Judges 3:28-11:16

New International Version

²⁸“Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,^(A) your enemy, into your hands.^(B)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan^(C) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. ²⁹At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. ³⁰That day Moab^(D) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace^(E) for eighty years.

Shamgar

³¹After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,^(F) who struck down six hundred^(G) Philistines^(H) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

4 Again the Israelites did evil^(I) in the eyes of the Lord,^(J) now that Ehud^(K) was dead. ²So the Lord sold them^(L) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(M) Sisera,^(N) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron^(O) and had cruelly oppressed^(P) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

⁴Now Deborah,^(Q) a prophet,^(R) the wife of Lappidoth, was leading^[a] Israel at that time. ⁵She held court^(S) under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah^(T) and Bethel^(U) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. ⁶She sent for Barak son of Abinoam^(V) from Kedesh^(W) in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali^(X) and Zebulun^(Y) and lead them up to Mount Tabor.^(Z) ⁷I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s^(AA) army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River^(AB) and give him into your hands.^(AC)’”

⁸Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.^(AD) ¹⁰There Barak summoned^(AE) Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites,^(AF) the descendants of Hobab,^(AG) Moses’ brother-in-law,^[b] and pitched his tent by the great tree^(AH) in Zaanannim^(AI) near Kedesh.

¹²When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,^(AJ) ¹³Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River^(AK) all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.^(AL)

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.^(AM) Has not the Lord gone ahead^(AN) of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. ¹⁵At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed^(AO) Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

¹⁶Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.^(AP) ¹⁷Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael,^(AQ) the wife of Heber the Kenite,^(AR) because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor^(AS) and the family of Heber the Kenite.

¹⁸Jael^(AT) went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹“I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk,^(AU) gave him a drink, and covered him up.

²⁰“Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

²¹But Jael,^(AV) Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep,^(AW) exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.^(AX)

²²Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael^(AY) went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.^(AZ)

²³On that day God subdued^(BA) Jabin^(BB) king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.^(BC)

The Song of Deborah

5 On that day Deborah^(BD) and Barak son of Abinoam^(BE) sang this song:^(BF)

²“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer^(BG) themselves—
praise the Lord!^(BH)

³“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I, even I, will sing to^[c] the Lord;^(BI)
I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.^(BJ)

⁴“When you, Lord, went out^(BK) from Seir,^(BL)
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,^(BM) the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.^(BN)
⁵The mountains quaked^(BO) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁶“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,^(BP)
    in the days of Jael,^(BQ) the highways^(BR) were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.^(BS)
⁷Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah,^(BT) arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
⁸God chose new leaders^(BU)
    when war came to the city gates,^(BV)
but not a shield or spear^(BW) was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
⁹My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers^(BX) among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

¹⁰“You who ride on white donkeys,^(BY)
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider ¹¹the voice of the singers^[d] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories^(BZ) of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.^(CA)
¹²‘Wake up,^(CB) wake up, Deborah!^(CC)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!^(CD)
    Take captive your captives,^(CE) son of Abinoam.’

¹³“The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
¹⁴Some came from Ephraim,^(CF) whose roots were in Amalek;^(CG)
    Benjamin^(CH) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir^(CI) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s^[e] staff.
¹⁵The princes of Issachar^(CJ) were with Deborah;^(CK)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,^(CL)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
¹⁶Why did you stay among the sheep pens^[f]^(CM)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?^(CN)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
¹⁷Gilead^(CO) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher^(CP) remained on the coast^(CQ)
    and stayed in his coves.
¹⁸The people of Zebulun^(CR) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali^(CS) on the terraced fields.^(CT)

¹⁹“Kings came^(CU), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,^(CV)
    they took no plunder of silver.^(CW)
²⁰From the heavens^(CX) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
²¹The river Kishon^(CY) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!^(CZ)
²²Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.^(DA)
²³‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

²⁴“Most blessed of women^(DB) be Jael,^(DC)
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,^(DD)
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
²⁵He asked for water, and she gave him milk;^(DE)
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
²⁶Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.^(DF)
²⁷At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead^(DG).

²⁸“Through the window^(DH) peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,^(DI)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
²⁹The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
³⁰‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:^(DJ)
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments^(DK) for my neck—
    all this as plunder?^(DL)’

³¹“So may all your enemies perish,^(DM) Lord!
But may all who love you be like the sun^(DN)
when it rises in its strength.”^(DO)

Then the land had peace^(DP) forty years.

Gideon

6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,^(DQ) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.^(DR) ²Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,^(DS) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves^(DT) and strongholds.^(DU) ³Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites^(DV) and other eastern peoples^(DW) invaded the country. ⁴They camped on the land and ruined the crops^(DX) all the way to Gaza^(DY) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. ⁵They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.^(DZ) It was impossible to count them or their camels;^(EA) they invaded the land to ravage it. ⁶Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out^(EB) to the Lord for help.

⁷When the Israelites cried out^(EC) to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸he sent them a prophet,^(ED) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,^(EE) out of the land of slavery.^(EF) ⁹I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;^(EG) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.^(EH) ¹⁰I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship^(EI) the gods of the Amorites,^(EJ) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

¹¹The angel of the Lord^(EK) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(EL) that belonged to Joash^(EM) the Abiezrite,^(EN) where his son Gideon^(EO) was threshing^(EP) wheat in a winepress^(EQ) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(ER) mighty warrior.^(ES)”

¹³“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders^(ET) that our ancestors told^(EU) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned^(EV) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have^(EW) and save^(EX) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan^(EY) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.^(EZ)”

¹⁶The Lord answered, “I will be with you^(FA), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

¹⁷Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign^(FB) that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

¹⁹Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,^(FC) and from an ephah^[g]^(FD) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.^(FE)

²⁰The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,^(FF) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. ²¹Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread^(FG) with the tip of the staff^(FH) that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. ²²When Gideon realized^(FI) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”^(FJ)

²³But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.^(FK) You are not going to die.”^(FL)

²⁴So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called^(FM) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah^(FN) of the Abiezrites.

²⁵That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.^[h] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole^[i]^(FO) beside it. ²⁶Then build a proper kind of^[j] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second^[k] bull as a burnt offering.^(FP)”

²⁷So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

²⁸In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar,^(FQ) demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

²⁹They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash^(FR) did it.”

³⁰The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar^(FS) and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

³¹But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause?^(FT) Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” ³²So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal^[l]^(FU) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

³³Now all the Midianites, Amalekites^(FV) and other eastern peoples^(FW) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.^(FX) ³⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came on^(FY) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,^(FZ) summoning the Abiezrites^(GA) to follow him. ³⁵He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,^(GB) Zebulun and Naphtali,^(GC) so that they too went up to meet them.^(GD)

³⁶Gideon said to God, “If you will save^(GE) Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷look, I will place a wool fleece^(GF) on the threshing floor.^(GG) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know^(GH) that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” ³⁸And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.^(GI) Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” ⁴⁰That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.^(GJ)

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

7 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal^(GK) (that is, Gideon^(GL)) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod.^(GM) The camp of Midian^(GN) was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.^(GO) ²The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength^(GP) has saved me.’ ³Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.^(GQ)’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

⁴But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many^(GR) men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶Three hundred of them^(GS) drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.^(GT) Let all the others go home.”^(GU) ⁸So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. ⁹During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.^(GV) ¹⁰If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah ¹¹and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. ¹²The Midianites, the Amalekites^(GW) and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts.^(GX) Their camels^(GY) could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.^(GZ)

¹³Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

¹⁴His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash,^(HA) the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

¹⁵When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped.^(HB) He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”^(HC) ¹⁶Dividing the three hundred men^(HD) into three companies,^(HE) he placed trumpets^(HF) and empty jars^(HG) in the hands of all of them, with torches^(HH) inside.

¹⁷“Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. ¹⁸When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets,^(HI) then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

¹⁹Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars^(HJ) that were in their hands. ²⁰The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches^(HK) in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword^(HL) for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.^(HM)

²²When the three hundred trumpets sounded,^(HN) the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other^(HO) with their swords.^(HP) The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah^(HQ) near Tabbath. ²³Israelites from Naphtali, Asher^(HR) and all Manasseh were called out,^(HS) and they pursued the Midianites.^(HT) ²⁴Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan^(HU) ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”

So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. ²⁵They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb^(HV). They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb,^(HW) and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites^(HX) and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.^(HY)

Zebah and Zalmunna

8 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon,^(HZ) “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?^(IA)”^(IB) And they challenged him vigorously.^(IC)

²But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?^(ID) ³God gave Oreb and Zeeb,^(IE) the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.

⁴Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan^(IF) and crossed it. ⁵He said to the men of Sukkoth,^(IG) “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out,^(IH) and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,^(II) the kings of Midian.”

⁶But the officials of Sukkoth^(IJ) said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread^(IK) to your troops?”^(IL)

⁷Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna^(IM) into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”

⁸From there he went up to Peniel^[m]^(IN) and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. ⁹So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”^(IO)

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.^(IP) ¹¹Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah^(IQ) and Jogbehah^(IR) and attacked the unsuspecting army. ¹²Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

¹³Gideon son of Joash^(IS) then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres.^(IT) ¹⁴He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth,^(IU) the elders^(IV) of the town. ¹⁵Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?^(IW)’” ¹⁶He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson^(IX) by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. ¹⁷He also pulled down the tower of Peniel^(IY) and killed the men of the town.^(IZ)

¹⁸Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?^(JA)”

“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”

¹⁹Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives,^(JB) if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” ²⁰Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

²¹Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments^(JC) off their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

²²The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

²³But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule^(JD) over you.” ²⁴And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring^(JE) from your share of the plunder.^(JF)” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites^(JG) to wear gold earrings.)

²⁵They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. ²⁶The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,^[n] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains^(JH) that were on their camels’ necks. ²⁷Gideon made the gold into an ephod,^(JI) which he placed in Ophrah,^(JJ) his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare^(JK) to Gideon and his family.^(JL)

Gideon’s Death

²⁸Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head^(JM) again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace^(JN) forty years.

²⁹Jerub-Baal^(JO) son of Joash^(JP) went back home to live. ³⁰He had seventy sons^(JQ) of his own, for he had many wives. ³¹His concubine,^(JR) who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek.^(JS) ³²Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age^(JT) and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.^(JU) They set up Baal-Berith^(JV) as their god^(JW) ³⁴and did not remember^(JX) the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. ³⁵They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal^(JY) (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.^(JZ)

Abimelek

9 Abimelek^(KA) son of Jerub-Baal^(KB) went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan, ²“Ask all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal’s sons rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember, I am your flesh and blood.^(KC)”

³When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelek, for they said, “He is related to us.” ⁴They gave him seventy shekels^[o] of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith,^(KD) and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels,^(KE) who became his followers. ⁵He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers,^(KF) the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham,^(KG) the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding.^(KH) ⁶Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo^(KI) gathered beside the great tree^(KJ) at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelek king.

⁷When Jotham^(KK) was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim^(KL) and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ⁸One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

⁹“But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹¹“But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹²“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹³“But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine,^(KM) which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹⁵“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade;^(KN) but if not, then let fire come out^(KO) of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’^(KP)

¹⁶“Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? ¹⁷Remember that my father fought for you and risked^(KQ) his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. ¹⁸But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons^(KR) on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. ¹⁹So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today?^(KS) If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! ²⁰But if you have not, let fire come out^(KT) from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem^(KU) and Beth Millo,^(KV) and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!”

²¹Then Jotham^(KW) fled, escaping to Beer,^(KX) and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek.

²²After Abimelek had governed Israel three years, ²³God stirred up animosity^(KY) between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek. ²⁴God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons,^(KZ) the shedding^(LA) of their blood, might be avenged^(LB) on their brother Abimelek and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him^(LC) murder his brothers. ²⁵In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelek.

²⁶Now Gaal son of Ebed^(LD) moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. ²⁷After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden^(LE) them, they held a festival in the temple of their god.^(LF) While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek. ²⁸Then Gaal son of Ebed^(LG) said, “Who^(LH) is Abimelek, and why should we Shechemites be subject to him? Isn’t he Jerub-Baal’s son, and isn’t Zebul his deputy? Serve the family of Hamor,^(LI) Shechem’s father! Why should we serve Abimelek? ²⁹If only this people were under my command!^(LJ) Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelek, ‘Call out your whole army!’”^[p]^(LK)

³⁰When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. ³¹Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, “Gaal son of Ebed and his clan have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. ³²Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait^(LL) in the fields. ³³In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, seize the opportunity to attack them.^(LM)”

³⁴So Abimelek and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. ³⁵Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance of the city gate^(LN) just as Abimelek and his troops came out from their hiding place.^(LO)

³⁶When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!”

Zebul replied, “You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men.”

³⁷But Gaal spoke up again: “Look, people are coming down from the central hill,^[q] and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners’ tree.”

³⁸Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your big talk now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelek that we should be subject to him?’ Aren’t these the men you ridiculed?^(LP) Go out and fight them!”

³⁹So Gaal led out^[r] the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelek. ⁴⁰Abimelek chased him all the way to the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled. ⁴¹Then Abimelek stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem.

⁴²The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelek. ⁴³So he took his men, divided them into three companies^(LQ) and set an ambush^(LR) in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. ⁴⁴Abimelek and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate. Then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down. ⁴⁵All that day Abimelek pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city^(LS) and scattered salt^(LT) over it.

⁴⁶On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple^(LU) of El-Berith. ⁴⁷When Abimelek heard that they had assembled there, ⁴⁸he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon.^(LV) He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, “Quick! Do what you have seen me do!” ⁴⁹So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelek. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire with the people still inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

⁵⁰Next Abimelek went to Thebez^(LW) and besieged it and captured it. ⁵¹Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the city—had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. ⁵²Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, ⁵³a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.^(LX)

⁵⁴Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me,^(LY) so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant ran him through, and he died. ⁵⁵When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home.

⁵⁶Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness.^(LZ) The curse of Jotham^(MA) son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

Tola

10 After the time of Abimelek,^(MB) a man of Issachar^(MC) named Tola son of Puah,^(MD) the son of Dodo, rose to save^(ME) Israel. He lived in Shamir,^(MF) in the hill country of Ephraim. ²He led^[s] Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

Jair

³He was followed by Jair^(MG) of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. ⁴He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys.^(MH) They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.^[t]^(MI) ⁵When Jair^(MJ) died, he was buried in Kamon.

Jephthah

⁶Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.^(MK) They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths,^(ML) and the gods of Aram,^(MM) the gods of Sidon,^(MN) the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites^(MO) and the gods of the Philistines.^(MP) And because the Israelites forsook the Lord^(MQ) and no longer served him, ⁷he became angry^(MR) with them. He sold them^(MS) into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, ⁸who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead,^(MT) the land of the Amorites. ⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,^(MU) Benjamin and Ephraim;^(MV) Israel was in great distress. ¹⁰Then the Israelites cried^(MW) out to the Lord, “We have sinned^(MX) against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”^(MY)

¹¹The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians,^(MZ) the Amorites,^(NA) the Ammonites,^(NB) the Philistines,^(NC) ¹²the Sidonians, the Amalekites^(ND) and the Maonites^[u]^(NE) oppressed you^(NF) and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³But you have forsaken^(NG) me and served other gods,^(NH) so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save^(NI) you when you are in trouble!^(NJ)”

¹⁵But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best,^(NK) but please rescue us now.” ¹⁶Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.^(NL) And he could bear Israel’s misery^(NM) no longer.^(NN)

¹⁷When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.^(NO) ¹⁸The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head^(NP) over all who live in Gilead.”

11 Jephthah^(NQ) the Gileadite was a mighty warrior.^(NR) His father was Gilead;^(NS) his mother was a prostitute.^(NT) ²Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” ³So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob,^(NU) where a gang of scoundrels^(NV) gathered around him and followed him.

⁴Some time later, when the Ammonites^(NW) were fighting against Israel, ⁵the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”

⁷Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house?^(NX) Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?”

⁸The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head^(NY) over all of us who live in Gilead.”

⁹Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?”

¹⁰The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness;^(NZ) we will certainly do as you say.” ¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders^(OA) of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated^(OB) all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.^(OC)

¹²Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?”

¹³The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon^(OD) to the Jabbok,^(OE) all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”

¹⁴Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, ¹⁵saying:

“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab^(OF) or the land of the Ammonites.^(OG) ¹⁶But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea^[v]^(OH) and on to Kadesh.^(OI)

Footnotes

Judges 4:4 Traditionally judging
Judges 4:11 Or father-in-law
Judges 5:3 Or of
Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.
Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms
Judges 9:4 That is, about 1 3/4 pounds or about 800 grams
Judges 9:29 Septuagint; Hebrew him.” Then he said to Abimelek, “Call out your whole army!”
Judges 9:37 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth.
Judges 9:39 Or Gaal went out in the sight of
Judges 10:2 Traditionally judged; also in verse 3
Judges 10:4 Or called the settlements of Jair
Judges 10:12 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts Midianites
Judges 11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds

Judges 3:28-15:12

King James Version

²⁸And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

²⁹And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

³¹And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

4 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead.

²And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

³And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

⁴And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

⁵And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁶And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

⁷And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

⁸And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

⁹And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

¹²And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

¹³And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

¹⁴And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

¹⁵And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

¹⁶But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

¹⁷Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

¹⁸And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

¹⁹And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

²⁰Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

²¹Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

²²And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

²³So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

²⁴And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

5 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

²Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

³Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

⁴Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.

⁵The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.

⁶In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.

⁷The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.

⁸They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?

⁹My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord.

¹⁰Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

¹¹They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.

¹²Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

¹³Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.

¹⁴Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.

¹⁶Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

¹⁷Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

¹⁸Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

¹⁹The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.

²⁰They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

²¹The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

²²Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.

²³Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

²⁴Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.

²⁵He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

²⁶She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

²⁷At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

²⁸The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

²⁹Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,

³⁰Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?

³¹So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

6 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

²And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

³And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

⁴And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

⁵For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

⁶And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

⁷And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the Midianites,

⁸That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

⁹And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;

¹⁰And I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.

¹¹And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹²And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

¹³And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

¹⁴And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

¹⁵And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

¹⁶And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

¹⁷And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

¹⁸Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

¹⁹And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.

²⁰And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

²¹Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

²²And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.

²³And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

²⁴Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

²⁵And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:

²⁶And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

²⁷Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

²⁸And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.

²⁹And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

³⁰Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.

³¹And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.

³²Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.

³³Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁴But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.

³⁵And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

³⁶And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,

³⁷Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

³⁸And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

³⁹And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

⁴⁰And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

7 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

²And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

³Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

⁴And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

⁵So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

⁶And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

⁷And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

⁸So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

⁹And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

¹⁰But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:

¹¹And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

¹²And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

¹³And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

¹⁴And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

¹⁵And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

¹⁷And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

¹⁸When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.

¹⁹So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.

²¹And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

²²And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

²³And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

²⁴And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

²⁵And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

8 And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

²And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

³God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

⁴And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.

⁵And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

⁶And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

⁷And Gideon said, Therefore when the Lord hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

⁸And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

⁹And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

¹¹And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.

¹²And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

¹³And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,

¹⁴And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.

¹⁵And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

¹⁶And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

¹⁷And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

¹⁸Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

¹⁹And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

²⁰And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.

²²Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

²³And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.

²⁴And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

²⁵And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

²⁶And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.

²⁷And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

²⁸Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

³⁰And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

³¹And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

³²And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

³⁴And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

³⁵Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

9 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

²Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

³And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

⁴And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

⁵And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.

⁶And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.

⁷And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

⁸The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

⁹But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

¹⁰And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

¹¹But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

¹²Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

¹³And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

¹⁴Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

¹⁵And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁶Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;

¹⁷(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:

¹⁸And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)

¹⁹If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:

²⁰But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

²¹And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

²²When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

²³Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

²⁴That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.

²⁵And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

²⁶And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

²⁷And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

²⁹And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

³⁰And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

³¹And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee.

³²Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:

³³And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.

³⁴And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait.

³⁶And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

³⁷And Gaal spake again, and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.

³⁸Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

³⁹And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.

⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate.

⁴¹And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.

⁴²And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.

⁴³And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them.

⁴⁴And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them.

⁴⁵And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith.

⁴⁷And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

⁴⁸And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.

⁴⁹And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.

⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.

⁵²And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.

⁵³And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.

⁵⁴Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A women slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

⁵⁵And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.

⁵⁶Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

⁵⁷And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

10 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.

²And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

³And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

⁴And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

⁵And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

⁶And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him.

⁷And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

⁸And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

⁹Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

¹⁰And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.

¹¹And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

¹²The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

¹³Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

¹⁴Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

¹⁵And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.

¹⁶And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

¹⁷Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

¹⁸And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

²And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

³Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

⁴And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

⁵And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

⁶And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

⁷And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

⁸And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

⁹And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

¹¹Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.

¹²And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?

¹³And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

¹⁴And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:

¹⁵And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

¹⁶But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

¹⁷Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

¹⁸Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

¹⁹And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

²⁰But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

²¹And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

²²And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

²³So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

²⁴Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

²⁵And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

²⁶While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

²⁷Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the Lord the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

²⁸Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

²⁹Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

³⁰And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

³¹Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

³²So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

³³And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

³⁴And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

³⁵And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

³⁶And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

³⁷And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

³⁸And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

³⁹And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

⁴⁰That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

12 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.

²And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.

³And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

⁴Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.

⁵And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

⁶Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

⁷And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

⁸And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.

¹²And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.

¹³And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

¹⁴And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

¹⁵And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

13 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

²And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

³And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

⁴Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

⁵For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

⁶Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

⁷But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

⁸Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

⁹And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

¹⁰And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

¹¹And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

¹²And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

¹³And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

¹⁴She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

¹⁵And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

¹⁶And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.

¹⁷And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

¹⁸And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

¹⁹So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

²⁰For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.

²²And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

²³But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

²⁴And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

²⁵And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

²And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

³Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

⁴But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

⁵Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

⁶And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

⁸And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

⁹And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

¹⁰So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

¹¹And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

¹²And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

¹³But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

¹⁴And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

¹⁶And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?

¹⁷And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

¹⁸And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? and he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

¹⁹And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

²⁰But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

15 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

²And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

³And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

⁴And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

⁵And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

⁶Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

⁷And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

⁸And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

⁹Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

¹⁰And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

¹¹Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

¹²And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

New International Version (NIV)

Judges 3:28-11:16

New International Version

Shamgar

Deborah

The Song of Deborah

Gideon

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Zebah and Zalmunna

Gideon’s Ephod

Gideon’s Death

Abimelek

Tola

Jair

Jephthah

Footnotes

Cross references

Judges 3:28-15:12

King James Version

More on the NIV

Judges 3:28-11:16 New International Version

Shamgar

Deborah

The Song of Deborah

Gideon

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

Zebah and Zalmunna

Gideon’s Ephod

Gideon’s Death

Abimelek

Tola

Jair

Jephthah

Footnotes

Cross references

Judges 3:28-15:12 King James Version

More on the NIV

Judges 3:28-11:16

New International Version

Judges 3:28-15:12

King James Version