confronted Ammon’s children in battle, and the Lord granted him victory.
11:33 He struck them from Aroer to Minnith—twenty cities—and as far as the plains of the vineyards, inflicting a significant defeat. Thus, Ammon’s children were subdued before Israel.
11:34 On reaching Mizpeh, his home, Jephthah’s daughter greeted him with timbrels and dances. She was his sole offspring; he had no other son or daughter.
11:35 Witnessing her, he tore his garments, lamenting, “Alas, my daughter! You’ve brought me low, becoming my torment. I’ve pledged a vow to the Lord, and I cannot retract it.”
11:36 She replied, “Father, if you’ve vowed to the Lord, fulfill it as uttered; for the Lord has avenged you on Ammon’s children.”
11:37 She requested, “Grant me this: Let me wander the mountains for two months, lamenting my virginity with my companions.”
11:38 He agreed, sending her away for two months. She and her companions mourned her virginity in the mountains.
11:39 After two months, she returned, and her father fulfilled his vow; she remained a virgin. This became a custom in Israel,
11:40 where Israel’s daughters annually lament Jephthah’s daughter for four days.
12:1 The Ephraimites assembled, marching north, confronting Jephthah: “Why did you attack Ammon’s children without inviting us? We’ll burn your house over you.”
12:2 Jephthah explained, “I and my people were in dire conflict with Ammon’s children. Despite my call, you didn’t rescue me from their clutches.
12:3 Seeing no rescue from you, I risked my life against Ammon’s children, and the Lord granted their defeat. Why then confront me now?”
12:4 Jephthah rallied Gilead’s men, clashing with Ephraim. Gilead struck Ephraim, who derogatorily called Gileadites fugitives of Ephraim and Manasseh.
12:5 Gilead seized Jordan’s fords from escaping Ephraimites. When an escapee denied being an Ephraimite,
12:6 they’d challenge him to say “Shibboleth.” If he said “Sibboleth,” exposing his dialect, they’d slay him at Jordan’s fords. Thus, forty-two thousand Ephraimites perished.
12:7 Jephthah led Israel for six years, then passed away and was buried in Gilead.
12:8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem governed Israel.
12:9 He fathered thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters abroad for marriage and brought in thirty daughters-in-law. His rule over Israel lasted seven years.
12:10 Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
12:11 Following him, Elon of Zebulon judged Israel, leading for ten years.
12:12 Elon the Zebulonite died and was interred in Aijalon in Zebulon’s land.
12:13 Then Abdon, Hillel’s son, a Pirathonite, governed Israel.
12:14 He fathered forty sons and thirty grandsons, riding on seventy young donkeys. He led Israel for eight years.
12:15 Abdon, Hillel’s son, the Pirathonite, died and was entombed in Pirathon, Ephraim’s land, in Amalekite country.
13:1 The Israelites erred again before the Lord, who delivered them to the Philistines for forty years.
13:2 A Zorah man of Dan’s clan, Manoah, had a barren wife.
13:3 The Lord’s angel appeared to her, declaring, “You’re barren, but will conceive and bear a son.
13:4 Beware, drink no wine or strong drink, and avoid unclean food;
13:5 for you’ll bear a son. No razor shall touch him, as he’ll be a Nazarite to God from birth, and he’ll commence Israel’s deliverance from the Philistines.”
13:6 She informed her husband, “A divine man visited me, his appearance angelic and awe-inspiring. I didn’t inquire his origin, nor did he disclose his name.
13:7 He assured me of bearing a son, advising abstention from wine, strong drink, and unclean food, as the child is to be a lifelong Nazarite to God.”
13:8 Manoah implored the Lord, “Oh Lord, let the divine man You sent return to teach us how to raise the child.”
13:9 God heeded Manoah; the angel revisited the woman in the field, her husband absent.
13:10 She hastened to her husband, revealing, “The man who previously appeared to me has returned.”
13:11 Manoah followed her, asking the man, “Are you who spoke to my wife?” He affirmed, “I am.”
13:12 Manoah sought confirmation of his predictions, asking about the child’s upbringing and tasks.
13:13 The angel instructed, “Let the woman heed all I commanded her.
13:14 She must abstain from vine products, wine, strong drink, and unclean food—adhering to my directives.”
13:15 Manoah invited the angel to stay for a meal.
13:16 The angel declined, suggesting a burnt offering to the Lord instead, as Manoah didn’t realize he was an angel.
13:17 Manoah inquired the angel’s name for future honor, upon his prophecies’ fulfillment.
13:18 The angel, citing his name as beyond understanding, declined.
13:19 Manoah offered a sacrifice on a rock to the Lord; the angel performed wonders, observed by Manoah and his wife.
13:20 As flames ascended, the angel rose in them, prompting Manoah and his wife to fall prostrate.
13:21 The angel didn’t reappear to Manoah and his wife. Realizing he was an angel,
13:22 Manoah feared death for seeing God.
13:23 His wife reassured him that God, accepting their offerings, would not slay them but reveal such wonders and messages.
13:24 She bore a son, naming him Samson. The child grew, blessed by the Lord.
13:25 The Lord’s Spirit began stirring him in Dan’s camp, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14:1 Samson visited Timnath, where he saw a Philistine woman.
14:2 He informed his parents, desiring her as his wife.
14:3 His parents questioned his choice, favoring a woman from their people. But Samson insisted, finding her pleasing.
14:4 Unbeknownst to his parents, this was the Lord’s plan against the Philistines, who then ruled Israel.
14:5 Samson, with his parents, went to Timnath, encountering a roaring young lion in the vineyards.
14:6 The Lord’s Spirit empowered him to tear the lion apart, unaided and unreported to his parents.
14:7 He conversed with the woman, who delighted him.
14:8 Later, revisiting her, he observed bees and honey in the lion’s carcass.
14:9 Taking the honey, he ate and shared it with his parents, not revealing its source.
14:10 His father arranged the woman’s marriage to Samson, who held a feast as customary.
14:11 Seeing him, the locals provided thirty companions.
14:12 Samson proposed a riddle to them: “Solve this enigma during the seven-day feast, and I’ll bestow thirty sheets and thirty sets of clothing.
14:13 Fail, and you shall gift the same to me.” They urged him to present the riddle.
14:14 He declared, “From the devourer emerged food, from the mighty emerged sweetness.” They couldn’t decipher it in three days.
14:15 On the seventh day, they pressed Samson’s wife, threatening to burn her and her father’s house: “Did you invite us to impoverish us?”
14:16 She wept before Samson, feeling unloved and excluded from his riddle. He retorted, having not shared it even with his parents, why should he with her?
14:17 She persisted till the feast’s end, and he revealed it. She disclosed it to her people.
14:18 They answered before sunset, “What’s sweeter than honey? What’s stronger than a lion?” Samson realized, “If you hadn’t ploughed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle.”
14:19 The Spirit of the Lord empowered him. He slew thirty Ashkelon men for their attire, then returned home in wrath.
14:20 Samson’s wife was given to his companion.
15:1 Later, at wheat harvest, Samson brought a kid to visit his wife, but her father barred him.
15:2 Her father assumed Samson’s hatred, offering her younger sister instead.
15:3 Samson vowed to harm the Philistines without blame.
15:4 He captured three hundred foxes, attaching torches to their tails, and released them into Philistine crops, igniting them.
15:5 This destroyed their grain, vineyards, and olives.
15:6 The Philistines, learning it was Samson’s retribution for his wife’s betrayal, burnt her and her father.
15:7 Samson swore vengeance before ceasing his assaults.
15:8 He inflicted a massive defeat on them, then resided atop Etam’s rock.
15:9 The Philistines encamped in Judah, spreading through Lehi.
15:10 Judah questioned their intrusion. They sought to apprehend Samson for retribution.
15:11 Judah’s men, acknowledging Philistine dominion, approached Samson, questioning his actions. He replied, “As they did to me, so I to them.”
15:12 They assured him of safe delivery to the Philistines without harm.
15:13 They bound him with new ropes and led him from Etam.
15:14 In Lehi, the Philistines greeted him with shouts. The Spirit of the Lord surged in him, snapping the ropes as if burnt flax.
15:15 He seized a fresh donkey jawbone, slaying a thousand men.
15:16 Samson proclaimed, “With a donkey’s jawbone, I’ve piled them in heaps.”
15:17 After speaking, he discarded the jawbone, naming the place Ramath Lehi.
15:18 Thirsty, he called upon the Lord for deliverance from death by thirst or Philistine hands.
15:19 God split a hollow in the jawbone, yielding water. Revived, he named it En Hakkore, existing in Lehi to this day.
15:20 He judged Israel during the Philistine era for twenty years.
16:1 Samson visited Gaza, consorting with a harlot.
16:2 Gazites plotted to kill him at dawn, watching him all night at the city gate.
16:3 At midnight, Samson uprooted the gate doors with their posts, carrying them atop a hill near Hebron.
16:4 Later, he loved Delilah in Sorek valley.
16:5 Philistine lords promised her silver to discover Samson’s strength source and to subdue him.
16:6 Delilah sought the secret of his strength and his vulnerability.
16:7 He falsely claimed weakness if bound with fresh bowstrings.
16:8 She bound him as such. Men waited to capture him, but he easily broke free.
16:9 She accused him of mockery and deceit, demanding the truth.
16:10 Again, he misled her with a tale of new ropes.
16:11 She bound him accordingly, but he broke them effortlessly.
16:12 Persisting, she asked again. He suggested weaving his hair into fabric.
16:13 She did so, but he awoke and escaped.
16:14 She lamented his lack of trust, feeling mocked.
16:15 She pressed him daily, tormenting his soul, until
16:16 he divulged his secret: his uncut hair, a symbol of his Nazarite vow to God.
16:17 Delilah, realizing his truth, summoned the Philistine lords with their bribe.
16:18 Observing his candid confession, she lulled him to sleep and summoned a man to shave Samson’s seven locks, rendering him weak.
16:19 She announced the Philistine attack. He awoke, unaware of the Lord’s departure.
16:20 Captured, the Philistines blinded him and imprisoned him in Gaza, binding him in brass chains.
16:21 His hair began regrowing.
16:22 Philistine lords gathered to celebrate their god Dagon, rejoicing over Samson’s capture.
16:23 The crowd exalted Dagon for defeating their enemy, Samson.
16:24 They summoned Samson for entertainment in their revelry.
16:25 When merry, they requested Samson, positioning him between the temple pillars.
16:26 Samson asked the boy guiding him to let him feel the pillars supporting the building.
16:27 The temple was filled with people and Philistine lords. About three thousand on the roof watched Samson’s display.
16:28 Samson prayed to the Lord for strength to avenge his blindness just once.
16:29 Grasping the central pillars, one in each hand,
16:30 he wished to perish with the Philistines. He pushed mightily, collapsing the building, killing more in his death than in life.
16:31 His family retrieved and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in Manoah’s tomb. He had led Israel for twenty years.
17:1 In mount Ephraim, a man named Micah resided.
17:2 He confessed to his mother about stealing her silver, which she had cursed. She blessed him, dedicating the silver to the Lord for a graven and molten image.
17:3 Returning the silver, his mother committed part to craft the images, housed in Micah’s shrine.
17:4 Though returning the silver, Micah’s mother used a portion to create the idols.
17:5 Micah maintained a shrine with idols, an ephod, and teraphim, ordaining one of his sons as priest.
17:6 In those days, Israel had no king; everyone acted as they saw fit.
17:7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, seeking a new residence,
17:8 left for Mount Ephraim, encountering Micah.
17:9 Micah inquired about his origins. He revealed his Levite identity and quest for a dwelling.
17:10 Micah offered him a home, priestly duties, annual salary, clothing, and sustenance. The Levite agreed.
17:11 Content, the Levite assimilated into Micah’s household.
17:12 Micah consecrated him as his priest.
17:13 Micah expressed confidence that the LORD would bless him, having a Levite as his priest.
18:1 In those times, Israel had no king. The Danites sought a land to inhabit, as they hadn’t yet received their inheritance among Israel’s tribes.
18:2 The Danites sent five valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land. Reaching Mount Ephraim and Micah’s house, they lodged there.
18:3 Recognizing the Levite’s voice at Micah’s, they inquired about his journey, purpose, and possessions.
18:4 The Levite detailed his arrangement with Micah and his role as priest.
18:5 They requested the Levite to consult God for the success of their journey.
18:6 The priest assured them of the LORD’s approval of their venture.
18:7 The scouts found Laish’s people living securely, without a governing authority, isolated from Sidonians, and uninvolved with others.
18:8 Returning to Zorah and Eshtaol, their kin asked for a report.
18:9 They urged action, praising the land’s goodness and exhorting against indolence to claim it.
18:10 They described a secure, prosperous land, provided by God, lacking nothing.
18:11 Six hundred armed Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.
18:12 They camped at Kirjathjearim in Judah, naming it Mahanehdan, still known so, behind Kirjathjearim.
18:13 Passing through Mount Ephraim, they reached Micah’s house.
18:14 The scouts informed others about Micah’s religious artifacts, suggesting consideration of their next move.
18:15 They visited the Levite at Micah’s house, greeting him.
18:16 The armed Danites waited at the gate.
18:17 The scouts took Micah’s idols and the priest, while the armed men stood guard.
18:18 Upon removing the idols, the priest questioned their actions.
18:19 They silenced him, offering a role as priest to a tribe rather than one household.
18:20 The priest, pleased, joined them with the idols.
18:21 The group, with children, livestock, and belongings, began their journey.
18:22 After leaving Micah’s vicinity, Micah and his neighbors pursued the Danites.
18:23 Confronting them, Micah questioned their actions.
18:24 He lamented the loss of his gods and priest. The Danites warned him against raising his voice.
18:25 Micah, overpowered, returned home.
18:26 The Danites reached Laish, attacked the unsuspecting people, burned the city, and settled there.
18:27 They seized the creations of Micah and his priest, advancing on Laish, a tranquil and unsuspecting people. They struck them with the sword and set the city ablaze.
18:28 No rescue came, for distant was Zidon, and Laish, secluded in a valley near Bethrehob, lacked allies. They rebuilt the city, naming it Dan, after their ancestor, though originally Laish.
18:29 They established the idol Micah crafted, and Jonathan, son of Gershom and grandson of Manasseh, served as priest to the Danites until the land’s captivity.
18:30 The Danites erected Micah’s idol, worshipped during the existence of God’s house in Shiloh.
19:1 In that era of no Israeli king, a Levite dwelt near mount Ephraim, taking a concubine from Bethlehemjudah.
19:2 She betrayed him, fleeing to her father in Bethlehemjudah, staying four months.
19:3 Her husband pursued, seeking reconciliation. Accompanied by a servant and two donkeys, he was welcomed by her father.
19:4 The father detained him, and for three days, they feasted and lodged.
19:5 On the fourth day, rising early, the father encouraged his son-in-law to eat before departing.
19:6 They dined, persuaded by the father’s hospitality to stay overnight.
19:7 The man intended to leave, but the father insisted, prolonging his stay.
19:8 Departing on the fifth day, the father again urged them to eat and stay till afternoon.
19:9 As evening approached, the father persuaded them to overnight, promising a morning departure.
19:10 The man declined, leaving for Jebus (Jerusalem) with his concubine and servant, and two saddled donkeys.
19:11 Approaching Jebus at dusk, the servant suggested they lodge there.
19:12 The master declined, preferring an Israeli city, aiming for Gibeah or Ramah.
19:13 They journeyed towards Gibeah or Ramah, aiming to overnight there.
19:14 Reaching Gibeah at sunset, they found no lodging and rested in the city street.
19:15 In Gibeah, they lodged in the street, as no one offered shelter.
19:16 An old Ephraimite, returning from his field work, offered them refuge.
19:17 Seeing the traveler, the old man enquired his origin and destination.
19:18 The traveler replied, journeying from Bethlehemjudah to Ephraim, lacking lodging.
19:19 He assured provisions for all, seeking only shelter.
19:20 The old man welcomed them, offering peace and hospitality.
19:21 He hosted them, tending to their needs with food and rest.
19:22 As they celebrated, city men, vile in nature, surrounded the house, demanding the traveler.
19:23 The host pleaded, offering his daughter and the concubine instead, to spare his guest.
19:24 He offered his daughter and the concubine, beseeching them to spare his guest.
19:25 The men refused, seizing and abusing the concubine until dawn.
19:26 She collapsed at her master’s door at daybreak.
19:27 Finding her there in the morning, he urged her to depart.
19:28 Receiving no response, he placed her on a donkey, returning home.
19:29 At home, he dismembered her, sending the pieces across Israel.
19:30 Shocked, Israel proclaimed no such act had occurred since Egypt’s exodus, urging deliberation and action.
20:1 Israel united from Dan to Beersheba and Gilead at Mizpeh before the Lord.
20:2 Israel’s leaders assembled, counting 400,000 swordsmen.
20:3 Hearing of the assembly, Benjamin inquired about the outrage.
20:4 The Levite recounted his experience in Gibeah, detailing the violence and his concubine’s fate.
20:5 He described the Gibeah men’s assault and his concubine’s resulting death.
20:6 Outraged, he dismembered her, signaling Israel’s call against the atrocity.
20:7 He challenged Israel for counsel and action.
20:8 Israel resolved unanimously not to return home until justice prevailed.
20:9 They planned to draw lots for a coordinated strike on Gibeah.
20:10 Selecting men for provisions, they prepared to confront Gibeah’s misdeeds.
20:11 Israel united against Gibeah, presenting a united front.
20:12 Israel demanded Benjamin surrender Gibeah’s vile men.
20:13 Israel demanded Benjamin surrender the malefactors of Gibeah for execution, to purge the evil. Benjamin, however, did not comply with their kin’s plea.
20:14 Benjamin’s warriors gathered from their cities to Gibeah, preparing for battle against Israel.
20:15 Benjamin’s forces, excluding Gibeah’s inhabitants, numbered 26,000 swordsmen, joined by 700 elite Gibeah warriors.
20:16 These included 700 left-handed sling experts, capable of striking a target as narrow as a hair without fail.
20:17 Israel’s forces, excluding Benjamin, counted 400,000 sword-wielding warriors, all experienced in combat.
20:18 Israel sought divine guidance at God’s house, inquiring who should first confront Benjamin. The Lord directed Judah to lead.
20:19 Israel positioned themselves against Gibeah at dawn.
20:20 Israel engaged Benjamin in battle near Gibeah.
20:21 Benjamin’s counterattack from Gibeah decimated 22,000 Israeli soldiers that day.
20:22 Israel, undeterred, regrouped for battle at the same location.
20:23 Israel mourned before the Lord until evening, seeking guidance on whether to continue the battle. The Lord instructed them to proceed.
20:24 Israel faced Benjamin again the next day.
20:25 Benjamin again attacked from Gibeah, killing 18,000 Israeli soldiers.
20:26 All Israelites, including the populace, ascended to God’s house, weeping, fasting until evening, and offering sacrifices for peace and atonement.
20:27 Israel inquired of the Lord, in the presence of the Ark and Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, whether to continue battling Benjamin. The Lord assured victory the following day.
20:28 They strategized with ambushes around Gibeah.
20:29 On the third day, Israel advanced against Benjamin, maintaining their previous formation.
20:30 Benjamin’s forces, lured from the city, began defeating Israel as before.
20:31 Benjamin believed they were repeating their previous victories.
20:32 Israel feigned retreat, drawing Benjamin from Gibeah to the highways.
20:33 Israel then counterattacked from Baaltamar, while the ambushers emerged from their positions near Gibeah.
20:34 Israel’s ten thousand elite troops attacked Gibeah, unaware of the impending disaster.
20:35 The Lord enabled Israel to overpower Benjamin, slaughtering 25,100 Benjamite swordsmen that day.
20:36 Benjamin realized their defeat, as Israel relied on their ambush near Gibeah.
20:37 The ambushers swiftly captured Gibeah, slaughtering the entire city.
20:38 Israel and the ambushers coordinated using a smoke signal from the city.
20:39 Benjamin, initially successful, was startled by the smoke signal from their city.
20:40 As the smoke pillar rose, Benjamin’s dismay grew, realizing their defeat was imminent.
20:41 Israel turned the tide, and Benjamin’s horror deepened as disaster struck.
20:42 Benjamin fled towards the wilderness, but Israel’s forces pursued and decimated them.
20:43 Israel encircled and relentlessly pursued Benjamin, prevailing with ease.
20:44 Benjamin lost 18,000 valiant warriors in this rout.
20:45 The remnants fled towards the wilderness, to Rimmon’s rock, but Israel continued the assault, killing 7,000 more on the highways.
20:46 Overall, Benjamin lost 25,000 swordsmen, all valiant fighters.
20:47 Six hundred Benjamites escaped to Rimmon’s rock, surviving there for four months.
20:48 Israel then turned on Benjamin, destroying all living beings and setting cities ablaze.
21:1 Israel had vowed at Mizpeh not to give their daughters in marriage to Benjamites.
21:2 The Israelites lamented at God’s house, grieving over the missing tribe in Israel.
21:3 They questioned why such a tragedy befell Israel, resulting in a tribe’s absence.
21:4 The next day, they built an altar, offering sacrifices to seek peace and atonement.
21:5 Israel pondered who hadn’t joined the Lord at Mizpeh, as they had sworn death to such persons.
21:6 Israel regretted the potential loss of Benjamin, their kin.
21:7 They pondered how to provide wives for the remaining Benjamites, given their oath.
21:8 They inquired who had not attended Mizpeh, discovering none from Jabeshgilead.
21:9 Confirming none from Jabeshgilead were present, they planned their next move.
21:10 Israel sent 12,000 warriors to strike Jabeshgilead, instructing them to spare no one.
21:11 The command was to annihilate every male and non-virgin female.
21:12 They found 400 virgins in Jabeshgilead, bringing them to Shiloh in Canaan.
21:13 Israel then offered peace to the Benjamites in Rimmon.
21:14 The Benjamites returned, receiving the surviving Jabeshgilead women as wives, though insufficient in number.
21:15 Israel mourned the rift within, caused by the Lord’s judgment.
21:16 The elders pondered how to find additional wives for Benjamin, as their women were lost.
21:17 They resolved to secure Benjamin’s lineage and prevent the tribe’s extinction.
21:18 They couldn’t offer their daughters, adhering to their vow.
21:19 They advised a feast at Shiloh, near Bethel, Shechem, and Lebonah.
21:20 They instructed the Benjamites to seize wives from Shiloh’s dancers during the feast.
21:21 They planned for the Benjamites to capture wives from Shiloh’s celebratory dancers.
21:22 Anticipating complaints, they resolved to justify the action for the tribe’s survival.
21:23 The Benjamites followed the plan, taking wives from the dancers and resettling in their lands.
21:24 Israelites then dispersed to their territories and families.
21:25 In that era, without a king, each Israelite acted according to personal judgment.
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