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Judges Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
 

Chapter 1
¹ And it cometh to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel ask at Jehovah, saying, `Who doth go up for us unto the Canaanite, at the commencement, to fight against it?'
<sup>2</sup> And Jehovah saith, `Judah doth go up; lo, I have given the land into his hand.'
³ And Judah saith to Simeon his brother, `Go up with me into my lot, and we fight against the Canaanite -- and I have gone, even I, with thee into thy lot;' and Simeon goeth with him.
<sup>4</sup> And Judah goeth up, and Jehovah giveth the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they smite them in Bezek -- ten thousand men;
<sup>5</sup> and they find Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fight against him, and smite the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
<sup>6</sup> And Adoni-Bezek fleeth, and they pursue after him, and seize him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes,
<sup>7</sup> and Adoni-Bezek saith, `Seventy kings -- their thumbs and their great toes cut off -- have been gathering under my table; as I have done so hath God repaid to me;' and they bring him in to Jerusalem, and he dieth there.
⁸ And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire;
⁹ and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the south, and the low country;
¹⁰ and Judah goeth unto the Canaanite who is dwelling in Hebron (and the name of Hebron formerly [is] Kirjath-Arba), and they smite Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
¹¹ And he goeth thence unto the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir formerly [is] Kirjath-Sepher),
¹² and Caleb saith, `He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher -- and hath captured it -- then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.'
<sup>13</sup> And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife.
<sup>14</sup> And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, `What -- to thee?'
¹⁵ And she saith to him, `Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me -- then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
<sup>16</sup> And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah [to] the wilderness of Judah, which [is] in the south of Arad, and they go and dwell with the people.
<sup>17</sup> And Judah goeth with Simeon his brother, and they smite the Canaanite inhabiting Zephath, and devote it; and [one] calleth the name of the city Hormah.
<sup>18</sup> And Judah captureth Gaza and its border, and Askelon and its border, and Ekron and its border;
<sup>19</sup> and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, for they have chariots of iron.
<sup>20</sup> And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak.
<sup>21</sup> And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day.
<sup>22</sup> And the house of Joseph go up -- even they -- to Beth-El, and Jehovah [is] with them;
<sup>23</sup> and the house of Joseph cause [men] to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz),
<sup>24</sup> and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, `Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.'
²⁵ And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away;
²⁶ and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz -- it [is] its name unto this day.
²⁷ And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land;
²⁸ and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly dispossessed it.
²⁹ And Ephraim hath not dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, in Gezer.
³⁰ Zebulun hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Kitron, and the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, and they become tributary.
³¹ Asher hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Accho, and the inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob;
³² and the Asherite dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land, for it hath not dispossessed them.
³³ Naphtali hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath have become tributary to them.
³⁴ And the Amorites press the sons of Dan to the mountain, for they have not suffered them to go down to the valley;
³⁵ and the Amorite is desirous to dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph is heavy, and they become tributary;
³⁶ and the border of the Amorite [is] from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.


Chapter 2
¹ And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim,
² and saith, `I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye -- ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land -- their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice -- what [is] this ye have done?
<sup>3</sup> And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their gods are to you for a snare.'
<sup>4</sup> And it cometh to pass, when the messenger of Jehovah speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel, that the people lift up their voice and weep,
<sup>5</sup> and they call the name of that place Bochim, and sacrifice there to Jehovah.
<sup>6</sup> And Joshua sendeth the people away, and the sons of Israel go, each to his inheritance, to possess the land;
<sup>7</sup> and the people serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, who saw all the great work of Jehovah which He did to Israel.
<sup>8</sup> And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a hundred and ten years,
<sup>9</sup> and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of mount Gaash;
<sup>10</sup> and also all that generation have been gathered unto their fathers, and another generation riseth after them who have not known Jehovah, and even the work which He hath done to Israel.
<sup>11</sup> And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim,
<sup>12</sup> and forsake Jehovah, God of their fathers, who bringeth them out from the land of Egypt, and go after other gods (of the gods of the peoples who [are] round about them), and bow themselves to them, and provoke Jehovah,
<sup>13</sup> yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.
<sup>14</sup> And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of spoilers, and they spoil them, and He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about, and they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies;
<sup>15</sup> in every [place] where they have gone out, the hand of Jehovah hath been against them for evil, as Jehovah hath spoken, and as Jehovah hath sworn to them, and they are distressed -- greatly.
<sup>16</sup> And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the hand of their spoilers;
<sup>17</sup> and also unto their judges they have not hearkened, but have gone a-whoring after other gods, and bow themselves to them; they have turned aside [with] haste out of the way [in] which their fathers walked to obey the commands of Jehovah -- they have not done so.
<sup>18</sup> And when Jehovah raised up to them judges -- then was Jehovah with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah, because of their groaning from the presence of their oppressors, and of those thrusting them away.
<sup>19</sup> And it hath come to pass, at the death of the judge -- they turn back and have done corruptly above their fathers, to go after other gods, to serve them, and to bow themselves to them; they have not fallen from their doings, and from their stiff way.
<sup>20</sup> And the anger of Jehovah doth burn against Israel, and He saith, `Because that this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to My voice --
²¹ I also continue not to dispossess any from before them of the nations which Joshua hath left when he dieth,
²² in order to try Israel by them, whether they are keeping the way of Jehovah, to go in it, as their fathers kept [it] or not.'
²³ And Jehovah leaveth these nations, so as not to dispossess them hastily, and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.


Chapter 3
¹ And these [are] the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan;
² (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) --
³ five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath;
⁴ and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
⁵ And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
⁶ and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;
⁷ and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.
⁸ And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years;
⁹ and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them -- Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;
¹⁰ and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim;
¹¹ and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,
¹² and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;
¹³ and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms;
¹⁴ and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
¹⁵ And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man -- shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab;
¹⁶ and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh;
¹⁷ and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon [is] a very fat man.
¹⁸ And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present,
¹⁹ and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which [are] at Gilgal, and saith, `A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, `Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him.
²⁰ And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, `A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne;
<sup>21</sup> and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly;
<sup>22</sup> and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.
<sup>23</sup> And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted [it];
<sup>24</sup> and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, `He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.'
²⁵ And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth -- dead.
²⁶ And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.
²⁷ And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them;
²⁸ and he saith unto them, `Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.
²⁹ And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath escaped,
³⁰ and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.
³¹ And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines -- six hundred men -- with an ox-goad, and he saveth -- he also -- Israel.


Chapter 4
¹ And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah when Ehud is dead,
² and Jehovah selleth them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who hath reigned in Hazor, and the head of his host [is] Sisera, and he is dwelling in Harosheth of the Goyim;
³ and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, for he hath nine hundred chariots of iron, and he hath oppressed the sons of Israel mightily twenty years.
⁴ And Deborah, a woman inspired, wife of Lapidoth, she is judging Israel at that time,
⁵ and she is dwelling under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel go up unto her for judgment.
⁶ And she sendeth and calleth for Barak son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and saith unto him, `Hath not Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded? go, and thou hast drawn towards mount Tabor, and hast taken with thee ten thousand men, out of the sons of Naphtali, and out of the sons of Zebulun,
<sup>7</sup> and I have drawn unto thee, unto the brook Kishon, Sisera, head of the host of Jabin, and his chariot, and his multitude, and have given him into thy hand.'
<sup>8</sup> And Barak saith unto her, `If thou dost go with me, then I have gone; and if thou dost not go with me, I do not go;'
⁹ and she saith, `I do certainly go with thee; only, surely thy glory is not on the way which thou art going, for into the hand of a woman doth Jehovah sell Sisera;' and Deborah riseth and goeth with Barak to Kedesh.
<sup>10</sup> And Barak calleth Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he goeth up -- at his feet [are] ten thousand men -- and Deborah goeth up with him.
<sup>11</sup> And Heber the Kenite hath been separated from the Kenite, from the sons of Hobab father-in-law of Moses, and he stretcheth out his tent unto the oak in Zaanaim, which [is] by Kedesh.
<sup>12</sup> And they declare to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam hath gone up to mount Tabor,
<sup>13</sup> and Sisera calleth all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who [are] with him, from Harosheth of the Goyim, unto the brook Kishon.
<sup>14</sup> And Deborah saith unto Barak, `Rise, for this [is] the day in which Jehovah hath given Sisera into thy hand; hath not Jehovah gone out before thee?' And Barak goeth down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
¹⁵ And Jehovah destroyeth Sisera, and all the chariots, and all the camp, by the mouth of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera cometh down from off the chariot, and fleeth on his feet.
¹⁶ And Barak hath pursued after the chariots and after the camp, unto Harosheth of the Goyim, and all the camp of Sisera falleth by the mouth of the sword -- there hath not been left even one.
¹⁷ And Sisera hath fled on his feet unto the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for peace [is] between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite;
¹⁸ and Jael goeth out to meet Sisera, and saith unto him, `Turn aside, my lord, turn aside unto me, fear not;' and he turneth aside unto her, into the tent, and she covereth him with a coverlet.
<sup>19</sup> And he saith unto her, `Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty;' and she openeth the bottle of milk, and giveth him to drink, and covereth him.
²⁰ And he saith unto her, `Stand at the opening of the tent, and it hath been, if any doth come in, and hath asked thee, and said, Is there a man here? that thou hast said, There is not.'
<sup>21</sup> And Jael wife of Heber taketh the pin of the tent, and taketh the hammer in her hand, and goeth unto him gently, and striketh the pin into his temples, and it fasteneth in the earth -- and he hath been fast asleep, and is weary -- and he dieth.
<sup>22</sup> And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, `Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen -- dead, and the pin in his temples.
²³ And God humbleth on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the sons of Israel,
²⁴ and the hand of the sons of Israel goeth, going on and becoming hard on Jabin king of Canaan, till that they have cut off Jabin king of Canaan.


Chapter 5
¹ And Deborah singeth -- also Barak son of Abinoam -- on that day, saying: --
² `For freeing freemen in Israel, For a people willingly offering themselves Bless ye Jehovah.
³ Hear, ye kings; give ear, ye princes, I, to Jehovah, I -- I do sing, I sing praise to Jehovah, God of Israel.
⁴ Jehovah, in Thy going forth out of Seir, In Thy stepping out of the field of Edom, Earth trembled, also the heavens dropped, Also thick clouds dropped water.
⁵ Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah, This one -- Sinai -- From the face of Jehovah, God of Israel.
⁶ In the days of Shamgar son of Anath -- In the days of Jael -- The ways have ceased, And those going in the paths go [in] crooked ways.
⁷ Villages ceased in Israel -- they ceased, Till that I arose -- Deborah, That I arose, a mother in Israel.
⁸ He chooseth new gods, Then war [is] at the gates! A shield is not seen -- and a spear Among forty thousand in Israel.
⁹ My heart [is] to the lawgivers of Israel, Who are offering themselves willingly among the people, Bless ye Jehovah!
¹⁰ Riders on white asses -- Sitters on a long robe -- And walkers by the way -- meditate!
¹¹ By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing water, There they give out righteous acts of Jehovah, Righteous acts of His villages in Israel, Then ruled in the gates have the people of Jehovah.
¹² Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, utter a song; Rise, Barak, and take captive thy captivity, Son of Abinoam.
¹³ Then him who is left of the honourable ones He caused to rule the people of Jehovah, He caused me to rule among the mighty.
¹⁴ Out of Ephraim their root [is] against Amalek. After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples. Out of Machir came down lawgivers, And out of Zebulun those drawing with the reed of a writer.
¹⁵ And princes in Issachar [are] with Deborah, Yea, Issachar [is] right with Barak, Into the valley he was sent on his feet. In the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the decrees of heart!
¹⁶ Why hast thou abode between the boundaries, To hear lowings of herds? For the divisions of Reuben, Great [are] the searchings of heart!
¹⁷ Gilead beyond the Jordan did tabernacle, And Dan -- why doth he sojourn [in] ships? Asher hath abode at the haven of the seas, And by his creeks doth tabernacle.
¹⁸ Zebulun [is] a people who exposed its soul to death, Naphtali also -- on high places of the field.
¹⁹ Kings came -- they fought; Then fought kings of Canaan, In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; Gain of money they took not!
²⁰ From the heavens they fought: The stars from their highways fought with Sisera.
²¹ The brook Kishon swept them away, The brook most ancient -- the brook Kishon. Thou dost tread down strength, O my soul!
²² Then broken were the horse-heels, By pransings -- pransings of its mighty ones.
²³ Curse Meroz -- said a messenger of Jehovah, Cursing, curse ye its inhabitants, For they came not to the help of Jehovah, To the help of Jehovah among the mighty!
²⁴ Blessed above women is Jael, Wife of Heber the Kenite, Above women in the tent she is blessed.
²⁵ Water he asked -- milk she gave; In a lordly dish she brought near butter.
²⁶ Her hand to the pin she sendeth forth, And her right hand to the labourers' hammer, And she hammered Sisera -- she smote his head, Yea, she smote, and it passed through his temple.
²⁷ Between her feet he bowed -- He fell, he lay down; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell -- destroyed.
²⁸ Through the window she hath looked out -- Yea, she crieth out -- the mother of Sisera, Through the lattice: Wherefore is his chariot delaying to come? Wherefore tarried have the steps of his chariot?
²⁹ The wise ones, her princesses, answer her, Yea, she returneth her sayings to herself:
³⁰ Do they not find? -- they apportion spoil, A female -- two females -- for every head, Spoil of finger-work for Sisera, Spoil of embroidered finger-work, Finger-work -- a pair of embroidered things, For the necks of the spoil!
³¹ So do all Thine enemies perish, O Jehovah, And those loving Him [are] As the going out of the sun in its might!' and the land resteth forty years.


Chapter 6
¹ And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Midian seven years,
² and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, from the presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves the flowings which [are] in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
³ And it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have come up against him,
⁴ and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or ass;
⁵ for they and their cattle come up, with their tents; they come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it.
⁶ And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah.
⁷ And it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have cried unto Jehovah, concerning Midian,
⁸ that Jehovah sendeth a man, a prophet, unto the sons of Israel, and he saith to them, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I -- I have brought you up out of Egypt, and I bring you out from a house of servants,
<sup>9</sup> and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all your oppressors, and I cast them out from your presence, and I give to you their land,
<sup>10</sup> and I say to you, I [am] Jehovah your God, ye do not fear the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling: -- and ye have not hearkened to My voice.'
<sup>11</sup> And the messenger of Jehovah cometh and sitteth under the oak which [is] in Ophrah, which [is] to Joash the Abi-Ezrite, and Gideon his son is beating out wheat in the wine-press, to remove [it] from the presence of the Midianites;
<sup>12</sup> and the messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith unto him, `Jehovah [is] with thee, O mighty one of valour.'
¹³ And Gideon saith unto him, `O, my lord -- and Jehovah is with us! -- and why hath all this found us? and where [are] all His wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Hath not Jehovah brought us up out of Egypt? and now Jehovah hath left us, and doth give us into the hand of Midian.'
<sup>14</sup> And Jehovah turneth unto him and saith, `Go in this -- thy power; and thou hast saved Israel out of the hand of Midian -- have not I sent thee.'
¹⁵ And he saith unto him, `O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief [is] weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.'
<sup>16</sup> And Jehovah saith unto him, `Because I am with thee -- thou hast smitten the Midianites as one man.'
¹⁷ And he saith unto Him, `If, I pray Thee, I have found grace in Thine eyes, then Thou hast done for me a sign that Thou art speaking with me.
<sup>18</sup> Move not, I pray Thee, from this, till my coming in unto Thee, and I have brought out my present, and put it before Thee;' and he saith, `I -- I do abide till thy return.'
¹⁹ And Gideon hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth [it] nigh.
²⁰ And the messenger of God saith unto him, `Take the flesh and the unleavened things, and place on this rock -- and the broth pour out;' and he doth so.
<sup>21</sup> And the messenger of Jehovah putteth forth the end of the staff which [is] in His hand, and cometh against the flesh, and against the unleavened things, and the fire goeth up out of the rock and consumeth the flesh and the unleavened things -- and the messenger of Jehovah hath gone from his eyes.
<sup>22</sup> And Gideon seeth that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah, and Gideon saith, `Alas, Lord Jehovah! because that I have seen a messenger of Jehovah face to face!'
²³ And Jehovah saith to him, `Peace to thee; fear not; thou dost not die.'
<sup>24</sup> And Gideon buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and calleth it Jehovah-Shalom, unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrites.
<sup>25</sup> And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith to him, `Take the young ox which [is] to thy father, and the second bullock of seven years, and thou hast thrown down the altar of Baal which [is] to thy father, and the shrine which [is] by it thou dost cut down,
²⁶ and thou hast built an altar to Jehovah thy God on the top of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and hast taken the second bullock, and caused to ascend a burnt-offering with the wood of the shrine which thou cuttest down.'
²⁷ And Gideon taketh ten men of his servants, and doth as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and it cometh to pass, because he hath been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do [it] by day, that he doth [it] by night.
²⁸ And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo, broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been offered on the altar which is built.
²⁹ And they say one to another, `Who hath done this thing?' and they inquire and seek, and they say, `Gideon son of Joash hath done this thing.'
³⁰ And the men of the city say unto Joash, `Bring out thy son, and he dieth, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the shrine which [is] by it.'
<sup>31</sup> And Joash saith to all who have stood against him, `Ye, do ye plead for Baal? ye -- do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him is put to death during the morning; if he [is] a god he himself doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'
³² And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, `The Baal doth plead against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'
<sup>33</sup> And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the valley of Jezreel,
<sup>34</sup> and the Spirit of Jehovah hath clothed Gideon, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and Abi-Ezer is called after him;
<sup>35</sup> and messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them.
<sup>36</sup> And Gideon saith unto God, `If Thou art Saviour of Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken,
³⁷ lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought -- then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;'
³⁸ and it is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece -- the fulness of the bowl, of water.
³⁹ And Gideon saith unto God, `Let not Thine anger burn against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray Thee, only this time with the fleece -- let there be, I pray Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth let there be dew.'
⁴⁰ And God doth so on that night, and there is drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth there hath been dew.


Chapter 7
¹ And Jerubbaal (he [is] Gideon) riseth early, and all the people who [are] with him, and they encamp by the well of Harod, and the camp of Midian hath been on the south of him, on the height of Moreh, in the valley.
² And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Too many [are] the people who [are] with thee for My giving Midian into their hand, lest Israel beautify itself against Me, saying, My hand hath given salvation to me;
<sup>3</sup> and now, call, I pray thee, in the ears of the people, saying, Whoso [is] afraid and trembling, let him turn back and go early from mount Gilead;' and there turn back of the people twenty and two thousand, and ten thousand have been left.
<sup>4</sup> And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Yet [are] the people too many; bring them down unto the water, and I refine it for thee there; and it hath been, he of whom I say unto thee, This doth go with thee -- he doth go with thee; and any of whom I say unto thee, This doth not go with thee -- he doth not go.'
⁵ And he bringeth down the people unto the water, and Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `Every one who lappeth with his tongue of the water as the dog lappeth -- thou dost set him apart; also every one who boweth on his knees to drink.'
<sup>6</sup> And the number of those lapping with their hand unto their mouth is three hundred men, and all the rest of the people have bowed down on their knees to drink water.
<sup>7</sup> And Jehovah saith unto Gideon, `By the three hundred men who are lapping I save you, and have given Midian into thy hand, and all the people go, each to his place.'
⁸ And the people take the provision in their hand, and their trumpets, and every man of Israel he hath sent away, each to his tents; and on the three hundred men he hath kept hold, and the camp of Midian hath been by him at the lower part of the valley.
⁹ And it cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith unto him, `Rise, go down into the camp, for I have given it into thy hand;
<sup>10</sup> and if thou art afraid to go down -- go down, thou and Phurah thy young man, unto the camp,
<sup>11</sup> and thou hast heard what they speak, and afterwards are thy hands strengthened, and thou hast gone down against the camp.' And he goeth down, he and Phurah his young man, unto the extremity of the fifties who [are] in the camp;
<sup>12</sup> and Midian and Amalek, and all the sons of the east are lying in the valley, as the locust for multitude, and of their camels there is no number, as sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude.
<sup>13</sup> And Gideon cometh in, and lo, a man is recounting to his companion a dream, and saith, `Lo, a dream I have dreamed, and lo, a cake of barley-bread is turning itself over into the camp of Midian, and it cometh in unto the tent, and smiteth it, and it falleth, and turneth it upwards, and the tent hath fallen.'
¹⁴ And his companion answereth and saith, `This is nothing save the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; God hath given into his hand Midian and all the camp.'
<sup>15</sup> And it cometh to pass, when Gideon heareth the narration of the dream and its interpretation, that he boweth himself, and turneth back unto the camp of Israel, and saith, `Rise ye, for Jehovah hath given into your hand the camp of Midian.'
¹⁶ And he divideth the three hundred men [into] three detachments, and putteth trumpets into the hand of all of them, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
¹⁷ And he saith unto them, `Look at me, and thus do; and lo, I am coming into the extremity of the camp -- and it hath been -- as I do so ye do;
<sup>18</sup> and I have blown with a trumpet -- I and all who [are] with me, and ye have blown with trumpets, even ye, round about all the camp, and have said, For Jehovah and for Gideon.'
<sup>19</sup> And Gideon cometh -- and the hundred men who [are] with him -- into the extremity of the camp, [at] the beginning of the middle watch (it hath only just confirmed the watchmen), and they blow with trumpets -- dashing in pieces also the pitchers which [are] in their hand;
<sup>20</sup> and the three detachments blow with trumpets, and break the pitchers, and keep hold with their left hand on the lamps, and with their right hand on the trumpets to blow, and they cry, `The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon.'
²¹ And they stand each in his place, round about the camp, and all the camp runneth, and they shout, and flee;
²² and the three hundred blow the trumpets, and Jehovah setteth the sword of each against his companion, even through all the camp; and the camp fleeth unto Beth-Shittah, at Zererath, unto the border of Abel-Meholah, by Tabbath.
²³ And the men of Israel are called from Naphtali, and from Asher, and from all Manasseh, and pursue after Midian.
²⁴ And messengers hath sent Gideon into all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying, `Come down to meet Midian, and capture before them the waters unto Beth-Barah, and the Jordan;' and every man of Ephraim is called, and they capture the waters unto Beth-Barah, and the Jordan,
²⁵ and they capture two of the heads of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb, and slay Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they have slain at the wine-vat of Zeeb, and they pursue unto Midian; and the heads of Oreb and Zeeb they have brought in unto Gideon beyond the Jordan.


Chapter 8
¹ And the men of Ephraim say unto him, `What [is] this thing thou hast done to us -- not to call for us when thou didst go to fight with Midian?' and they strive with him severely;
<sup>2</sup> and he saith unto them, `What have I done now like you? are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the harvest of Abi-Ezer?
³ Into your hand hath God given the heads of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what have I been able to do like you?' Then their temper desisted from off him in his speaking this thing.
⁴ And Gideon cometh in unto the Jordan, passing over, he and the three hundred men who [are] with him -- wearied, and pursuing,
⁵ and he saith to the men of Succoth, `Give, I pray you, cakes of bread to the people who [are] at my feet, for they [are] wearied, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna kings of Midian.'
<sup>6</sup> And the heads of Succoth say, `Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we give to thy host bread?'
⁷ And Gideon saith, `Therefore -- in Jehovah's giving Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand -- I have threshed your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness, and with the threshing instruments.'
<sup>8</sup> And he goeth up thence [to] Penuel, and speaketh unto them thus; and the men of Penuel answer him as the men of Succoth answered.
<sup>9</sup> And he speaketh also to the men of Penuel, saying, `In my turning back in peace, I break down this tower.'
¹⁰ And Zebah and Zalmunna [are] in Karkor, and their camps with them, about fifteen thousand, all who are left of all the camp of the sons of the east; and those falling [are] a hundred and twenty thousand men, drawing sword.
¹¹ And Gideon goeth up the way of those who tabernacle in tents, on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smiteth the camp, and the camp was confident;
¹² and Zebab and Zalmunna flee, and he pursueth after them, and captureth the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and all the camp he hath caused to tremble.
¹³ And Gideon son of Joash turneth back from the battle, at the going up of the sun,
¹⁴ and captureth a young man of the men of Succoth, and asketh him, and he describeth unto him the heads of Succoth, and its elders -- seventy and seven men.
¹⁵ And he cometh in unto the men of Succoth, and saith, `Lo Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye reproached me, saying, Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we give to thy men who [are] wearied bread?'
<sup>16</sup> And he taketh the elders of the city, and the thorns of the wilderness, and the threshing instruments, and teacheth by them the men of Succoth,
<sup>17</sup> and the tower of Penuel he hath broken down, and slayeth the men of the city.
<sup>18</sup> And he saith unto Zebah and unto Zalmunna, `How -- the men whom ye slew in Tabor?' and they say, `As thou -- so they, one -- as the form of the king's sons.'
<sup>19</sup> And he saith, `My brethren -- sons of my mother -- they; Jehovah liveth, if ye had kept them alive -- I had not slain you.'
²⁰ And he saith to Jether his first-born, `Rise, slay them;' and the young man hath not drawn his sword, for he hath been afraid, for he [is] yet a youth.
<sup>21</sup> And Zebah saith -- also Zalmunna -- `Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man -- his might;' and Gideon riseth, and slayeth Zebah and Zalmunna, and taketh their round ornaments which [are] on the necks of their camels.
²² And the men of Israel say unto Gideon, `Rule over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, for thou hast saved us from the hand of Midian.'
<sup>23</sup> And Gideon saith unto them, `I do not rule over you, nor doth my son rule over you; Jehovah doth rule over you.'
²⁴ And Gideon saith unto them, `Let me ask of you a petition, and give ye to me each the ring of his prey, for they have rings of gold, for they [are] Ishmaelites.'
<sup>25</sup> And they say, `We certainly give;' and they spread out the garment, and cast thither each the ring of his prey;
²⁶ and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold, apart from the round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which [are] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which [are] on the necks of their camels,
²⁷ and Gideon maketh it into an ephod, and setteth it up in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel go a-whoring after it there, and it is to Gideon and to his house for a snare.
²⁸ And Midian is humbled before the sons of Israel, and have not added to lift up their head; and the land resteth forty years in the days of Gideon.
²⁹ And Jerubbaal son of Joash goeth and dwelleth in his own house,
³⁰ and to Gideon there have been seventy sons, coming out of his loin, for he had many wives;
³¹ and his concubine, who [is] in Shechem, hath born to him -- even she -- a son, and he appointeth his name Abimelech.
³² And Gideon son of Joash dieth, in a good old age, and is buried in the burying-place of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrite.
³³ And it cometh to pass, when Gideon [is] dead, that the sons of Israel turn back and go a-whoring after the Baalim, and set over them Baal-Berith for a god;
³⁴ and the sons of Israel have not remembered Jehovah their God, who is delivering them out of the hand of all their enemies round about,
³⁵ neither have they done kindness with the house of Jerubbaal -- Gideon -- according to all the good which he did with Israel.


Chapter 9
¹ and Abimelech son of Jerubbaal goeth to Shechem, unto his mother's brethren, and speaketh unto them, and unto all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,
² `Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the masters of Shechem, Which [is] good for you -- the ruling over you of seventy men (all the sons of Jerubbaal), or the ruling over you of one man? -- and ye have remembered that I [am] your bone and your flesh.'
<sup>3</sup> And his mother's brethren speak concerning him, in the ears of all the masters of Shechem, all these words, and their heart inclineth after Abimelech, for they said, `He [is] our brother;'
⁴ and they give to him seventy silverings out of the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hireth with them men, vain and unstable, and they go after him;
⁵ and he goeth into the house of his father at Ophrah, and slayeth his brethren, sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; and Jotham, youngest son of Jerubbaal, is left, for he was hidden.
⁶ And all the masters of Shechem are gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and come and cause Abimelech to reign for king at the oak of the camp which [is] in Shechem;
⁷ and they declare [it] to Jotham, and he goeth and standeth on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifteth up his voice, and calleth, and saith to them, `Hearken unto me, O masters of Shechem, and God doth hearken unto you:
<sup>8</sup> `The trees have diligently gone to anoint over them a king, and they say to the olive, Reign thou over us.
⁹ And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?
¹⁰ And the trees say to the fig, Come thou, reign over us.
¹¹ And the fig saith to them, Have I ceased from my sweetness, and my good increase, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?
¹² `And the trees say to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.
<sup>13</sup> And the vine saith to them, Have I ceased from my new wine, which is rejoicing gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?
<sup>14</sup> And all the trees say unto the bramble, Come thou, reign over us.
<sup>15</sup> And the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow; and if not -- fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the cedars of Lebanon.
<sup>16</sup> `And, now, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted, when ye make Abimelech king; and if ye have done good with Jerubbaal, and with his house; and if according to the deed of his hands ye have done to him --
¹⁷ because my father hath fought for you, and doth cast away his life from [him], and deliver you from the hand of Midian;
¹⁸ and ye have risen against the house of my father to-day, and slay his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and cause Abimelech son of his handmaid to reign over the masters of Shechem, because he [is] your brother --
¹⁹ yea, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and he doth rejoice -- even he -- in you;
²⁰ and if not -- fire cometh out from Abimelech and devoureth the masters of Shechem and the house of Millo, and fire cometh out from the masters of Shechem and from the house of Millo, and devoureth Abimelech.'
²¹ And Jotham hasteth, and fleeth, and goeth to Beer, and dwelleth there, from the face of Abimelech his brother.
²² And Abimelech is prince over Israel three years,
²³ and God sendeth an evil spirit between Abimelech and the masters of Shechem, and the masters of Shechem deal treacherously with Abimelech,
²⁴ for the coming in of the violence [to] the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, and of their blood to place [it] on Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and on the masters of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.
²⁵ And the masters of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the hills, and rob every one who passeth over by them in the way, and it is declared to Abimelech.
²⁶ And Gaal son of Ebed cometh -- also his brethren -- and they pass over into Shechem, and the masters of Shechem trust in him,
²⁷ and go out into the field, and gather their vineyards, and tread, and make praises, and go into the house of their god, and eat and drink, and revile Abimelech.
²⁸ And Gaal son of Ebed saith, `Who [is] Abimelech, and who [is] Shechem, that we serve him? is [he] not son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his commander? Serve ye the men of Hamor father of Shechem, and wherefore do we serve him -- we?
<sup>29</sup> and oh that this people were in my hand -- then I turn Abimelech aside;' and he saith to Abimelech, `Increase thy host, and come out.'
³⁰ And Zebul, prince of the city, heareth the words of Gaal son of Ebed, and his anger burneth,
³¹ and he sendeth messengers unto Abimelech deceitfully, saying, `Lo, Gaal son of Ebed and his brethren are coming into Shechem, and lo, they are fortifying the city against thee;
<sup>32</sup> and, now, rise by night, thou and the people who [are] with thee, and lay wait in the field,
<sup>33</sup> and it hath been, in the morning, about the rising of the sun, thou dost rise early, and hast pushed against the city; and lo, he and the people who [are] with him are going out unto thee -- and thou hast done to him as thy hand doth find.'
<sup>34</sup> And Abimelech riseth, and all the people who [are] with him, by night, and they lay wait against Shechem -- four detachments;
<sup>35</sup> and Gaal son of Ebed goeth out, and standeth at the opening of the gate of the city, and Abimelech riseth -- also the people who [are] with him -- from the ambush,
<sup>36</sup> and Gaal seeth the people, and saith unto Zebul, `Lo, people are coming down from the top of the hills;' and Zebul saith unto him, `The shadow of the hills thou art seeing like men.'
<sup>37</sup> And Gaal addeth yet to speak, and saith, `Lo, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and another detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.'
³⁸ And Zebul saith unto him, `Where [is] now thy mouth, in that thou sayest, Who [is] Abimelech that we serve him? is not this the people against which thou hast kicked? go out, I pray thee now, and fight against it.'
<sup>39</sup> And Gaal goeth out before the masters of Shechem, and fighteth against Abimelech,
<sup>40</sup> and Abimelech pursueth him, and he fleeth from his presence, and many fall wounded -- unto the opening of the gate.
<sup>41</sup> And Abimelech abideth in Arumah, and Zebul casteth out Gaal and his brethren from dwelling in Shechem.
<sup>42</sup> And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the people go out to the field, and they declare [it] to Abimelech,
<sup>43</sup> and he taketh the people, and divideth them into three detachments, and layeth wait in a field, and looketh, and lo, the people are coming out from the city, and he riseth against them, and smiteth them.
<sup>44</sup> And Abimelech and the detachments who [are] with him have pushed on, and stand at the opening of the gate of the city, and the two detachments have pushed against all who are in the field, and smite them,
<sup>45</sup> and Abimelech hath fought against the city all that day, and captureth the city, and the people who [are] in it he hath slain, and he breaketh down the city, and soweth it [with] salt.
<sup>46</sup> And all the masters of the tower of Shechem hear, and go in unto the high place of the house of the god Berith,
<sup>47</sup> and it is declared to Abimelech that all the masters of the tower of Shechem have gathered themselves together,
<sup>48</sup> and Abimelech goeth up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people who [are] with him, and Abimelech taketh the great axe in his hand, and cutteth off a bough of the trees, and lifteth it up, and setteth [it] on his shoulder, and saith unto the people who [are] with him, `What ye have seen I have done -- haste, do ye like it.'
⁴⁹ And all the people also cut down each one his bough, and go after Abimelech, and set [them] at the high place, and burn by these the high place with fire, and also all the men of the tower of Shechem die, about a thousand men and women.
⁵⁰ And Abimelech goeth unto Thebez, and encampeth against Thebez, and captureth it,
⁵¹ and a strong tower hath been in the midst of the city, and thither flee do all the men and the women, and all the masters of the city, and they shut [it] behind them, and go up on the roof of the tower.
⁵² And Abimelech cometh unto the tower, and fighteth against it, and draweth nigh unto the opening of the tower to burn it with fire,
⁵³ and a certain woman doth cast a piece of a rider on the head of Abimelech, and breaketh his skull,
⁵⁴ and he calleth hastily unto the young man bearing his weapons, and saith to him, `Draw thy sword, and thou hast put me to death, lest they say of me -- A woman slew him;' and his young man pierced him through, and he dieth.
⁵⁵ And the men of Israel see that Abimelech [is] dead, and go each one to his place;
⁵⁶ and God turneth back the evil of Abimelech which he did to his father to slay his seventy brethren;
⁵⁷ and all the evil of the men of Shechem hath God turned back on their head, and come unto them doth the cursing of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.


Chapter 10
¹ And there riseth after Abimelech, to save Israel, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he is dwelling in Shamir, in the hill-country of Ephraim,
² and he judgeth Israel twenty and three years, and he dieth, and is buried in Shamir.
³ And there riseth after him Jair the Gileadite, and he judgeth Israel twenty and two years,
⁴ and he hath thirty sons riding on thirty ass-colts, and they have thirty cities, (they call them Havoth-Jair unto this day), which [are] in the land of Gilead;
⁵ and Jair dieth, and is buried in Kamon.
⁶ And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the Bene-Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsake Jehovah, and have not served Him;
⁷ and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the Bene-Ammon,
⁸ and they crush and oppress the sons of Israel in that year -- eighteen years all the sons of Israel [who] are beyond the Jordan, in the land of the Amorite, which [is] in Gilead.
⁹ And the Bene-Ammon pass over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, and Israel hath great distress.
¹⁰ And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, saying, `We have sinned against Thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and serve the Baalim.'
<sup>11</sup> And Jehovah saith unto the sons of Israel, `[Have I] not [saved you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorite, from the Bene-Ammon, and from the Philistines?
¹² And the Zidonians, and Amalek, and Maon have oppressed you, and ye cry unto Me, and I save you out of their hand;
¹³ and ye -- ye have forsaken Me, and serve other gods, therefore I add not to save you.
¹⁴ Go and cry unto the gods on which ye have fixed; they -- they save you in the time of your adversity.'
¹⁵ And the sons of Israel say unto Jehovah, `We have sinned, do Thou to us according to all that is good in Thine eyes; only deliver us, we pray Thee, this day.'
<sup>16</sup> And they turn aside the gods of the stranger out of their midst, and serve Jehovah, and His soul is grieved with the misery of Israel.
<sup>17</sup> And the Bene-Ammon are called together, and encamp in Gilead, and the sons of Israel are gathered together, and encamp in Mizpah.
<sup>18</sup> And the people -- heads of Gilead -- say one unto another, `Who [is] the man that doth begin to fight against the Bene-Ammon? he is for head to all inhabitants of Gilead.'


Chapter 11
¹ And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of valour, and he [is] son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead begetteth Jephthah,
² and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, `Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman [art] thou.'
<sup>3</sup> And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him.
<sup>4</sup> And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon fight with Israel,
<sup>5</sup> and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;
<sup>6</sup> and they say unto Jephthah, `Come, and thou hast been to us for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon.'
⁷ And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, `Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'
<sup>8</sup> and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head -- to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'
⁹ And Jephthah saith unto the elders of Gilead, `If ye are taking me back to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah hath given them before me -- I, am I to you for a head?'
<sup>10</sup> And the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Jehovah is hearkening between us -- if according to thy word we do not so.'
¹¹ And Jephthah goeth with the elders of Gilead, and the people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah speaketh all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.
¹² And Jephthah sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon, saying, `What -- to me and to thee, that thou hast come in unto me, to fight in my land.'
<sup>13</sup> And the king of the Bene-Ammon saith unto the messengers of Jephthah, `Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; and now, restore them in peace.'
¹⁴ And Jephthah addeth yet and sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon,
¹⁵ and saith to him, `Thus said Jephthah, Israel took not the land of Moab, and the land of the Bene-Ammon,
<sup>16</sup> for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goeth in the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and cometh in to Kadesh,
<sup>17</sup> and Israel sendeth messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me pass over, I pray thee, through thy land, and the king of Edom hearkened not; and also unto the king of Moab hath [Israel] sent, and he hath not been willing; and Israel abideth in Kadesh,
<sup>18</sup> and he goeth through the wilderness, and compasseth the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and cometh in at the rising of the sun of the land of Moab, and they encamp beyond Arnon, and have not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon [is] the border of Moab.
<sup>19</sup> `And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and Israel saith to him, Let us pass over, we pray thee, through thy land, unto my place,
²⁰ and Sihon hath not trusted Israel to pass over through his border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and they encamp in Jahaz, and fight with Israel;
²¹ and Jehovah, God of Israel, giveth Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smite them, and Israel possesseth all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that land,
²² and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and unto the Jordan.
²³ `And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and thou wouldst possess it!
<sup>24</sup> That which Chemosh thy god causeth thee to possess -- dost thou not possess it? and all that which Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from our presence, -- it we do possess.
<sup>25</sup> `And now, [art] thou at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he at all fight against them?
²⁶ In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which [are] by the sides of Arnon three hundred years -- and wherefore have ye not delivered them in that time?
²⁷ And I -- I have not sinned against thee, and thou art doing with me evil -- to fight against me. Jehovah, the Judge, doth judge to-day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'
²⁸ And the king of the Bene-Ammon hath not hearkened unto the words of Jephthah which he sent unto him,
²⁹ and the Spirit of Jehovah is on Jephthah, and he passeth over Gilead and Manasseh, and passeth over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he hath passed over to the Bene-Ammon.
³⁰ And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand --
<sup>31</sup> then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering.'
<sup>32</sup> And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand,
<sup>33</sup> and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards -- a very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel.
<sup>34</sup> And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter.
<sup>35</sup> And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, `Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back.'
³⁶ And she saith unto him, `My father -- thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine enemies, on the Bene-Ammon.'
<sup>37</sup> And she saith unto her father, `Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.'
³⁸ And he saith, `Go;' and he sendeth her away two months, and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her virginity on the hills;
³⁹ and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel:
⁴⁰ from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.


Chapter 12
¹ And the men of Ephraim are called together, and pass over northward, and say to Jephthah, `Wherefore has thou passed over to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and on us hast not called to go with thee? thy house we burn over thee with fire.'
<sup>2</sup> And Jephthah saith unto them, `A man of great strife I have been (I and my people) with the Bene-Ammon, and I call you, and ye have not saved me out of their hand,
³ and I see that thou art not a saviour, and I put my life in my hand, and pass over unto the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah giveth them into my hand -- and why have ye come up unto me this day to fight against me?'
⁴ And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and fighteth with Ephraim, and the men of Gilead smite Ephraim, because they said, `Fugitives of Ephraim [are] ye Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim -- in the midst of Manasseh.'
<sup>5</sup> And Gilead captureth the passages of the Jordan to Ephraim, and it hath been, when [any of] the fugitives of Ephraim say, `Let me pass over,' and the men of Gilead say to him, `An Ephramite thou?' and he saith, `No;'
⁶ that they say to him, `Say, I pray thee, Shibboleth;' and he saith, `Sibboleth,' and is not prepared to speak right -- and they seize him, and slaughter him at the passages of the Jordan, and there fall at that time, of Ephraim, forty and two chiefs.
⁷ And Jephthah judged Israel six years, and Jephthah the Gileadite dieth, and is buried in [one of] the cities of Gilead.
⁸ And after him Ibzan of Beth-Lehem judgeth Israel,
⁹ and he hath thirty sons and thirty daughters, he hath sent without and thirty daughters hath brought in to his sons from without; and he judgeth Israel seven years.
¹⁰ And Ibzan dieth, and is buried in Beth-Lehem.
¹¹ And after him Elon the Zebulunite judgeth Israel, and he judgeth Israel ten years,
¹² and Elon the Zebulunite dieth, and is buried in Aijalon, in the land of Zebulun.
¹³ And after him, Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, judgeth Israel,
¹⁴ and he hath forty sons, and thirty grandsons, riding on seventy ass-colts, and he judgeth Israel eight years.
¹⁵ And Abdon son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, dieth, and is buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekite.


Chapter 13
¹ And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
² And there is a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is] barren, and hath not borne;
³ and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren, and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.
<sup>4</sup> And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,
<sup>5</sup> for, lo, thou art conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor doth not go up on his head, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.'
<sup>6</sup> And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying, `A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance [is] as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to me;
⁷ and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb till the day of his death.'
⁸ And Manoah maketh entreaty unto Jehovah, and saith, `O, my Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let him come in, I pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth who is born.'
<sup>9</sup> And God hearkeneth to the voice of Manoah, and the messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she [is] sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,
<sup>10</sup> and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, `Lo, he hath appeared unto me -- the man who came on [that] day unto me.'
¹¹ And Manoah riseth, and goeth after his wife, and cometh unto the man, and saith to him, `Art thou the man who spake unto the woman?' and he saith, `I [am].'
¹² And Manoah saith, `Now let thy words come to pass; what is the custom of the youth -- and his work?'
<sup>13</sup> And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `Of all that I said unto the woman let her take heed;
¹⁴ of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her she doth observe.'
¹⁵ And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.'
<sup>16</sup> And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `If thou detain me -- I do not eat of thy bread; and if thou prepare a burnt-offering -- to Jehovah thou dost offer it;' for Manoah hath not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
¹⁷ And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, `What [is] thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured thee.'
<sup>18</sup> And the messenger of Jehovah saith to him, `Why [is] this -- thou dost ask for My name? -- and it [is] Wonderful.'
¹⁹ And Manoah taketh the kid of the goats, and the present, and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is doing wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,
²⁰ and it cometh to pass, in the going up of the flame from off the altar toward the heavens, that the messenger of Jehovah goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife are looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,
²¹ and the messenger of Jehovah hath not added again to appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then hath Manoah known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
²² And Manoah saith unto his wife, `We certainly die, for we have seen God.'
<sup>23</sup> And his wife saith to him, `If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as [at this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'
²⁴ And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him,
²⁵ and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.


Chapter 14
¹ And Samson goeth down to Timnath, and seeth a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,
² and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his mother, and saith, `A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.'
<sup>3</sup> And his father saith to him -- also his mother, `Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?' and Samson saith unto his father, `Take her for me, for she is right in mine eyes.'
<sup>4</sup> And his father and his mother have not known that from Jehovah it [is], that a meeting he is seeking of the Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over Israel.
<sup>5</sup> And Samson goeth down -- also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of Timnath, and lo, a lion's whelp roareth at meeting him,
<sup>6</sup> and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is nothing in his hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother that which he hath done.
<sup>7</sup> And he goeth down and speaketh to the woman, and she is right in the eyes of Samson;
<sup>8</sup> and he turneth back after [some] days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company of bees [are] in the body of the lion -- and honey.
<sup>9</sup> And he taketh it down on to his hands, and goeth on, going and eating; and he goeth unto his father, and unto his mother, and giveth to them, and they eat, and he hath not declared to them that from the body of the lion he took down the honey.
<sup>10</sup> And his father goeth down unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;
<sup>11</sup> and it cometh to pass when they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him.
<sup>12</sup> And Samson saith to them, `Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me [in] the seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;
¹³ and if ye are not able to declare [it] to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments.' And they say to him, `Put forth thy riddle, and we hear it!'
<sup>14</sup> And he saith to them: `Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness;' and they were not able to declare the riddle [in] three days.
¹⁵ And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, `Entice thy husband, that he declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?'
<sup>16</sup> And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, `Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not declared it;' and he saith to her, `Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared [it] -- and to thee I declare [it]!'
<sup>17</sup> And she weepeth for it the seven days [in] which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth [it] to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.
<sup>18</sup> And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goeth in: -- `What [is] sweeter than honey? And what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them: `Unless ye had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.'
¹⁹ And the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty men, and taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house of his father;
²⁰ and Samson's wife becometh his companion's, who [is] his friend.


Chapter 15
¹ And it cometh to pass, after [some] days, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson looketh after his wife, with a kid of the goats, and saith, `I go in unto my wife, to the inner chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in,
<sup>2</sup> and her father saith, I certainly said, that thou didst certainly hate her, and I give her to thy companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be, I pray thee, to thee, instead of her.'
<sup>3</sup> And Samson saith of them, `I am more innocent this time than the Philistines, though I am doing with them evil.'
⁴ And Samson goeth and catcheth three hundred foxes, and taketh torches, and turneth tail unto tail, and putteth a torch between the two tails, in the midst,
⁵ and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth [them] out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth [it] from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard -- olive-yard.
⁶ And the Philistines say, `Who hath done this?' And they say, `Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken away his wife, and giveth her to his companion;' and the Philistines go up, and burn her and her father with fire.
⁷ And Samson saith to them, `Though ye do thus, nevertheless I am avenged on you, and afterwards I cease!'
<sup>8</sup> And he smiteth them hip and thigh -- a great smiting, and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock Etam.
<sup>9</sup> And the Philistines go up, and encamp in Judah, and are spread out in Lehi,
<sup>10</sup> and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'
<sup>11</sup> And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what [is] this thou hast done to us?' And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did to them.'
<sup>12</sup> And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down -- to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'
<sup>13</sup> And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.
<sup>14</sup> He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,
<sup>15</sup> and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand men.
<sup>16</sup> And Samson saith, `With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'
¹⁷ And it cometh to pass when he finisheth speaking, that he casteth away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and calleth that place Ramath-Lehi;
¹⁸ and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'
<sup>19</sup> And God cleaveth the hollow place which [is] in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath [one] called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,' which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
²⁰ And he judgeth Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.


Chapter 16
¹ And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;
² [it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, `Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, `Till the light of the morning -- then we have slain him.'
³ And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which [is] on the front of Hebron.
⁴ And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name [is] Delilah,
⁵ and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, `Entice him, and see wherein his great power [is], and wherein we are able for him -- and we have bound him to afflict him, and we -- we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.'
<sup>6</sup> And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.'
⁷ And Samson saith unto her, `If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'
<sup>8</sup> And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them.
<sup>9</sup> And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known.
¹⁰ And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.'
<sup>11</sup> And he saith unto her, `If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'
¹² And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread.
<sup>13</sup> And Delilah saith unto Samson, `Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.' And he saith unto her, `If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.'
<sup>14</sup> And she fixeth [it] with the pin, and saith unto him, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the web.
¹⁵ And she saith unto him, `How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power [is].'
<sup>16</sup> And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death,
<sup>17</sup> that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, `A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I [am] from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.'
¹⁸ And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, `Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand.
<sup>19</sup> and she maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off him;
<sup>20</sup> and she saith, `Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `I go out as time by time, and shake myself;' and he hath not known that Jehovah hath turned aside from off him.
<sup>21</sup> And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding in the prison-house.
<sup>22</sup> And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven,
<sup>23</sup> and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, `Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'
²⁴ And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, `Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.'
<sup>25</sup> And it cometh to pass, when their heart [is] glad, that they say, `Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand between the pillars.
²⁶ And Samson saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, `Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.'
<sup>27</sup> And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither [are] all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof [are] about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson.
<sup>28</sup> And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged -- vengeance at once -- because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.'
²⁹ And Samson turneth aside [to] the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, [to] the one with his right hand, and one with his left;
³⁰ and Samson saith, `Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who [are] in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death in his life.
³¹ And his brethren come down, and all the house of his father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father; and he hath judged Israel twenty years.


Chapter 17
¹ And there is a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name [is] Micah,
² and he saith to his mother, `The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and [of which] thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver [is] with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, `Blessed [is] my son of Jehovah.'
³ And he giveth back the eleven hundred silverlings to his mother, and his mother saith, `I had certainly sanctified the silver to Jehovah, from my hand, for my son, to make a graven image, and a molten image; and now, I give it back to thee.'
<sup>4</sup> And he giveth back the money to his mother, and his mother taketh two hundred silverlings, and giveth them to a refiner, and he maketh them a graven image, and a molten image, and it is in the house of Micah.
<sup>5</sup> As to the man Micah, he hath a house of gods, and he maketh an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrateth the hand of one of his sons, and he is to him for a priest;
<sup>6</sup> in those days there is no king in Israel, each that which is right in his own eyes doth.
<sup>7</sup> And there is a young man of Beth-Lehem-Judah, of the family of Judah, and he [is] a Levite, and he [is] a sojourner there.
<sup>8</sup> And the man goeth out of the city, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah, to sojourn where he doth find, and cometh to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, to work his way.
<sup>9</sup> And Micah saith to him, `Whence comest thou?' and he saith unto him, `A Levite [am] I, of Beth-Lehem-Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I do find.'
<sup>10</sup> And Micah saith to him, `Dwell with me, and be to me for a father and for a priest, and I give to thee ten silverlings for the days, and a suit of garments, and thy sustenance;' and the Levite goeth [in].
¹¹ And the Levite is willing to dwell with the man, and the young man is to him as one of his sons.
¹² And Micah consecrateth the hand of the Levite, and the young man is to him for a priest, and he is in the house of Micah,
¹³ and Micah saith, `Now I have known that Jehovah doth good to me, for the Levite hath been to me for a priest.'


Chapter 18
¹ In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to inhabit, for [that] hath not fallen to it unto that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance.
² And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of them, men, sons of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them, `Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there.
<sup>3</sup> They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, `Who hath brought thee hither? and what art thou doing in this [place?] and what to thee here?'
⁴ And he saith unto them, `Thus and thus hath Micah done to me; and he hireth me, and I am to him for a priest.'
<sup>5</sup> And they say to him, `Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.'
⁶ And the priest saith to them, `Go in peace; over-against Jehovah [is] your way in which ye go.'
<sup>7</sup> And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with [any] man.
<sup>8</sup> And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren say to them, `What -- ye?'
⁹ And they say, `Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go -- to enter to possess the land.
<sup>10</sup> When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land [is] large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in the land.'
<sup>11</sup> And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
<sup>12</sup> And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, `Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.
¹³ And they pass over thence [to] the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah.
¹⁴ And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, `Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.'
<sup>15</sup> And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare, --
<sup>16</sup> (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate), --
<sup>17</sup> yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up -- they have come in thither -- they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image -- and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war --
<sup>18</sup> yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, `What are ye doing?'
¹⁹ and they say to him, `Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'
<sup>20</sup> And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into the midst of the people,
<sup>21</sup> and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them.
<sup>22</sup> They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,
<sup>23</sup> and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, `What -- to thee that thou hast been called together?'
²⁴ And he saith, `My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what [is] this ye say unto me, What -- to thee!'
<sup>25</sup> And the sons of Dan say unto him, `Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;'
²⁶ and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his house.
²⁷ And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire,
²⁸ and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Zidon, and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it,
²⁹ and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the name of the city at the first.
³⁰ And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of [the people] of the land.
³¹ And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.


Chapter 19
¹ And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;
² and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.
³ And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man [is] with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth to meet him.
⁴ And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.
⁵ And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, `Support thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'
<sup>6</sup> And they sit and eat both of them together, and drink, and the father of the young woman saith unto the man, `Be willing, I pray thee, and lodge all night, and let thy heart be glad.'
⁷ And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.
⁸ And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman saith, `Support, I pray thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the day, and they eat, both of them.
<sup>9</sup> And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'
¹⁰ And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It [is] Jerusalem), and with him [are] a couple of asses saddled; and his concubine [is] with him.
¹¹ They [are] near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down, and the young man saith unto his lord, `Come, I pray thee, and we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge in it.'
<sup>12</sup> And his lord saith unto him, `Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'
¹³ And he saith to his young man, `Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'
<sup>14</sup> And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goeth in upon them near Gibeah, which is to Benjamin;
<sup>15</sup> and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and he goeth in and sitteth in a broad place of the city, and there is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.
<sup>16</sup> And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man [is] of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he [is] a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place [are] Benjamites.
<sup>17</sup> And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith, `Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'
¹⁸ And he saith unto him, `We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah unto the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim -- thence I [am], and I go unto Beth-Lehem-Judah; and to the house of Jehovah I am going, and there is no man gathering me into the house,
<sup>19</sup> and both straw and provender are for our asses, and also bread and wine there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man with thy servants; there is no lack of anything.'
<sup>20</sup> And the old man saith, `Peace to thee; only, all thy lack [is] on me, only in the broad place lodge not.'
²¹ And he bringeth him in to his house, and mixeth [food] for the asses, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.
²² They are making their heart glad, and lo, men of the city, men -- sons of worthlessness -- have gone round about the house, beating on the door, and they speak unto the old man, the master of the house, saying, `Bring out the man who hath come unto thine house, and we know him.'
<sup>23</sup> And the man, the master of the house, goeth out unto them, and saith unto them, `Nay, my brethren, do not evil, I pray you, after that this man hath come in unto my house, do not this folly;
²⁴ lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.'
²⁵ And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth [her] out unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the ascending of the dawn;
²⁶ and the woman cometh in at the turning of the morning, and falleth at the opening of the man's house, where her lord [is], till the light.
²⁷ And her lord riseth in the morning, and openeth the doors of the house, and goeth out to go on his way, and lo, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands [are] on the threshold,
²⁸ and he saith unto her, `Rise, and we go;' and there is none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man riseth and goeth to his place,
<sup>29</sup> and cometh in unto his house, and taketh the knife, and layeth hold on his concubine, and cutteth her in pieces to her bones -- into twelve pieces, and sendeth her into all the border of Israel.
<sup>30</sup> And it hath come to pass, every one who seeth hath said, `There hath not been -- yea, there hath not been seen like this, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt till this day; set your [heart] upon it, take counsel, and speak.'


Chapter 20
¹ And all the sons of Israel go out, and the company is assembled as one man, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, and the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah, at Mizpeh.
² And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, station themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen drawing sword.
³ And the sons of Benjamin hear that the sons of Israel have gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel say, `Speak ye, how hath this evil been?'
<sup>4</sup> And the man, the Levite, husband of the woman who hath been murdered, answereth and saith, `Into Gibeah (which [is] to Benjamin) I have come, I and my concubine, to lodge;
⁵ and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay, and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth;
⁶ and I lay hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and send her into all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have done wickedness and folly in Israel;
⁷ lo, ye [are] all sons of Israel; give for you a word and counsel here.'
⁸ And all the people rise as one man, saying, `None of us doth go to his tent, and none of us doth turn aside to his house;
<sup>9</sup> and now, this [is] the thing which we do to Gibeah -- against it by lot!
<sup>10</sup> and we have taken ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of a myriad, to receive provision for the people, to do, at their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly which it hath done in Israel.'
<sup>11</sup> And every man of Israel is gathered unto the city, as one man -- companions.
<sup>12</sup> And the tribes of Israel send men among all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, `What [is] this evil which hath been among you?
¹³ And now, give up the men -- sons of worthlessness -- which [are] in Gibeah, and we put them to death, and we put away evil from Israel.' And [the sons of] Benjamin have not been willing to hearken to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel;
¹⁴ and the sons of Benjamin are gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle with the sons of Israel.
¹⁵ And the sons of Benjamin number themselves on that day; out of the cities [are] twenty and six thousand men drawing sword, apart from the inhabitants of Gibeah, [who] numbered themselves, seven hundred chosen men;
¹⁶ among all this people [are] seven hundred chosen men, bound of their right hand, each of these slinging with a stone at the hair, and he doth not err.
¹⁷ And the men of Israel numbered themselves, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, drawing sword, each of these a man of war.
¹⁸ And they rise and go up to Beth-El, and ask of God, and the sons of Israel say, `Who doth go up for us at the commencement to battle with the sons of Benjamin?' and Jehovah saith, `Judah -- at the commencement.'
¹⁹ And the sons of Israel rise in the morning, and encamp against Gibeah,
²⁰ and the men of Israel go out to battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel set themselves in array with them, [for] battle against Gibeah,
²¹ and the sons of Benjamin come out from Gibeah, and destroy in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men -- to the earth.
²² And the people, the men of Israel, strengthen themselves, and add to set the battle in array in the place where they arranged themselves on the first day.
²³ And the sons of Israel go up and weep before Jehovah till the evening, and ask of Jehovah, saying, `Do I add to draw nigh to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up against him.'
²⁴ And the sons of Israel draw near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day,
²⁵ and Benjamin cometh out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroy among the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men -- to the earth; all these are drawing sword.
²⁶ And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
²⁷ And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there [is] the ark of the covenant of God in those days,
²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, is standing before it in those days -- saying, `Do I add again to go out to battle with the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or do I cease?' And Jehovah saith, `Go up, for to-morrow I give him into thy hand.'
²⁹ And Israel setteth liers in wait against Gibeah, round about,
³⁰ and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as time by time.
³¹ And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite [some] of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), [are] about thirty men of Israel.
³² And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'
³³ And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.
³⁴ And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle [is] grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.
³⁵ And Jehovah smiteth Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroy in Benjamin, on that day, twenty and five thousand, and a hundred men; all these [are] drawing sword.
³⁶ And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been smitten -- and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah,
³⁷ and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword.
³⁸ And there was the appointed sign to the men of Israel with the ambush -- their causing to go up a great volume of smoke from the city.
³⁹ And the men of Israel turn in battle, and Benjamin hath begun to smite the wounded among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, `Surely they are utterly smitten before us, as [at] the first battle;
⁴⁰ and the volume hath begun to go up from the city -- a pillar of smoke -- and Benjamin turneth behind, and lo, gone up hath the perfection of the city toward the heavens.
⁴¹ And the men of Israel have turned, and the men of Benjamin are troubled, for they have seen that the evil hath stricken against them --
⁴² and they turn before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, and the battle hath followed them; and those who [are] from the city are destroying them in their midst;
⁴³ they have compassed the Benjamites -- they have pursued them -- with ease they have trodden them down till over-against Gibeah, at the sun-rising.
⁴⁴ And there fall of Benjamin eighteen thousand men -- the whole of these [are] men of valour;
⁴⁵ and they turn and flee toward the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon; and they glean of them in the highways five thousand men, and follow after them unto Gidom, and smite of them two thousand men.
⁴⁶ And all those falling of Benjamin are twenty and five thousand men drawing sword, on that day -- the whole of these [are] men of valour;
⁴⁷ and there turn and flee into the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon six hundred men, and they dwell in the rock Rimmon four months.
⁴⁸ And the men of Israel have turned back unto the sons of Benjamin, and smite them by the mouth of the sword out of the city, -- men unto cattle, unto all that is found; also all the cities which are found they have sent into fire.


Chapter 21
¹ And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, `None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.'
<sup>2</sup> And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping,
<sup>3</sup> and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel -- to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?'
⁴ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the people rise early, and build there an altar, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
⁵ And the sons of Israel say, `Who [is] he that hath not come up in the assembly out of all the tribes of Israel unto Jehovah?' for the great oath hath been concerning him who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, `He is surely put to death.'
⁶ And the sons of Israel repent concerning Benjamin their brother, and say, `There hath been to-day cut off one tribe from Israel,
<sup>7</sup> what do we do for them -- for those who are left -- for wives, and we -- we have sworn by Jehovah not to give to them of our daughters for wives?'
<sup>8</sup> And they say, `Who is [that] one out of the tribes of Israel who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh?' and lo, none hath come in unto the camp from Jabesh-Gilead -- unto the assembly.
⁹ And the people numbered themselves, and lo, there is not there a man of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead.
¹⁰ And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons of valour, and command them, saying, `Go -- and ye have smitten the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants.
<sup>11</sup> And this [is] the thing which ye do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.'
<sup>12</sup> And they find out of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young women, virgins, who have not known man by the lying of a male, and they bring them in unto the camp at Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan.
<sup>13</sup> And all the company send, and speak, unto the sons of Benjamin who [are] in the rock Rimmon, and proclaim to them peace;
<sup>14</sup> and Benjamin turneth back at that time, and they give to them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for [all of] them so.
<sup>15</sup> And the people repented concerning Benjamin, for Jehovah had made a breach among the tribes of Israel.
<sup>16</sup> And the elders of the company say, `What do we do to the remnant for wives -- for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?'
¹⁷ And they say, `A possession of an escaped party [is] to Benjamin, and a tribe is not blotted out from Israel;
<sup>18</sup> and we -- we are not able to give to them wives out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [is] he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'
<sup>19</sup> And they say, `Lo, a festival of Jehovah [is] in Shiloh, from time to time, which [is] on the north of Beth-El, at the rising of the sun, by the highway which is going up from Beth-El to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.'
²⁰ And they command the sons of Benjamin, saying, `Go -- and ye have laid wait in the vineyards,
²¹ and have seen, and lo, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances -- then ye have gone out from the vineyards, and caught for you each his wife out of the daughters of Shiloh, and gone to the land of Benjamin;
²² and it hath been, when their fathers or their brethren come in to plead unto us, that we have said unto them, Favour us [by] them, for we have not taken [to] each his wife in battle, for ye -- ye have not given to them at this time [that] ye are guilty.'
²³ And the sons of Benjamin do so, and take women according to their number, out of the dancers whom they have taken violently away; and they go, and turn back unto their inheritance, and build the cities, and dwell in them.
²⁴ And the sons of Israel go up and down thence at that time, each to his tribe, and to his family; and they go out thence each to his inheritance.
²⁵ In those days there is no king in Israel; each doth that which is right in his own eyes.