Tola

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

Jair

³ He was followed by Jair^(F) of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys.^(G) They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.^{[b](H) 5} When Jair^(I) died, he was buried in Kamon.

Jephthah

⁶ Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.^(J) They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths,^(K) and the gods of Aram,^(L) the gods of Sidon,^(M) the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites^(N) and the gods of the Philistines.^(O) And because the Israelites forsook the Lord^(P) and no longer served him, ⁷ he became angry^(Q) with them. He sold them^(R) into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, ⁸ who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead,^(S) the land of the Amorites. ⁹ The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,^(T) Benjamin and Ephraim;^(U) Israel was in great distress. ¹⁰ Then the Israelites cried^(V) out to the Lord, “We have sinned^(W) against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”^(X)

¹¹ The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians,^(Y) the Amorites,^(Z) the Ammonites,^(AA) the Philistines,^{(AB) 12} the Sidonians, the Amalekites^(AC) and the Maonites^[c](AD) oppressed you^(AE) and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³ But you have forsaken^(AF) me and served other gods,^(AG) so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save^(AH) you when you are in trouble!^(AI)”

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

¹⁷ When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.^{(AN) 18} The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head^(AO) over all who live in Gilead.”

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines^(A) for forty years.^(B)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(C) named Manoah,^(D) from the clan of the Danites,^(E) had a wife who was childless,^(F) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(G) appeared to her^(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(I) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(K) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(Q) very awesome.^(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(S) or other fermented drink^(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(U)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

⁹ God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me^(X) the other day!”

¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

¹² So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

¹³ The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink^(Y) nor eat anything unclean.^(Z) She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(AA) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(AB) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(AC) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(AE) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(AF) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(AH) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AI) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(AK) God!”

²³ But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”^(AL)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(AM) He grew^(AN) and the Lord blessed him,^{(AO) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(AP) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(AQ) between Zorah and Eshtaol.