Israel's Disobedience

2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to ^(A)Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ^(B)‘I will never break my covenant with you, ^2 (C)and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ^(D)you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? ³ So now I say, ^(E)I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become ^(F)thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” ⁴ As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim.^[a] And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

⁶ When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. ^7 (G)And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. ⁹ And they buried him within the boundaries of ^(H)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, ^(I)in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. ¹⁰ And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Israel's Unfaithfulness

^11 (J)And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. ^12 (K)And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^(L)They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ^(M)bowed down to them. ^(N)And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord ^(O)and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (P)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he ^(Q)gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. ^(R)And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, ^(S)so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, ^(T)and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

^16 (U)Then the Lord raised up judges, ^(V)who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for ^(W)they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. ^(X)They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, ^(Y)the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. ^(Z)For the Lord was moved to pity by ^(AA)their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹ But ^(AB)whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. ^20 (AC)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people ^(AD)have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, ^21 (AE)I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²² in order ^(AF)to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

3 ^(AG)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. ² It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. ³ These are the nations: ^(AH)the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. ⁴ They were for ^(AI)the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. ⁵ So the people of Israel lived ^(AJ)among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ^6 (AK)And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

Othniel

^7 (AL)And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and ^(AM)the Asheroth. ⁸ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, ^(AN)and he sold them into the hand of ^(AO)Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. ⁹ But when the people of Israel ^(AP)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a ^(AQ)deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, ^(AR)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. ^10 (AS)The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. ^11 (AT)So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

^12 (AU)And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon ^(AV)the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹³ He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the ^(AW)Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of ^(AX)the city of palms. ¹⁴ And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵ Then the people of Israel ^(AY)cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them ^(AZ)a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, ^(BA)a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit^[b] in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. ¹⁷ And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. ¹⁹ But he himself turned back ^(BB)at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. ²⁰ And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his ^(BC)cool roof chamber. ^(BD)And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. ²¹ And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. ²² And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. ²³ Then Ehud went out into the porch^[c] and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him ^(BE)and locked them.

²⁴ When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, ^(BF)“Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” ²⁵ And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

²⁶ Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond ^(BG)the idols and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived, ^(BH)he sounded the trumpet in ^(BI)the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. ²⁸ And he said to them, “Follow after me, ^(BJ)for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized ^(BK)the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. ²⁹ And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. ³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. ^(BL)And the land had rest for eighty years.

Shamgar

³¹ After him was ^(BM)Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines ^(BN)with an oxgoad, and he also ^(BO)saved Israel.

Deborah and Barak

4 ^(BP)And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. ² And the Lord ^(BQ)sold them into the hand of ^(BR)Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in ^(BS)Hazor. The commander of his army was ^(BT)Sisera, who lived in ^(BU)Harosheth-hagoyim. ³ Then the people of Israel ^(BV)cried out to the Lord for help, for he had ^(BW)900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in ^(BX)the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. ⁶ She sent and summoned ^(BY)Barak the son of Abinoam from ^(BZ)Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount ^(CA)Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. ⁷ And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by ^(CB)the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, ^(CC)and I will give him into your hand’?” 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 And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will ^(CD)sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ And Barak called out ^(CE)Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber ^(CF)the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of ^(CG)Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in ^(CH)Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

¹² When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³ Sisera called out all his chariots, ^(CI)900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. ¹⁴ And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which ^(CJ)the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. ^(CK)Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. ^15 (CL)And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. ¹⁶ And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

¹⁷ But Sisera fled away on foot 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. ¹⁸ And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹ And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened ^(CM)a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰ And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” ²¹ But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. ²² And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

^23 (CN)So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. ²⁴ And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Midian Oppresses Israel

6 ^(A)The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of ^(B)Midian seven years. ² And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and ^(C)the caves and the strongholds. ³ For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and ^(D)the Amalekites and ^(E)the people of the East would come up against them. ⁴ They would encamp against them ^(F)and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. ⁵ For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come ^(G)like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. ⁶ And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel ^(H)cried out for help to the Lord.

⁷ When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, ⁸ the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(I)I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. ⁹ And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and ^(J)drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; ^(K)you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

¹¹ Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash ^(L)the Abiezrite, while his son ^(M)Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² And ^(N)the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ^(O)“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” ¹³ And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are ^(P)all his wonderful deeds ^(Q)that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” ¹⁴ And the Lord^[a] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; ^(R)do not I send you?” ¹⁵ And he said to him, ^(S)“Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, ^(T)my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” ¹⁶ And the Lord said to him, ^(U)“But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” ¹⁷ And he said to him, ^(V)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, then ^(W)show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. ¹⁸ Please ^(X)do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

¹⁹ So Gideon went into his house ^(Y)and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah^[b] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. ²⁰ And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them ^(Z)on this rock, and ^(AA)pour the broth over them.” And he did so. ²¹ Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. ^(AB)And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. ²² Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, ^(AC)“Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” ²³ But the Lord said to him, ^(AD)“Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” ²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, ^(AE)The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at ^(AF)Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

²⁵ That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down ^(AG)the Asherah that is beside it ²⁶ and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the ^(AH)stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” ²⁷ So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

²⁸ When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. ²⁹ And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” ³⁰ Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” ³¹ But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” ³² Therefore on that day Gideon^[c] was called ^(AI)Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

³³ Now ^(AJ)all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in ^(AK)the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But ^(AL)the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, ^(AM)and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. ^35 (AN)And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. ^(AO)And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

^36 (AP)Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, ³⁷ behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” ³⁸ And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, ^(AQ)“Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” ⁴⁰ And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Gideon's Three Hundred Men

7 Then ^(AR)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside ^(AS)the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, ^(AT)by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

² The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, ^(AU)lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ ³ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ^(AV)‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

⁴ And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” ⁵ So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” ⁶ And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. ⁷ And the Lord said to Gideon, ^(AW)“With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” ⁸ So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him ^(AX)in the valley.

⁹ That same ^(AY)night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, ^(AZ)for I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. ^11 (BA)And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” ^(BB)Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. ¹² And the Midianites and the Amalekites and ^(BC)all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, ^(BD)as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. ¹³ When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” ¹⁴ And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

¹⁵ As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” ¹⁶ And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with ^(BE)torches inside the jars. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. ¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ^(BF)‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

Gideon Defeats Midian

¹⁹ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. ²⁰ Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. ^(BG)And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ Every man stood in his place around the camp, ^(BH)and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. ^22 (BI)When they blew the 300 trumpets, ^(BJ)the Lord set ^(BK)every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,^[d] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. ²³ And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.

^24 (BL)Gideon sent messengers throughout ^(BM)all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as ^(BN)Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. ²⁵ And they captured ^(BO)the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb ^(BP)at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon ^(BQ)across the Jordan.

Gideon Defeats Zebah and Zalmunna

8 ^(BR)Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely. ² And he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not ^(BS)the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? ^3 (BT)God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” ^(BU)Then their anger^[e] against him subsided when he said this.

⁴ And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and ^(BV)the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. ⁵ So he said to the men of ^(BW)Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” ⁶ And the officials of Succoth said, ^(BX)“Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, ^(BY)that we should give bread to your army?” ⁷ So Gideon said, “Well then, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, ^(BZ)I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” ⁸ And from there he went up to ^(CA)Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered. ⁹ And he said to the men of Penuel, ^(CB)“When I come again in peace, ^(CC)I will break down this tower.”

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about 15,000 men, all who were left of all the army of ^(CD)the people of the East, for there had fallen 120,000 men ^(CE)who drew the sword. ¹¹ And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of ^(CF)Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt ^(CG)secure. ¹² And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them ^(CH)and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

¹³ Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men. ¹⁵ And he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ^(CI)‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted?’” ¹⁶ And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson. ^17 (CJ)And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸ Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at ^(CK)Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” ¹⁹ And he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. ^(CL)As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” ²⁰ So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise and kill them!” But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. ²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” And Gideon arose and ^(CM)killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took ^(CN)the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon's Ephod

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” ²³ Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; ^(CO)the Lord will rule over you.” ²⁴ And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, ^(CP)because they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵ And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. ²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels^[f] of gold, besides ^(CQ)the crescent ornaments and ^(CR)the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. ²⁷ And Gideon ^(CS)made an ephod of it and put it in his city, ^(CT)in Ophrah. And all Israel ^(CU)whored after it there, and it became a ^(CV)snare to Gideon and to his family. ²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. ^(CW)And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

The Death of Gideon

^29 (CX)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. ³⁰ Now Gideon had ^(CY)seventy sons, his own offspring,^[g] for he had many wives. ³¹ And his concubine ^(CZ)who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. ³² And Gideon the son of Joash died ^(DA)in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, ^(DB)at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

^33 (DC)As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and ^(DD)whored after the Baals and made ^(DE)Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ And the people of Israel ^(DF)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, ^35 (DG)and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.

The Birth of Samson

13 And the people of Israel again ^(A)did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them ^(B)into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

² There was a certain man of ^(C)Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. ^(D)And his wife was barren and had no children. ^3 (E)And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Therefore be careful ^(F)and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, ⁵ for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. ^(G)No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be ^(H)a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall ^(I)begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, ^(J)“A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. ^(K)I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, ⁷ but he said to me, ^(L)‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” ⁹ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. ¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” ¹¹ And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” ¹² And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, ^(M)what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” ¹³ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. ¹⁴ She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, ^(N)neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and ^(O)prepare a young goat for you.” ¹⁶ And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) ¹⁷ And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ^(P)“What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” ¹⁸ And the angel of the Lord said to him, ^(Q)“Why do you ask my name, seeing ^(R)it is wonderful?” ¹⁹ So ^(S)Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works^[a] wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, ^(T)and they fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹ The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. ^(U)Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. ²² And Manoah said to his wife, ^(V)“We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” ²³ But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” ²⁴ And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. ^(W)And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. ^25 (X)And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between ^(Y)Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson's Marriage

14 ^(Z)Samson went down to ^(AA)Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. ² Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. ^(AB)Now get her for me as my wife.” ³ But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters ^(AC)of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the ^(AD)uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

⁴ His father and mother did not know that it was ^(AE)from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. ^(AF)At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

⁵ Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. ^6 (AG)Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes.

⁸ After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. ⁹ He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

¹⁰ His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. ¹¹ As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. ¹² And Samson said to them, ^(AH)“Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within ^(AI)the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty ^(AJ)changes of clothes, ¹³ but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” ¹⁴ And he said to them,

And in three days they could not solve the riddle.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[b] day they said to Samson's wife, ^(AK)“Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, ^(AL)lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” ¹⁶ And Samson's wife wept over him and said, ^(AM)“You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?” ¹⁷ She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because ^(AN)she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. ¹⁸ And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

And he said to them,

^19 (AO)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to ^(AP)Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father's house. ²⁰ And Samson's wife was given to ^(AQ)his companion, ^(AR)who had been his best man.

Samson Defeats the Philistines

15 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with ^(AS)a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. ² And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, ^(AT)so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” ³ And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” ⁴ So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. ⁵ And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. ⁶ Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife ^(AU)and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and ^(AV)burned her and her father with fire. ⁷ And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” ⁸ And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the ^(AW)cleft of the rock of Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and ^(AX)made a raid on ^(AY)Lehi. ¹⁰ And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” ¹¹ Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that ^(AZ)the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” ¹² And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” ¹³ They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two ^(BA)new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. ^(BB)Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. ¹⁵ And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, ^(BC)and with it he struck 1,000 men. ¹⁶ And Samson said,

¹⁷ As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place ^(BD)was called Ramath-lehi.^[c]

¹⁸ And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, ^(BE)“You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ And God split open the hollow place that is ^(BF)at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, ^(BG)his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;^[d] it is at Lehi to this day. ²⁰ And he judged Israel ^(BH)in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Samson and Delilah

16 Samson went to ^(BI)Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. ² The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they ^(BJ)surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” ³ But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

⁴ After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And ^(BK)the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ^(BL)“Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to ^(BM)humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could ^(BN)subdue you.”

⁷ Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, ^(BO)then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”