Bible in 90 Days
28 And he said to them, “Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand.” So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over. 29 And they struck Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all strong and able men;[a] no one escaped. 30 And Moab was subdued on that day under the hand of Israel. And the land rested eighty years.[b]
Shamgar
31 And Shamgar son of Anath came after him, and he killed six hundred Philistines with the goad of an ox; he also delivered Israel.
Deborah and Barak
4 And again the Israelites[c] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Ehud died. 2 So Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, and he was living in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 And the Israelites[d] cried to Yahweh, as he had nine hundred iron chariots,[e] and he oppressed the Israelites[f] cruelly[g] for twenty years.[h]
4 Now at that time Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging[i] Israel. 5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites[j] went up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, “Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? ‘Go, march to[k] Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants[l] of Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I will draw out[m] Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and troops, to the wadi[n] of Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’” 8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “Surely I will go with you; however, there will be no glory for you in the path you are taking,[o] for Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and they went up behind him,[p] ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.
11 And Heber the Kenite was separated from the other Kenites,[q] that is, from the descendants[r] of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. And he was encamped[s] at Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When they[t] reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera summoned all his chariots—all nine hundred chariots[u] of iron—and the entire army that was with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the wadi[v] of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! This is the day that Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has Yahweh not gone out before you?” So Barak went out from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And Yahweh threw Sisera and all his chariots and army into confusion[w] before the edge of Barak’s sword;[x] and Sisera dismounted from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots[y] and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera’s army fell to the edge of the sword;[z] no one was left.
17 Sisera 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 house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid.” So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.[aa] 19 And he said to her, “Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ You must answer, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly[ab] to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he was fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died. 22 And behold, Barak was pursuing Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him, and she said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he came with her and saw that Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple. 23 On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.[ac] 24 And the hand of the Israelites[ad] pressed harder[ae] and harder on Jabin king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 And Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day:
2 “When long hair hangs loosely in Israel,
when the people willingly offer themselves,
bless Yahweh!
3 Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!
I will sing to Yahweh;
I will sing praise to Yahweh,
the God of Israel.
4 Yahweh, when you went down from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled, the heavens poured down,
the clouds poured down water.
5 The mountains trembled[af] before Yahweh,
this Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the caravans had ceased,
the travelers,[ag] they kept to the byways.[ah]
7 The warriors[ai] ceased;
they failed to appear in Israel,
until I,[aj] Deborah, arose;
I[ak] arose as a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders,[al]
then war was at the gates;
a small shield or a spear was not seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel,
those offering themselves willingly among the people;
bless Yahweh!
10 The riders of white female donkeys,
those sitting on saddle blankets,
and those going on the way, talk about it!
11 At the sound of those dividing[am] the sheep
among the watering places,
there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh,
the righteous deeds for his warriors[an] in Israel.
Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates.
12 “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Take captive your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13 Then the remnant went down to the nobles;
the people of Yahweh went down for him[ao] against the mighty.
14 From Ephraim is their root into Amalek,
after you, Benjamin, with your family;
from Makir the commanders went down,
and from Zebulun those carrying the scepter
of the military commander.
15 And the chiefs[ap] in Issachar were with Deborah;
and Issachar likewise was with Barak;
into the valley he was sent to get him from behind.[aq]
Among the clans of Reuben
were great decisions of the heart.[ar]
16 Why do you sit among the sheepfolds,
to hear the calling sounds of the herds?
For the clans of Reuben,
there were great searchings of the heart.
17 Gilead has remained[as] beyond the Jordan.
Why did Dan dwell as a foreigner with ships?
Asher sat at the coast of the waters,
and by his coves he has been settling down.
18 Zebulun is a people who scorned death,
and Naphtali, on the heights of the field.
19 “The kings came, they fought;
then the kings of Canaan fought;
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
they got no plunder in silver.
20 The stars fought from heaven;
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The wadi[at] torrent of Kishon swept them away,
the raging wadi torrent,
the wadi torrent of Kishon.
March on, my soul, with strength!
22 “Then the hooves of the horse beat loudly,
because of galloping, galloping of his stallions.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of Yahweh;
‘curse bitterly its inhabitants,
because they did not come to the help of Yahweh,
to the help of Yahweh against the mighty.’
24 “Most blessed of women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
most blessed is she of women among tent dwellers.
25 He asked for water, and she gave milk;
in a drinking bowl for nobles, she brought curds.
26 She reached out her hand to the peg,
and her right hand for the workman’s hammer;
and she struck Sisera, crushed his head,
and she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay.
Between her feet he sank down, he fell;
Where he sank down, there he fell—dead.[au]
28 “Through the window she looked down;
the mother of Sisera cried out through the lattice,
‘Why is his chariot delayed in coming?
Why do the hoof beats[av] of his chariot tarry?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
she also answers the question herself:
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the plunder?
A bedmate or two bedmates for every man;[aw]
colorful garments for Sisera,
plunder of colorful garments,[ax]
beautifully finished colorful garments,
on the neck of the plunderer?’
31 So may all your enemies perish, O Yahweh,
but those who love him are like the rising sun at its brightest.”
And the land had rest for forty years.
The Midianites Oppresses Israel
6 The Israelites[ay] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Midianites[az] for seven years. 2 The hand of the Midianites[ba] prevailed over Israel; because of the presence of the Midianites,[bb] the Israelites[bc] made for themselves hiding places that were in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 And whenever Israel sowed seed, the Midianites,[bd] Amalekites,[be] and the people of the east would come up against them. 4 They would camp against them and destroy the produce of the land as far as[bf] Gaza; they left no produce in Israel, or sheep, ox, or donkey. 5 For they, their livestock, and their tents would come up like a great number of locusts; they and their camels could not be counted; they came into the land and devoured it. 6 Israel was very poor because of the presence of the Midianites,[bg] and the Israelites[bh] cried out to Yahweh.
7 When the Israelites[bi] cried out to Yahweh on account of the Midianites,[bj] 8 Yahweh sent a prophet to the Israelites,[bk] and he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you from the house of slavery.[bl] 9 I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors, and drove them out from before you;[bm] and I gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am Yahweh your God; do not fear[bn] the gods of the Amorites,[bo] in whose land you are living.’ But you have not listened to my voice.”
The Angel of Yahweh Calls Gideon
11 The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak[bp] that was at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash the Abiezrite; and Gideon his son was threshing wheat in the winepress to hide it[bq] from the Midianites.[br] 12 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty warrior.”[bs] 13 Gideon said to him, “Excuse me, my lord. If Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors[bt] recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian.” 14 And Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?” 15 He said to him, “Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 And Yahweh said to him, “But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian as if they are one man.”[bu] 17 And he[bv] said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, show me a sign[bw] that you are speaking with me. 18 Please, do not depart from here until I come back to you and bring out my gift and set it out before you.”[bx] And he said, “I will stay until you return.”
19 And Gideon went and prepared a young goat[by] and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought them to him under the oak[bz] and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put them on this rock; pour the broth over it.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and he touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of Yahweh went from his sight.[ca] 22 And Gideon realized that he was the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, “Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face.” 23 And Yahweh said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die.” 24 And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it “Yahweh is peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.[cb]
25 Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, “Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah[cc] that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah[cd] that you will cut down. 27 Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him;[ce] and because he was too afraid of his father’s family[cf] and the men of the city to do it during the day, he did it during night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, look, the altar of Baal and the Asherah[cg] that was beside it were cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another,[ch] “Who did this thing?” So they searched and inquired, and they said, “Gideon son of Jehoash did this thing.” 30 And the men of the city said to Jehoash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that was beside it.” 31 But Jehoash said to all who stood against him,[ci] “Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself because his altar has been pulled down.”[cj] 32 Thus, on that day he[ck] was called Jerub-Baal, which means,[cl] “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had pulled down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites,[cm] Amalekites,[cn] and the people of the east gathered together and crossed the Jordan; and they camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 So the Spirit of Yahweh took possession of[co] Gideon, and he blew on the trumpet, and the Abiezrites[cp] were called to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they were also called to follow him; and he sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
Gideon Tests Yahweh With the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said, 37 I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and all of the ground is dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said.” 38 And it was so. He arose early the next day and squeezed the fleece, and he wrung out dew from the fleece, a full drinking bowl of water. 39 And Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn[cq] against me; let me speak once more. Please let me test once more with the fleece; let the fleece be dry, and let there be dew on the ground.” 40 And God did so that night; only the fleece was dry, and dew was on all the ground.
Gideon’s Three Hundred Men
7 Then Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) rose early, and all the army that was with him. They were camped beside the spring of Harod;[cr] the camp of Midian was north of the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 And Yahweh said to Gideon, “The troops that are with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hands; Israel will boast, saying, ‘My hand has delivered me.’ 3 So then, please proclaim in the hearing[cs] of the troops, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.’” About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 And Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them[ct] for you there. For whomever I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ he will not go.” 5 So he brought down the troops to the water, and Yahweh said to Gideon, “You must separate everyone who laps up the water to drink with his tongue like a dog from those who kneel.”[cu] 6 The number of those lapping up the water with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; all the rest of the troops kneeled to drink the water. 7 And Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the three hundred men lapping up the water; I will give Midian into your hand, so let the other troops go, each to his own place. 8 So they took their provisions and their trumpets into their hand, and he sent all the men of Israel, each one, to his tent; but three hundred of the men he kept; the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 And that night Yahweh said to him, “Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward you will have courage,[cv] and you will go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men[cw] that were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites,[cx] Amalekites,[cy] and all the people of the east were lying in the valley, like a great multitude of locusts; their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand that is on the shore of the sea. 13 When Gideon came, a man was recounting a dream[cz] to his friend, and he said, “Behold, I had a dream;[da] a round loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell.” 14 His friend answered him and said, “This cannot be anything except the sword of Gideon son of Jehoash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand.”
15 When Gideon heard the recounting of the dream[db] and its interpretation, he bowed down and returned to the camp of Israel; and he said, “Get up, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 He divided the three hundred men into three companies,[dc] and he put trumpets and empty jars in everyone’s hand, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Watch me and do the same. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do.[dd] 18 When I and all who are with me blow on the trumpet, you must also blow on the trumpets and surround the camp, and you must say, ‘To Yahweh and to Gideon!’”
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle night-watch, when they had just finished setting up the guards, and they blew on the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.[de] 20 When three companies[df] blew on the trumpets and broke the jars, they held in their left hand the torches and in their right hand the trumpets for blowing, and they cried, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” 21 And each stood in his place[dg] all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they cried out as they fled. 22 When they blew the three hundred trumpets, Yahweh set the sword of each one against his neighbor throughout the whole camp, and the camp[dh] fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, up to Abel Meholah, the border by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all of Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to oppose[di] Midian, and capture from them the waters up to Beth Barah and the Jordan.” He called out all the men of Ephraim, and they captured the waters up to Beth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two commanders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they chased Midian; and they brought the heads[dj] of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from beyond the Jordan.
Gideon Pursues Zebah and Zalmunna
8 The men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?”[dk] And they quarreled with him severely. 2 And he said to them, “What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?” And their anger[dl] against him subsided when he said that.[dm]
4 Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who were with him, weary and pursuing. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who are following me,[dn] for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6 The officials of Succoth said, “Is the hand[do] of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?” 7 Gideon said, “Well then, when Yahweh gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness.” 8 He went from there to Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered. 9 And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely,[dp] I will tear down this tower.”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army[dq] of the people of the east; those that fell in battle were one hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen.[dr] 11 And Gideon went up the route of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the army[ds] when it was off its guard.[dt] 12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he routed[du] the entire army.[dv]
13 Then Gideon son of Jehoash returned from the battle by way of[dw] the ascent of Heres.[dx] 14 He captured a young man from Succoth[dy] and questioned him. The young man listed[dz] for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 He came to the men of Succoth, and he said, “Here is Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Is the palm[ea] of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give food to your weary men?’” 16 He took the elders of the city and the thorn bushes and briers of the wilderness, and he trampled[eb] the men of Succoth with them. 17 He broke down the tower of Penuel, and he killed the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What type were the men whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you;[ec] each one of them had the appearance of the sons of the king.” 19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up, kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a boy. 21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up yourself, and strike us, for as is the man, so is his power.”[ed] So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you and your sons, and your sons’ son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian. 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; Yahweh will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you,[ee] that each of you give to me an ornamental ring from his plunder.” (They had ornamental rings of gold, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25 They said, “We will gladly give them,” and they spread out a garment, and everyone threw there an ornamental ring of his plunder. 26 The weight of the ornamental rings of gold that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the crescents, pendants, and purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and apart from the pendants that were on the necks of their camels. 27 Gideon made an ephod out of it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. 28 And Midian was subdued before the Israelites,[ef] and they did not again lift up their head, and the land rested for forty years in the days of Gideon.
The Death of Gideon
29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash lived in his own house. 30 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring,[eg] for he had many wives. 31 His concubine who was in Shechem also bore for him a son, and he named him[eh] Abimelech. 32 And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.[ei]
33 And it happened, as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites[ej] returned and prostituted themselves after the Baals, and they made for themselves Baal-Berith as god. 34 The Israelites[ek] did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hand of their enemies from all around, 35 nor did they show favor[el] to the house of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he did for Israel.
Abimelech Attempts to Become King
9 And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother’s father, 2 “Speak to[em] the lords of Shechem, ‘What is better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?’ Remember that I am your bone and your flesh.” 3 And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words concerning him to[en] all the lords of Shechem; and they supported Abimelech,[eo] for they said, “He is our relative.”[ep] 4 And they gave to him seventy pieces of silver from the temple[eq] of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them[er] worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.[es] 5 And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself. 6 All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near the oak[et] of the pillar that is at Shechem.
7 And they told Jotham, and he went up and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and he cried out loud[eu] and said to them, “Listen to me, lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.
8 “The trees went certainly,
to anoint a king over themselves.
And they said to the olive tree,
‘Rule over us.’
9 And the olive tree replied,
‘Should I stop producing my oil,
which by me gods and men are honored,
to go sway over the trees?’
10 Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You, come rule over us.’
11 But the fig tree said to them,
‘Should I stop producing my sweetness,
and my good crop,
to go sway over the trees?’
12 And the trees said to the vine,
‘You, come rule over us.’
13 But the vine said to them,
‘Should I stop producing my wine
that makes the gods and men happy,
to go sway over the trees?’
14 So all the trees said to the thornbush,
‘You, come rule over us.’
15 And the thornbush said to the trees,
‘If in good faith[ev] you are anointing
me as king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade;
if not, may fire go out from the thornbush
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
16 “So then, if you have acted in good faith[ew] and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him according to his accomplishments[ex]— 17 for my father fought and risked his life[ey] for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian; 18 but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative[ez]— 19 if you have acted in good faith[fa] and sincerity with Jerub-Baal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech.” 21 And Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; he remained there because of Abimelech his brother.
The Downfall of Shechem and Abimelech
22 Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 so that the violence done to the seventy brothers of Abimelech would be avenged and their blood be placed on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who helped[fb] to kill his brothers. 25 And the lords of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along the road; and it was reported to Abimelech.
26 And Gaal son of Ebel and his relatives came, and they crossed over into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem gave him confidence.[fc] 27 They went out into the field and harvested their vineyards and trod them, and they held a festival.[fd] And they went into the temple[fe] of their god, and they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. 28 Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul his chief officer?[ff] Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?[fg] 29 If only this people were in my command![fh] Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said,[fi] ‘Increase your army and come out!’”
30 When Zebul the commander of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he became angry,[fj] 31 and he sent messengers to Abimelech in Tormah, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his relatives are coming to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. 32 So then, get up by night, you and the army that is with you, and lie in ambush in the field. 33 And in the morning at sunrise, get up and rush the city; and look, when he and the troops who are with him come out to you, you must act according to whatever opportunity offers itself.[fk]
34 So Abimelech and all the army that was with him got up by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four divisions.[fl] 35 Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate, and Abimelech and the army that was with him got up from the ambush. 36 When Gaal saw the army, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the top of the mountains!” And Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains look like people to you.”[fm] 37 And Gaal spoke again[fn] and said, “Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one division[fo] is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.”[fp] 38 And Zebul said to him, “Where then is your boast,[fq] you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the army that you rejected? Please, go out now and fight against them.”[fr] 39 So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem and fought against Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate. 41 So Abimelech resided at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives[fs] from living in Shechem.
42 On the next day the people went out to the field; and it was reported to Abimelech, 43 so he took the army and divided them into three divisions,[ft] and he laid an ambush in the field. And he saw the people were coming out from the city, and he arose against them and killed them. 44 Then Abimelech and the divisions[fu] that were with him dashed out and stood at the entrance of the city gate, and the two divisions dashed out against all who were in the field, and they killed them. 45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that were in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 When all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, they went to the vault[fv] of the temple[fw] of El-Berith. 47 It was told to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem had gathered. 48 So Abimelech went up Mount Zalmon, he and all his army that were with him, and Abimelech took the ax[fx] in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and he lifted it and put it on his shoulder. And he said to the army that was with him, “What you have seen me do, quickly do also.” 49 So the whole army cut down each one branch for himself and followed Abimelech, and they put them against the vault[fy] and set the vault ablaze with fire on those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.
50 Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came up to the tower and fought against it, and he came near the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 But a certain woman[fz] threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked open his skull. 54 He called quickly to the young man carrying his weapons, and he said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they will not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man[ga] stabbed him, and he died. 55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each one went to his home.[gb] 56 So God repaid[gc] the wickedness[gd] that Abimelech committed against his father by killing his seventy brothers. 57 And God also repaid all the wickedness[ge] of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell on them.
The Philistines and Ammonites Afflict the Israelites
10 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son of Dod, a man of Issachar, rose up to deliver Israel; and he was living at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. And he died and was buried in Shamir. 3 After him Jair the Gileadite rose up, and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who would ride on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty towns that are in the land of Gilead that they called Havvoth Jair until this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
6 And again, the Israelites[gf] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites[gg] and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him. 7 And the anger of Yahweh burned[gh] against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and the Ammonites.[gi] 8 They crushed and oppressed the Israelites[gj] in that year; for eighteen years they crushed all the Israelites[gk] who were beyond the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites,[gl] which is in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites[gm] crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was very distressed.
10 Then the Israelites[gn] cried out to Yahweh, saying, “We have sinned against you; we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.” 11 And Yahweh said to the Israelites,[go] “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians,[gp] the Amorites,[gq] from the Ammonites,[gr] and from the Philistines?[gs] 12 And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites,[gt] and the Maonites[gu] oppressed you, you cried out to me, and I delivered you from their hand. 13 Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. Therefore I will no longer deliver you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your trouble.” 15 And the Israelites[gv] said to Yahweh, “We have sinned; do to us accordingly as you see fit;[gw] only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they removed the foreign gods from their midst and served Yahweh; and he could no longer bear[gx] the misery of Israel.
17 And the Ammonites[gy] were summoned,[gz] and they camped in Gilead. And the Israelites[ha] gathered and camped at Mizpah. 18 The people, the ones commanding Gilead, said to each other,[hb] “Who is the man that will begin to fight against the Ammonites?[hc] He will be as head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Jephthah
11 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.[hd] 2 Gilead’s wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, “You will not inherit the house of our father because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers, and he lived in the land of Tob. And outlaws[he] gathered around Jephthah and went with him.
4 After a time the Ammonites[hf] made war with Israel. 5 When the Ammonites[hg] made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, so that we may make war against the Ammonites.”[hh] 7 Jephthah said to the elders, “Did you not shun me and drive me out from the house of my father? Why do you come to me now when you have trouble?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That being so, we have now returned to you, that you may go with us to fight[hi] against the Ammonites[hj] and become for us as head of all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight[hk] against the Ammonites,[hl] and Yahweh gives them over to me,[hm] will I be your head?” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh will be a witness[hn] between us; we will act according to your word.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.
12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites,[ho] saying, “What is between you and me that you have come to me to make war against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites[hp] said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel took my land from the Arnon up to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt; so then, restore it peacefully.” 14 Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites,[hq] 15 and he said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,[hr] 16 because when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[hs] and went to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us cross through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. 18 Then they traveled through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and Moab, and came to the east[ht] side of the land of Moab, and they[hu] encamped beyond the Arnon; and they did not go into the territory of Moab because the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites,[hv] king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us cross through your land to our country.’[hw] 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and then encamped at Jahaz; and he made war with Israel. 21 And Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; and Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites[hx] inhabiting that land. 22 They occupied all the territory of the Amorites[hy] from the Arnon up to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness up to the Jordan. 23 So then Yahweh, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites[hz] from before his people Israel, and you want to possess it? 24 Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gave you to possess? Whoever Yahweh our God has driven out before us, we will possess it. 25 So then, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them? 26 When Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon,[ia] for three hundred years,[ib] why did you not recover them at that time? 27 I have not sinned against you; but you are the one who is doing wrong by making war against me. Let Yahweh judge[ic] today between the Israelites[id] and the Ammonites.”[ie] 28 But the king of the Ammonites[if] did not listen to the message that Jephthah sent to him.
Jephthah Makes a Vow
29 And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed through to the Ammonites.[ig] 30 And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, and he said, “If indeed you will give the Ammonites[ih] into my hand, 31 whatever[ii] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the Ammonites[ij] will be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.” 32 And Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites[ik] to make war against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. 33 And he defeated them with a very great blow, from Aroer as far as Minnith, twenty towns,[il] up to Abel Keramim. And the Ammonites[im] were subdued before the Israelites.[in]
34 Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She was his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her. 35 And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. I made an oath[io] to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” 36 She said to him, “My father, you made an oath[ip] to Yahweh. Do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh gave vengeance to you against your enemies, the Ammonites.”[iq] 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander[ir] on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions. 38 And he said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months, and she went with her friends, and she lamented over her virginity on the mountains. 39 At the end of the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her according to his vow; and she did not sleep with a man.[is] And it became an annual custom in Israel 40 for the daughters of Israel to go and lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for forty days of the year.
Tribal Conflict Between Gilead and Ephraim
12 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over and make war against the Ammonites,[it] and why did you not call us to go with you? We will burn down your house over you with fire.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were engaged in great conflict with the Ammonites;[iu] I called you, but you did not deliver me from their hand. 3 I saw that you would not deliver us; I risked my own life,[iv] and I crossed over to the Ammonites,[iw] and Yahweh gave them into my hand. Why have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead, and he made war with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 Then Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan from Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Please say Shibboleth,” and if he said, “Sibboleth”—because he could not pronounce it[ix] correctly—they grabbed him and executed him at the fords of Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.
7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
8 After him Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters away in marriage outside his clan and brought in from outside thirty young women for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years. 10 Then[iy] Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.
11 After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. 12 Then[iz] Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
13 After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons that rode on seventy male donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years. 15 Then[ja] Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim in the hill country of the Amalekites.[jb]
Samson’s Parents
13 And again, the Israelites[jc] did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 There was a certain man from Zorah, from the tribe of the Danites, and his name was Manoah; his wife was infertile and did not bear children. 3 And an angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and he said to her, “Behold, you are infertile and have not borne children, but you will conceive and bear a son. 4 So then, be careful and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and bear a son. No razor will touch[jd] his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God[je] from birth.[jf] And it is he who will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” 6 And the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him from where he came, and he did not tell me his name. 7 And he said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and bear a son, so then, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth[jg] until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said, “Excuse me, my Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent again come to us and teach us what we should do concerning the boy who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and an angel of God came again to the woman; she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 The woman quickly ran and told her husband, and she said to him, “Look! The man who came to me the other day appeared to me.” 11 So Manoah got up and went after his wife, and he came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man that spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said to him, “Now when your words come true,[jh] what will be the boy’s manner of life[ji] and work?” 13 And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Let the woman be attentive to all that I said. 14 She should not eat of anything that comes from the vine, or drink wine or strong drink, or eat anything unclean; she should keep all that I commanded.”
15 And Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “Please stay,[jj] and let us prepare a young goat[jk] for you.” 16 The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “If you keep me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering for Yahweh, you can offer it (for Manoah did not know that he was an angel of Yahweh).” 17 And Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “What is your name so that when your words come true we may honor you?” 18 But the angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.”
19 And Manoah took the young goat[jl] and the grain offering, and he offered it to Yahweh on the rock, to the one who performs miracles.[jm] And Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward the heaven from the altar, the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar to heaven while Manoah and his wife were watching. And they fell on their faces to the ground. 21 The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, and then Manoah knew that he was a messenger[jn] of Yahweh. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die because we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh wanted to kill us he would not have taken[jo] from our hand the burnt offering and the grain offering, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us things such as these.”
24 The woman bore a son, and she called him Samson; the boy grew big, and Yahweh blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson Marries
14 And Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of the Philistines. 2 He went up and told his father and mother, and he said, “I saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of the Philistines; so then, take her for me as a wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a wife among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our[jp] people, that you must take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Take her for me because she pleases me.”[jq] 4 His father and mother did not know that this was from Yahweh; he was seeking for an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling[jr] in Israel.
5 And Samson and his father and mother went down to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah, and suddenly a young lion came roaring to meet him. 6 And the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one might tear apart a male kid goat (he was bare-handed).[js] But he did not tell his father and mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked to the woman, and she pleased Samson.[jt] 8 And he returned after awhile to marry her,[ju] and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of wild honey bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands, and he went on, eating it as he went. And he went to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the body of the lion.
10 His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared there a feast, as young men were accustomed to doing this. 11 When they saw him, they took thirty companions, and they were with him. 12 And Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you can fully explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, I will give to you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. 13 But if you are unable to explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.” So they said to him, “Tell your riddle; let us hear it.” 14 He said to them,
“From the eater came out food,
From the strong came out sweet.”
But they were unable to explain the riddle for three days.
15 When it was the fourth[jv] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband and tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to rob us?” 16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and she said, “You must hate me; you do not love me. You told the riddle to my people,[jw] but you have not explained it to me.” He said to her, “I have not explained it to my father and mother. Why should I explain it to you?” 17 She wept before him the seven days of their feast; and it happened, because she nagged him, on the seventh day he explained it to her, and she told the riddle to her people.[jx] 18 The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
And he said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.”
19 And the Spirit of Yahweh rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men from them, and he took their belongings, and he gave festal garments to the ones that explained the riddle. He was angry,[jy] and he went up to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion who was his best man.[jz]
Samson Defeats the Philistines
15 After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat.[ka] He said, “I want to go to my wife’s private room.” But her father would not allow him to enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead.”[kb] 3 And Samson said to them, “This time, as far as the Philistines are concerned, when I do something evil I am without blame.” 4 And Samson went and captured three hundred foxes, and he took torches. He turned them tail to tail, and he put one torch between two tails. 5 He set fire to the torches and let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and he burned both the stacks[kc] of sheaves and the standing grain, up to the vineyards[kd] of olive groves. 6 And the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” And the Philistines went up and burned her and her father with fire. 7 Samson said to them, “If you want to behave like this, I swear I will not rest unless I have taken revenge on you.” 8 And he gave them a thorough beating,[ke] and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah, and they overran Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they said, “To bind Samson; to do to him just as he did to us.” 11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are ruling over us? What is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “Just as they did to me, so I have done to them.” 12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”
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