Bible in 90 Days

²⁸ He told them, “Follow me, because the Lord has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.^{(A) 29} At that time they struck down about 10,000 Moabites, all strong and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped. ³⁰ Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land was peaceful 80 years.

Shamgar

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

Deborah and Barak

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deborah’s Song

5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:

And the land was peaceful 40 years.

Midian Oppresses Israel

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

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

The Lord Calls Gideon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gideon Tears Down a Baal Altar

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

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

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

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

The Sign of the Fleece

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

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

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

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

God Selects Gideon’s Army

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

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

Gideon Spies on the Midianite Camp

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

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

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

Gideon Attacks the Midianites

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

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

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

The Men of Ephraim Join the Battle

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

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

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

Gideon Pursues the Kings of Midian

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

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

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

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

¹³ Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres. ¹⁴ He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the 77 princes and elders of Succoth. ¹⁵ Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are^[al] Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men?’” ¹⁶ So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them. ¹⁷ He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

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

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

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

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

Gideon’s Legacy

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abimelech Becomes King

9 Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and spoke to them and to all his maternal grandfather’s clan, saying, ² “Please speak in the presence of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that 70 men, all the sons of Jerubbaal,^(BJ) rule over you or that one man rule over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”^[ap]

³ His mother’s relatives spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the lords of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ So they gave him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith.^[aq] Abimelech hired worthless and reckless men with this money, and they followed him. ⁵ He went to his father’s house in Ophrah and killed his 70 brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal, on top of a large stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself. ⁶ Then all the lords of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.

Jotham’s Parable

⁷ When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim,^(BK) raised his voice, and called to them:

¹⁶ “Now if you have acted faithfully^(BL) and honestly^(BM) in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did— ¹⁷ for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you from the hand of Midian, ¹⁸ and now you have attacked my father’s house today, killed his 70 sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave, king over the lords of Shechem ‘because he is your brother’— ¹⁹ if then you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.” ²¹ Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.

Abimelech’s Punishment

²² When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years, ²³ God sent an evil spirit^(BN) between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully, ²⁴ so that the crime against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers. ²⁵ The lords of Shechem rebelled against him by putting people on the tops of the mountains to ambush^(BO) and rob everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶ Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem trusted him. ²⁷ So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration.^(BP) Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech. ²⁸ Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn’t Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem.^(BQ) Why should we serve Abimelech? ²⁹ If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said^[au] to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”

³⁰ When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was angry. ³¹ So he sent messengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed, with his brothers, have come to Shechem and are turning the city against you.^{[av] 32} Now tonight, you and the people with you are to come wait in ambush in the countryside. ³³ Then get up early, and at sunrise charge the city. When he and the people who are with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”^{[aw] 34} So Abimelech and all the people with him got up at night and waited in ambush for Shechem in four units.

³⁵ Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. Then Abimelech and the people who were with him got up from their ambush. ³⁶ When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” But Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

³⁷ Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, people are coming down from the central part of the land,^(BR) and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” ³⁸ Zebul replied,^[ax] “Where is your mouthing off now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Aren’t these the people you despised? Now go and fight them!”

³⁹ So Gaal went out leading the lords of Shechem and fought against Abimelech, ⁴⁰ but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Many wounded died^(BS) as far as the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹ Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers from Shechem.

⁴² The next day when the people went into the countryside, this was reported to Abimelech. ⁴³ He took the people, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down. ⁴⁵ So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard, they entered the inner chamber^[ay] of the temple of El-berith.^{[az] 47} Then it was reported to Abimelech that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem had gathered together. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech and all the people who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the people who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.” ⁴⁹ Each person also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire around the people, and all the people in the Tower of Shechem died—about 1,000 men and women.

⁵⁰ Abimelech went to Thebez,^(BT) camped against it, and captured it. ⁵¹ There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire. ⁵³ But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull. ⁵⁴ He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶ In this way, God turned back on Abimelech the evil that he had done against his father, by killing his 70 brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came on them.^(BU)

Tola and Jair

10 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo became judge and began to deliver Israel. He was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. ² Tola judged Israel 23 years and when he died, was buried in Shamir.

³ After him came Jair the Gileadite,^(BV) who judged Israel 22 years. ⁴ He had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys. They had 30 towns^[ba] in Gilead, which are called Jair’s Villages^[bb] to this day. ⁵ When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Israel’s Rebellion and Repentance

⁶ Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.^(BW) They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines.^(BX) They abandoned Yahweh and did not worship Him.^{(BY) 7} So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to^[bc] the Philistines and the Ammonites. ⁸ They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for 18 years they did the same to all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan^(BZ) in the land of the Amorites^(CA) in Gilead. ⁹ The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed, ¹⁰ so they cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You.^(CB) We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

¹¹ The Lord said to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians,^(CC) Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, ¹² Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites^[bd](CD) oppressed you, and you cried out to Me, did I not deliver you from their power? ¹³ But you have abandoned Me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. ¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen.^(CE) Let them deliver you in the time of your oppression.”

¹⁵ But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit;^[be] only deliver us^(CF) today!” ¹⁶ So they got rid of the foreign gods^(CG) among them and worshiped the Lord,^(CH) and He became weary^(CI) of Israel’s misery.

¹⁷ The Ammonites were called together, and they camped in Gilead. So the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.^{(CJ) 18} The rulers^[bf] of Gilead said to one another, “Which man will lead the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Jephthah Becomes Israel’s Leader

11 Jephthah^(CK) the Gileadite was a great warrior,^(CL) but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. ² Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob.^(CM) Then some lawless men joined Jephthah and traveled with him.

⁴ Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel. ⁵ When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ They said to him, “Come, be our commander, and let’s fight against the Ammonites.”

⁷ Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now when you’re in trouble?”

⁸ They answered Jephthah, “Since that’s true, we now turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹ So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”

¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is our witness if we don’t do as you say.” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people put him over themselves as leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

Jephthah Rejects Ammonite Claims

¹² Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

¹³ The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok^(CN) and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”

¹⁴ Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵ to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. ¹⁶ But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us travel through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

¹⁸ “Then they traveled through the wilderness and around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.

¹⁹ “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon.^(CO) Israel said to him, ‘Please let us travel through your land to our country,’ ²⁰ but Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people, camped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. ²¹ Then the Lord God of Israel handed over Sihon and all his people to Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession^(CP) of the entire land of the Amorites who lived in that country. ²² They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³ “The Lord God of Israel has now driven out the Amorites before His people Israel, and will you now force us out? ²⁴ Isn’t it true that you may possess whatever your god Chemosh drives out for you, and we may possess everything the Lord our God drives out before us? ²⁵ Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? ²⁶ While Israel lived 300 years in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn’t you take them back at that time? ²⁷ I have not sinned against you, but you have wronged me by fighting against me. Let the Lord who is the Judge^(CQ) decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” ²⁸ But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to Jephthah’s message that he sent him.

Jephthah’s Vow and Sacrifice

²⁹ The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead. ³⁰ Jephthah made this vow^(CR) to the Lord: “If You will hand over the Ammonites to me, ³¹ whatever comes out of the doors of my house to greet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.”^(CS)

³² Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord handed them over^(CT) to him. ³³ He defeated 20 of their cities with a great slaughter from Aroer all the way to the entrance of Minnith and to Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued^(CU) before the Israelites.

³⁴ When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing!^(CV) She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me.^[bg] I have given my word to the Lord and cannot take it back.”

³⁶ Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me as you have said, for the Lord brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.” ³⁷ She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

³⁸ “Go,” he said. And he sent her away two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity as she wandered through the mountains. ³⁹ At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Conflict with Ephraim

12 The men of Ephraim were called together and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon.^(CW) They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight against the Ammonites but didn’t call us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you in it!”

² Then Jephthah said to them, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites. So I called for you, but you didn’t deliver me from their power. ³ When I saw that you weren’t going to deliver me, I took my life in my own hands and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why then have you come^[bh] today to fight against me?”

⁴ Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.” ⁵ The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. Whenever a fugitive from Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he answered, “No,” ⁶ they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 from Ephraim died.

⁷ Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.^[bi]

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

⁸ Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem,^(CX) judged Israel after Jephthah ⁹ and had 30 sons. He gave his 30 daughters in marriage to men outside the tribe and brought back 30 wives for his sons from outside the tribe. Ibzan judged Israel seven years, ¹⁰ and when he died, he was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹ Elon, who was from Zebulun, judged Israel after Ibzan. He judged Israel 10 years, ¹² and when he died, he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, who was from Pirathon,^(CY) judged Israel. ¹⁴ He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, who rode on 70 donkeys. Abdon judged Israel eight years, ¹⁵ and when he died, he was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.^(CZ)

Birth of Samson, the Last Judge

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

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

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

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

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

“I am,” He said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Samson’s Riddle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁴ So he said to them:

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

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

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

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

So he said to them:

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

Samson’s Revenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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