Deborah

4 Again the Israelites did evil^(A) in the eyes of the Lord,^(B) now that Ehud^(C) was dead. ² So the Lord sold them^(D) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.^(E) Sisera,^(F) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron^(G) and had cruelly oppressed^(H) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Song of Deborah

5 On that day Deborah^(AV) and Barak son of Abinoam^(AW) sang this song:^(AX)

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

Gideon

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

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

¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(EC) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah^(ED) that belonged to Joash^(EE) the Abiezrite,^(EF) where his son Gideon^(EG) was threshing^(EH) wheat in a winepress^(EI) to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,^(EJ) mighty warrior.^(EK)”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

³³ Now all the Midianites, Amalekites^(FN) and other eastern peoples^(FO) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.^{(FP) 34} Then the Spirit of the Lord came on^(FQ) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,^(FR) summoning the Abiezrites^(FS) to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,^(FT) Zebulun and Naphtali,^(FU) so that they too went up to meet them.^(FV)

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

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

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped.^(GT) He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.”^{(GU) 16} Dividing the three hundred men^(GV) into three companies,^(GW) he placed trumpets^(GX) and empty jars^(GY) in the hands of all of them, with torches^(GZ) inside.

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

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

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

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

Zebah and Zalmunna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gideon’s Ephod

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

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

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

Gideon’s Death

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁸ The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.

²⁹ Then the Spirit^(AO) of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah^(AP) of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.^{(AQ) 30} And Jephthah made a vow^(AR) to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph^(AS) from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.^(AT)”

³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. ³³ He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith,^(AU) as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing^(AV) to the sound of timbrels!^(AW) She was an only child.^(AX) Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes^(AY) and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.^(AZ)”

³⁶ “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised,^(BA) now that the Lord has avenged you^(BB) of your enemies,^(BC) the Ammonites. ³⁷ But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

³⁸ “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. ³⁹ After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

From this comes the Israelite tradition ⁴⁰ that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon.^(BD) They said to Jephthah,^(BE) “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you?^(BF) 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^(BG) and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory^(BH) over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?”

⁴ Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead^(BI) and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.^(BJ)” ⁵ The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan^(BK) 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^[c] 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^(BL) 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^(BM) in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon,^(BN) led Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons,^(BO) who rode on seventy donkeys.^(BP) 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.^(BQ)

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^(BR) for forty years.^(BS)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(BT) named Manoah,^(BU) from the clan of the Danites,^(BV) had a wife who was childless,^(BW) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(BX) appeared to her^(BY) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(BZ) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(CA) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(CB) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(CC) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(CD) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(CE) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(CF) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

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

⁸ Then Manoah^(CM) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God^(CN) 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^(CO) 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^(CP) nor eat anything unclean.^(CQ) 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^(CR) 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,^(CS) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(CT) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

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

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

²² “We are doomed^(DA) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(DB) 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.”^(DC)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(DD) He grew^(DE) and the Lord blessed him,^{(DF) 25} and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir^(DG) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,^(DH) between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson^(DI) went down to Timnah^(DJ) and saw there a young Philistine woman. ² When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”^(DK)

³ His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people?^(DL) Must you go to the uncircumcised^(DM) Philistines to get a wife?^(DN)”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” ⁴ (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord,^(DO) who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines;^(DP) for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)^(DQ)

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him^(DR) so that he tore the lion apart^(DS) with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

⁸ Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. ⁹ He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

¹⁰ Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast,^(DT) as was customary for young men. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,^(DU)” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast,^(DV) I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.^{(DW) 13} If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

¹⁴ He replied,

For three days they could not give the answer.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[e] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax^(DY) your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death.^(DZ) Did you invite us here to steal our property?”