Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon.^(A) They said to Jephthah,^(B) “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you?^(C) We’re going to burn down your house over your head.”

² Jephthah answered, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands. ³ When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands^(D) and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory^(E) over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”

⁴ Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead^(F) and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.^(G)” ⁵ The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan^(H) leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he replied, “No,” ⁶ they said, “All right, say ‘Shibboleth.’” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

⁷ Jephthah led^[a] Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon and Abdon

⁸ After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem^(I) led Israel. ⁹ He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. ¹⁰ Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹ After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. ¹² Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon^(J) in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon,^(K) led Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons,^(L) who rode on seventy donkeys.^(M) He led Israel eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.^(N)

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^(O) for forty years.^(P)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(Q) named Manoah,^(R) from the clan of the Danites,^(S) had a wife who was childless,^(T) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(U) appeared to her^(V) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(W) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(X) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(Y) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(Z) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(AA) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(AB) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(AC) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(AD) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(AE) very awesome.^(AF) 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^(AG) or other fermented drink^(AH) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(AI)’”

⁸ Then Manoah^(AJ) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(AK) 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^(AL) 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^(AM) nor eat anything unclean.^(AN) 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^(AO) 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,^(AP) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(AQ) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

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

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(AS) It is beyond understanding.^[b]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(AT) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(AU) 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.^{(AV) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(AW) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(AX) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(AY) 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.”^(AZ)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(BA) He grew^(BB) and the Lord blessed him,^{(BC) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(BD) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(BE) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples^(A) said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”^(B)

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?^{(C) 62} Then what if you see the Son of Man^(D) ascend to where he was before!^{(E) 63} The Spirit gives life;^(F) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[a] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known^(G) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.^{(H) 65} He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”^(I)

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples^(J) turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.^(K)

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him,^(L) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.^{(M) 69} We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”^(N)

⁷⁰ Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,^(O) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”^{(P) 71} (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,^(Q) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)^(R)

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want^[b] to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders^(S) there were looking for a way to kill him.^{(T) 2} But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles^(U) was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers^(V) said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.^(W)

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time^(X) is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me^(Y) because I testify that its works are evil.^{(Z) 8} You go to the festival. I am not^[c] going up to this festival, because my time^(AA) has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus^(AB) and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”^{(AC) 13} But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.^(AD)