Pattern of Sin and Judgment

2 The Angel of the Lord^(A) went up from Gilgal to Bochim^[a] and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land^(B) I had promised to your fathers.^(C) I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. ² You are not to make a covenant^(D) with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.^[b](E) But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? ³ Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.^(F) They will be thorns^[c][d] in your sides,^(G) and their gods will be a trap for you.”^{(H) 4} When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ⁵ So they named that place Bochim^[e] and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

Joshua’s Death

⁶ Joshua sent the people away, and the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.^{(I) 7} The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived^[f] Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works^(J) He had done for Israel.

⁸ Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. ⁹ They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,^(K) north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord^(L) or the works He had done for Israel.

¹¹ The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.^(M) They worshiped the Baals^{(N) 12} and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples^(O) and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord,^{(P) 13} for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.^(Q)

¹⁴ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold^(R) them to^[g] the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord^[h] was against them^(S) and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them.^(T) So they suffered greatly.

¹⁶ The Lord raised up^(U) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, ¹⁷ but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted^(V) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way^(W) of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with^(X) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.^[i] The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. ¹⁹ Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly^(Y) than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate^(Z) ways.

²⁰ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He declared, “Because this nation has violated My covenant^(AA) that I made with their fathers^(AB) and disobeyed Me, ²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left^(AC) when he died.^{(AD) 22} I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the Lord’s way^(AE) by walking in it, as their fathers had.”^{(AF) 23} The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

The Lord Tests Israel

3 These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since the Israelites had fought none of these in^[j] any of the wars with Canaan.^{(AG) 2} This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.^{[k] 3} These nations included: the five rulers^(AH) of the Philistines^(AI) and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians,^(AJ) and the Hivites^(AK) who lived in the Lebanese mountains^[l] from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.^{[m] 4} The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands He had given their fathers through^[n] Moses.^{(AL) 5} But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.^(AM)

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; they forgot the Lord their God^(AN) and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ⁸ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to^[o] Cushan-rishathaim^[p] king of Aram-naharaim,^[q](AO) and the Israelites served him eight years.

⁹ The Israelites cried out to the Lord.^(AP) So the Lord raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother,^(AQ) as a deliverer^(AR) to save the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the Lord handed over Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him. ¹¹ Then the land was peaceful^(AS) 40 years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

¹² The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He gave Eglon king of Moab^(AT) power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹³ After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.^{[r](AU) 14} The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab 18 years.

¹⁵ Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed^(AV) Benjaminite,^[s] as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him to Eglon king of Moab with tribute^(AW) money.

¹⁶ Ehud made himself a double-edged sword 18 inches long.^[t] He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes ¹⁷ and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an extremely fat man. ¹⁸ When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it. ¹⁹ At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king called for silence, and all his attendants left him. ²⁰ Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his room upstairs where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a word from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.^{[u] 21} Ehud^[v] reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. ²² Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s insides came out. ²³ Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.

²⁴ Ehud was gone when Eglon’s servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself^[w] in the cool room. ²⁵ The servants waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!

²⁶ Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He crossed over the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah. ²⁷ After he arrived, he sounded the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader. ²⁸ He told them, “Follow me, because the Lord has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.^{(AX) 29} At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites, all strong and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped. ³⁰ Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land was peaceful 80 years.

Shamgar

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.

Deborah and Barak

4 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. ² So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin^(AY) king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(AZ) The commander of his forces was Sisera^(BA) who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.^{[x] 3} Then the Israelites cried out^(BB) to the Lord, because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.

⁴ Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess^(BC) and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.^(BD)

⁶ She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel,^(BE) commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,^(BF) and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites^(BG) and Zebulunites?^{(BH) 7} Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s forces, his chariots, and his army at the Wadi Kishon^(BI) to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”^(BJ)

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

⁹ “I will go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; 10,000 men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab,^(BK) Moses’ father-in-law,^(BL) and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim,^(BM) which was near Kedesh.

¹² It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. ¹³ Sisera summoned all his 900 iron chariots and all the people who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations^[y] to the Wadi Kishon. ¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Move on, for this is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.

¹⁵ The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into confusion^(BN) with the sword before Barak. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶ Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations,^[z] and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹ He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. ²⁰ Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” ²¹ While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.

²² When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!

²³ That day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴ The power of the Israelites continued to increase against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.

Midian Oppresses Israel

6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed^(A) them over to Midian seven years, ² and they oppressed Israel.^(B) Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places^(C) for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. ³ Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Qedemites^(D) came and attacked them. ⁴ They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox or donkey. ⁵ For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to waste it. ⁶ So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord.

⁷ When the Israelites cried out to Him because of Midian, ⁸ the Lord sent a prophet^(E) to them. He said to them, “This is what the Lord^(F) God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery.^{(G) 9} I delivered you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed^(H) you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey Me.’”

The Lord Calls Gideon

¹¹ The Angel^[a] of the Lord^(I) came, and He^[b] sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

¹³ Gideon said to Him, “Please Sir,^[c] if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?^[d] And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

¹⁴ The Lord^[e] turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵ He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

¹⁶ “But I will be with you,”^(J) the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

¹⁷ Then he said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your sight,^(K) give me a sign^(L) that You are speaking with me. ¹⁸ Please do not leave this place until I return to You. Let me bring my gift and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will stay until you return.”

¹⁹ So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel^[f] of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.

²⁰ The Angel of God^(M) said to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” And he did so.

²¹ The Angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

²² When Gideon realized that He was the Angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no, Lord God!^(N) I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!”^(O)

²³ But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” ²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it Yahweh Shalom.^[g] It is in Ophrah of the Abiezrites until today.

Gideon Tears Down a Baal Altar

²⁵ On that very night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal^(P) that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. ²⁶ Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock.^(Q) Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” ²⁷ So Gideon took 10 of his male servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night.

²⁸ When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal’s altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. ²⁹ They said to each other, “Who did this?” After they made a thorough investigation, they said, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

³⁰ Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

³¹ But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead Baal’s case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar.” ³² That day, Gideon’s father called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead his case with him,” because he tore down his altar.

The Sign of the Fleece

³³ All the Midianites, Amalekites, and Qedemites gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.^(R)

³⁴ The Spirit of the Lord took control of^[h] Gideon, and he blew the ram’s horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You said, ³⁷ I will put a fleece of wool here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that You will deliver Israel by my strength, as You said.” ³⁸ And that is what happened. When he got up early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew out of it, filling a bowl with water.

³⁹ Gideon then said to God, “Don’t be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.” ⁴⁰ That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.

God Selects Gideon’s Army

7 Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and everyone who was with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley. ² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you,^[i] or else Israel might brag:^[j] ‘I did it myself.’ ³ Now announce in the presence of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’”^(S) So 22,000 of the people turned back, but 10,000 remained.

⁴ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one can go with you,’ he can go. But if I say about anyone, ‘This one cannot go with you,’ he cannot go.” ⁵ So he brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate everyone who laps water with his tongue like a dog. Do the same with everyone who kneels to drink.” ⁶ The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was 300 men, and all the rest of the people knelt to drink water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home.” ⁸ So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents but kept the 300, who took^[k] the people’s provisions and their trumpets. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Gideon Spies on the Midianite Camp

⁹ That night the Lord said to him, “Get up and go into the camp, for I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go to the camp, go with Purah your servant. ¹¹ Listen to what they say, and then you will be strengthened to go to the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outpost of the troops^[l] who were in the camp.

¹² Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Qedemites had settled down in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. ¹³ When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Listen, I had a dream:^(T) a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed.”

¹⁴ His friend answered: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has handed the entire Midianite camp over to him.”

Gideon Attacks the Midianites

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to Israel’s camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord has handed the Midianite camp over to you.” ¹⁶ Then he divided the 300 men into three companies and gave each of the men a trumpet in one hand and an empty pitcher with a torch inside it in the other.

¹⁷ “Watch me,” he said,^[m] “and do the same. When I come to the outpost of the camp, do as I do. ¹⁸ When I and everyone with me blow our trumpets, you are also to blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then you will say, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon!’”

¹⁹ Gideon and the 100 men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. ²⁰ The three companies blew their trumpets and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets^[n] in their right hands, and shouted, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” ²¹ Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, and cried out as they ran. ²² When Gideon’s men blew their 300 trumpets, the Lord set the swords of each man in the army against each other. They fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah^(U) near Tabbath. ²³ Then the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.

The Men of Ephraim Join the Battle

²⁴ Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: “Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim^(V) were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. ²⁵ They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, while they were pursuing the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

8 The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they argued with him violently.

² So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning^(W) of Ephraim better than the vintage^(X) of Abiezer? ³ God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.

Gideon Pursues the Kings of Midian

⁴ Gideon and the 300 men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted but still in pursuit. ⁵ He said to the men of Succoth,^(Y) “Please give some loaves of bread to the people who are following me,^[o] because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶ But the princes of Succoth asked, “Are^[p] Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?”

⁷ Gideon replied, “Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will trample^[q] your flesh on thorns and briers from the wilderness!” ⁸ He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel^(Z) answered just as the men of Succoth had answered. ⁹ He also told the men of Penuel, “When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower!”

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about 15,000 men, who were all those left of the entire army of the Qedemites. Those who had been killed were 120,000 warriors.^{[r] 11} Gideon traveled on the caravan route^[s] east of Nobah^(AA) and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army was unsuspecting. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.

¹³ Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the 77 princes and elders of Succoth. ¹⁵ Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are^[t] Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men?’” ¹⁶ So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. ¹⁷ He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸ He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”

¹⁹ So he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother! As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ²⁰ Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” The youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

²¹ Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon’s Legacy

²² Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.”

²³ But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” ²⁴ Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.

²⁵ They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a mantle, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it. ²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings he requested was about 43 pounds^[u] of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels. ²⁷ Gideon made an ephod^(AB) from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat.^[v] The land was peaceful 40 years during the days of Gideon. ²⁹ Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) son of Joash went back to live at his house.

³⁰ Gideon had 70 sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives. ³¹ His concubine who was in Shechem^(AC) also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. ³² Then Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals and made Baal-berith^[w] their god. ³⁴ The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the power of the enemies around them. ³⁵ They did not show kindness^(AD) to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.

Birth of Samson, the Last Judge

13 The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,^(A) so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines 40 years. ² There was a certain man from Zorah,^(B) from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. ³ The Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. ⁴ Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer,^(C) or to eat anything unclean;^{(D) 5} for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair,^[a] because the boy will be a Nazirite^(E) to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn’t ask Him where He came from, and He didn’t tell me His name. ⁷ He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.’”

⁸ Manoah prayed^(F) to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”

⁹ God listened^(G) to^[b] Manoah, and the Angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me today has just come back!”

¹¹ So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are You the man who spoke to my wife?”

“I am,” He said.

¹² Then Manoah asked, “When Your words come true, what will the boy’s responsibilities and mission^[c] be?”

¹³ The Angel of the Lord answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ “Please stay here,” Manoah told Him, “and we will prepare a young goat^(H) for You.”

¹⁶ The Angel of the Lord said to him, “If I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.

¹⁷ Then Manoah said to Him, “What is Your name, so that we may honor You when Your words come true?”

¹⁸ “Why do you ask My name,” the Angel of the Lord asked him, “since it is wonderful.”^(I)

¹⁹ Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord, and He did a wonderful thing^[d] while Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the Angel of the Lord went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. ²¹ The Angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the Angel of the Lord.

²² “We’re going to die,” he said to his wife, “because we have seen God!”^(J)

²³ But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had intended to kill us, He wouldn’t have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and He would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us now like this.”

²⁴ So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.^(K) The boy grew,^(L) and the Lord blessed him. ²⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord began to direct him in the Camp of Dan,^[e] between Zorah and Eshtaol.^(M)

Samson’s Riddle

14 Samson went down to Timnah^(N) and saw a young Philistine woman there. ² He went back and told his father and his mother: “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”

³ But his father and mother said to him, “Can’t you find^[f] a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?”

But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, because I want her.”^{[g] 4} Now his father and mother did not know this was from the Lord,^(O) who was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. At that time, the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him, ⁶ the Spirit of the Lord took control of^[h](P) him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went and spoke to the woman, because Samson wanted her.^[i]

⁸ After some time, when he returned to get her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass. ⁹ He scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. When he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey from the lion’s carcass.^(Q)

¹⁰ His father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as young men were accustomed to do. ¹¹ When the Philistines saw him, they brought 30 men to accompany him.

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,”^(R) Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes. ¹³ But if you can’t explain it to me, you must give me 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they replied.^[j] “Let’s hear it.”

¹⁴ So he said to them:

After three days, they were unable to explain the riddle. ¹⁵ On the fourth^[k] day they said to Samson’s wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

¹⁶ So Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me and don’t love me!^(S) You told my people the riddle, but haven’t explained it to me.”

“Look,” he said,^[l] “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

¹⁷ She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people. ¹⁸ On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him:

So he said to them:

¹⁹ The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house, ²⁰ and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Samson’s Revenge

15 Later on, during the wheat harvest,^(T) Samson took a young goat as a gift and visited his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

² “I was sure you hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?”

³ Samson said to them, “This time I won’t be responsible^(U) when I harm the Philistines.” ⁴ So he went out and caught 300 foxes.^(V) He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. ⁵ Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.^(W)

⁶ Then the Philistines asked, “Who did this?”

They were told, “It was Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because he has taken Samson’s wife and given her to another man.” So the Philistines went to her and her father and burned them to death.

⁷ Then Samson told them, “Because you did this, I swear that I won’t rest until I have taken vengeance on you.” ⁸ He tore them limb from limb^[m] with a great slaughter, and he went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

⁹ The Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and raided Lehi. ¹⁰ So the men of Judah said, “Why have you attacked us?”

They replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he did to us.”

¹¹ Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule over us?^(X) What have you done to us?”

“I have done to them what they did to me,” he answered.^[n]

¹² They said to him, “We’ve come to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won’t kill me.”

¹³ “No,” they said,^[o] “we won’t kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they tied him up with two new ropes^(Y) and led him away from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord took control of^[p] him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like burnt flax and his bonds fell off his wrists. ¹⁵ He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed 1,000 men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said:

¹⁷ When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Ramath-lehi.^{[q] 18} He became very thirsty and called out to the Lord: “You have accomplished this great victory through^[r] Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ So God split a hollow place in the ground at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived.^(Z) That is why he named it En-hakkore,^[s] which is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰ And he judged Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 Samson went to Gaza,^(AA) where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her. ² When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. While they were waiting quietly,^[t] they said, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.” ³ But Samson stayed in bed until midnight when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

⁴ Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. ⁵ The Philistine leaders^(AB) went to her and said, “Persuade him to tell you^[u] where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”

⁷ Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

⁸ The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. ⁹ While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”^[v] But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. The secret of his strength remained unknown.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies! Won’t you please tell me how you can be tied up?”

¹¹ He told her, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used,^(AC) I will become weak and be like any other man.”

¹² Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”^[w] But while the men in ambush were waiting in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me all along and told me lies! Tell me how you can be tied up.”

He told her, “If you weave the seven braids on my head with the web of a loom—”^[x]

¹⁴ She fastened the braids with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”^[y] He awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin, with the loom and the web.

¹⁵ “How can you say, ‘I love you,’”^(AD) she told him, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and not told me what makes your strength so great!”

¹⁶ Because she nagged him day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out,^{[z] 17} he told her the whole truth and said to her, “My hair has never been cut,^[aa] because I am a Nazirite^(AE) to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: “Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth.” The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the money with them.

¹⁹ Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she made him helpless,^[ab] and his strength left him. ²⁰ Then she cried, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”^[ac] When he awoke from his sleep, he said, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.^(AF)

Samson’s Defeat and Death

²¹ The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison. ²² But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved.

²³ Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon.^(AG) They rejoiced and said:

²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god^(AH) and said:

²⁵ When they were drunk,^[ad] they said, “Bring Samson here to entertain us.” So they brought Samson from prison, and he entertained them. They had him stand between the pillars.

²⁶ Samson said to the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.” ²⁷ The temple was full of men and women; all the leaders of the Philistines were there, and about 3,000 men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them. ²⁸ He called out to the Lord: “Lord God, please remember me.^(AI) Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left. ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And the dead he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.

³¹ Then his brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he judged Israel 20 years.