Now after the death of Joshua it came to
pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall
go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against
them?
And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold,
I have delivered the land into his hand.
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come
up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites;
and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with
him.
And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the
Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of
them in Bezek ten thousand men.
And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they
fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the
Perizzites.
But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after
him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great
toes.
And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten
kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered
their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me.
And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
Now the children of Judah had fought against
Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the
sword, and set the city on fire.
And afterward the children of Judah went down
to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in
the south, and in the valley.
And Judah went against the Canaanites that
dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:)
and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
And from thence he went against the
inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was
Kirjathsepher:
And Caleb said, He that smiteth
Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter
to wife.
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's
younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to
wife.
And it came to pass, when she came to him,
that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted
from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
And she said unto him, Give me a blessing:
for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water.
And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
And the children of the Kenite, Moses'
father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the
children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the
south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and
they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly
destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof,
and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast
thereof.
And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave
out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses
said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
And the children of Benjamin did not drive
out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell
with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
And the house of Joseph, they also went up
against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
And the house of Joseph sent to descry
Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
And the spies saw a man come forth out of
the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the
entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
And when he shewed them the entrance into
the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they
let go the man and all his family.
And the man went into the land of the
Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which
is the name thereof unto this day.
Neither did Manasseh drive out the
inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns,
nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of
Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns:
but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
And it came to pass, when Israel was strong,
that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive
them out.
Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites
that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among
them.
Neither did Zebulun drive out the
inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the
Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants
of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of
Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
But the Asherites dwelt among the
Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive
them out.
Neither did Naphtali drive out the
inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but
he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land:
nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became
tributaries unto them.
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan
into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to
the valley:
But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres
in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph
prevailed, so that they became tributaries.
And the coast of the Amorites was from the
going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal
to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have
brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I
said, I will never break my covenant with you.
And ye shall make no league with the
inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye
have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them
out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and
their gods shall be a snare unto you.
And it came to pass, when the angel of the
LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the
people lifted up their voice, and wept.
And they called the name of that place
Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
And when Joshua had let the people go, the
children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess
the land.
And the people served the LORD all the days
of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who
had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for
Israel.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the
LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
And they buried him in the border of his
inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north
side of the hill Gaash.
And also all that generation were gathered
unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them,
which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for
Israel.
And the children of Israel did evil in the
sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
And they forsook the LORD God of their
fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed
other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them,
and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to
anger.
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal
and Ashtaroth.
And the anger of the LORD was hot against
Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that
spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies
round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their
enemies.
Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the
LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the
LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges,
which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled
them.
And yet they would not hearken unto their
judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed
themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which
their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but
they did not so.
And when the LORD raised them up judges,
then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the
hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented
the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that
oppressed them and vexed them.
And it came to pass, when the judge was
dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their
fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down
unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their
stubborn way.
And the anger of the LORD was hot against
Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my
covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened
unto my voice;
I also will not henceforth drive out any
from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he
died:
That through them I may prove Israel,
whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as
their fathers did keep it, or not.
Therefore the LORD left those nations,
without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into
the hand of Joshua.
Now these are the nations which the LORD
left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not
known all the wars of Canaan;
Only that the generations of the children of
Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before
knew nothing thereof;
Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and
all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt
in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of
Hamath.
And they were to prove Israel by them, to
know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD,
which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
And the children of Israel dwelt among the
Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites,
and Jebusites:
And they took their daughters to be their
wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their
gods.
And the children of Israel did evil in the
sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim
and the groves.
Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot
against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim
king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served
Chushanrishathaim eight years.
And when the children of Israel cried unto
the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel,
who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger
brother.
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him,
and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered
Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand
prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
And the land had rest forty years. And
Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
And the children of Israel did evil again in
the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of
Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the
LORD.
And he gathered unto him the children of
Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city
of palm trees.
So the children of Israel served Eglon the
king of Moab eighteen years.
But when the children of Israel cried unto
the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of
Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of
Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two
edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon
his right thigh.
And he brought the present unto Eglon king
of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.
And when he had made an end to offer the
present, he sent away the people that bare the present.
But he himself turned again from the
quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto
thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him
went out from him.
And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting
in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said,
I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his
seat.
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took
the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
And the haft also went in after the blade;
and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the
dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.
Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and
shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.
When he was gone out, his servants came; and
when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked,
they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.
And they tarried till they were ashamed:
and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they
took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen
down dead on the earth.
And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and
passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.
And it came to pass, when he was come, that
he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of
Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for
the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.
And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward
Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten
thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped
not a man.
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand
of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath,
which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and
he also delivered Israel.
And the children of Israel again did evil in
the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.
And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin
king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host
was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
And the children of Israel cried unto the
LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he
mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of
Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of
Israel came up to her for judgment.
And she sent and called Barak the son of
Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD
God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor,
and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and
of the children of Zebulun?
And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon
Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his
multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with
me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will
not go.
And she said, I will surely go with thee:
notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine
honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.
And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to
Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and
Deborah went up with him.
Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the
children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself
from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim,
which is by Kedesh.
And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of
Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
And Sisera gathered together all his
chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people
that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river
of Kishon.
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is
the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is
not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount
Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his
chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before
Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away
on his feet.
But Barak pursued after the chariots, and
after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of
Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man
left.
Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the
tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace
between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the
Kenite.
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said
unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he
had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a
mantle.
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee,
a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle
of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of
the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of
thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the
tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and
smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground:
for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael
came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee
the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold,
Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of
Canaan before the children of Israel.
And the hand of the children of Israel
prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until
they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of
Abinoam on that day, saying,
Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of
Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I,
even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God
of Israel.
LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when
thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and
the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
The mountains melted from before the LORD,
even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in
the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers
walked through byways.
The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they
ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother
in Israel.
They chose new gods; then was war in the
gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in
Israel?
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the
LORD.
Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that
sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
They that are delivered from the noise of
archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse
the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the
inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the
LORD go down to the gates.
Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a
song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of
Abinoam.
Then he made him that remaineth have
dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have
dominion over the mighty.
Out of Ephraim was there a root of them
against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of
Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the
pen of the writer.
And the princes of Issachar were with
Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into
the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts
of heart.
Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to
hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there
were great searchings of heart.
Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan
remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his
breaches.
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that
jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the
field.
The kings came and fought, then fought the
kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no
gain of money.
They fought from heaven; the stars in their
courses fought against Sisera.
The river of Kishon swept them away, that
ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down
strength.
Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means
of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD,
curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to
the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the
mighty.
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of
Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the
tent.
He asked water, and she gave him milk; she
brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
She put her hand to the nail, and her right
hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera,
she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through
his temples.
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down:
at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down
dead.
The mother of Sisera looked out at a window,
and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in
coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she
returned answer to herself,
Have they not sped? have they not divided
the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers
colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours
of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take
the spoil?
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but
let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his
might. And the land had rest forty years.
And the children of Israel did evil in the
sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of
Midian seven years.
And the hand of Midian prevailed against
Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made
them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong
holds.
And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the
Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the
east, even they came up against them;
And they encamped against them, and destroyed
the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
For they came up with their cattle and their
tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they
and their camels were without number: and they entered into the
land to destroy it.
And Israel was greatly impoverished because
of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the
LORD.
And it came to pass, when the children of
Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
That the LORD sent a prophet unto the
children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God
of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out
of the house of bondage;
And I delivered you out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave
them out from before you, and gave you their land;
And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God;
fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye
have not obeyed my voice.
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat
under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the
Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to
hide it from the Midianites.
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him,
and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of
valour.
And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the
LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all
his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD
bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and
delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go
in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith
shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I
am the least in my father's house.
And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be
with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
And he said unto him, If now I have found
grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with
me.
Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come
unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And
he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid,
and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a
basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him
under the oak, and presented it.
And the angel of God said unto him, Take the
flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and
pour out the broth. And he did so.
Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end
of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and
consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the
LORD departed out of his sight.
And when Gideon perceived that he was an
angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I
have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto
thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Then Gideon built an altar there unto the
LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass the same night, that the
LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the
second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal
that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
And build an altar unto the LORD thy God
upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the
second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the
grove which thou shalt cut down.
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants,
and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he
feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he
could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
And when the men of the city arose early in
the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove
was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered
upon the altar that was built.
And they said one to another, Who hath done
this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the
son of Joash hath done this thing.
Then the men of the city said unto Joash,
Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the
altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by
it.
And Joash said unto all that stood against
him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead
for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be
a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his
altar.
Therefore on that day he called him
Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath
thrown down his altar.
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites
and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over,
and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
And he sent messengers throughout all
Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers
unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up
to meet them.
And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save
Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the
floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all
the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said.
And it was so: for he rose up early on the
morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of
the fleece, a bowl full of water.
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine
anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me
prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be
dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be
dew.
And God did so that night: for it was dry
upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the
people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the
well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north
side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people
that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into
their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine
own hand hath saved me.
Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of
the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return
and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the
people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand.
And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are
yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them
for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This
shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever
I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not
go.
So he brought down the people unto the water:
and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water
with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
And the number of them that lapped, putting
their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest
of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three
hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites
into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his
place.
So the people took victuals in their hand,
and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man
unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host
of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
And it came to pass the same night, that the
LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have
delivered it into thine hand.
But if thou fear to go down, go thou with
Phurah thy servant down to the host:
And thou shalt hear what they say; and
afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the
host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of
the armed men that were in the host.
And the Midianites and the Amalekites and
all the children of the east lay along in the valley like
grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number,
as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
And when Gideon was come, behold, there was
a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I
dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the
host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell,
and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
And his fellow answered and said, This is
nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of
Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the
host.
And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling
of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped,
and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD
hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
And he divided the three hundred men into
three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with
empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do
likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it
shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that
are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all
the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
So Gideon, and the hundred men that were
with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the
middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew
the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
And the three companies blew the trumpets,
and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and
the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried,
The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
And they stood every man in his place round
about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and
the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout
all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to
the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
And the men of Israel gathered themselves
together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all
Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
And Gideon sent messengers throughout all
mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take
before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men
of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto
Bethbarah and Jordan.
And they took two princes of the Midianites,
Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they
slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the
heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why
hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou
wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him
sharply.
And he said unto them, What have I done now
in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim
better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the
princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in
comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he
had said that.
And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over,
he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet
pursuing them.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I
pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they
be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of
Midian.
And the princes of Succoth said, Are the
hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give
bread unto thine army?
And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath
delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your
flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake
unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men
of Succoth had answered him.
And he spake also unto the men of Penuel,
saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this
tower.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and
their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were
left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell
an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that
dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the
host; for the host was secure.
And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued
after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna,
and discomfited all the host.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from
battle before the sun was up,
And caught a young man of the men of
Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes
of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen
men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and
said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me,
saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that
we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city, and
thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the
men of Succoth.
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and
slew the men of the city.
Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What
manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered,
As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a
king.
And he said, They were my brethren, even the
sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive,
I would not slay you.
And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up,
and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared,
because he was yet a youth.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and
fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon
arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments
that were on their camels' necks.
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon,
Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also:
for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule
over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule
over you.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a
request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his
prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were
Ishmaelites.)
And they answered, We will willingly give
them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the
earrings of his prey.
And the weight of the golden earrings that
he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold;
beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the
kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their
camels' necks.
And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it
in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring
after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his
house.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children
of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the
country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and
dwelt in his own house.
And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of
his body begotten: for he had many wives.
And his concubine that was in Shechem, she
also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good
old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was
dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring
after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not
the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all
their enemies on every side:
Neither shewed they kindness to the house of
Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he
had shewed unto Israel.
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to
Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and
with all the family of the house of his mother's father,
saying,
Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men
of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or
that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your
flesh.
And his mother's brethren spake of him in the
ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts
inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our
brother.
And they gave him threescore and ten pieces
of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired
vain and light persons, which followed him.
And he went unto his father's house at
Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being
threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet
Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid
himself.
And all the men of Shechem gathered together,
and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by
the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
And when they told it to Jotham, he went and
stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and
cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that
God may hearken unto you.
The trees went forth on a time to anoint a
king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over
us.
But the olive tree said unto them, Should I
leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go
to be promoted over the trees?
And the trees said to the fig tree, Come
thou, and reign over us.
But the fig tree said unto them, Should I
forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over
the trees?
Then said the trees unto the vine, Come
thou, and reign over us.
And the vine said unto them, Should I leave
my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the
trees?
Then said all the trees unto the bramble,
Come thou, and reign over us.
And the bramble said unto the trees, If in
truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in
my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour
the cedars of Lebanon.
Now therefore, if ye have done truly and
sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have
dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him
according to the deserving of his hands;
(For my father fought for you, and
adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of
Midian:
And ye are risen up against my father's
house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten
persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his
maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your
brother;)
If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely
with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in
Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
But if not, let fire come out from
Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo;
and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house
of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to
Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
When Abimelech had reigned three years over
Israel,
Then God sent an evil spirit between
Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt
treacherously with Abimelech:
That the cruelty done to the threescore and
ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon
Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of
Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for
him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came
along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.
And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his
brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put
their confidence in him.
And they went out into the fields, and
gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and
went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed
Abimelech.
And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is
Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he
the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor
the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?
And would to God this people were under my
hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech,
Increase thine army, and come out.
And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard
the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
And he sent messengers unto Abimelech
privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be
come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against
thee.
Now therefore up by night, thou and the
people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:
And it shall be, that in the morning, as
soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the
city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out
against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find
occasion.
And Abimelech rose up, and all the people
that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in
four companies.
And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood
in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and
the people that were with him, from lying in wait.
And when Gaal saw the people, he said to
Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the
mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the
mountains as if they were men.
And Gaal spake again, and said, See there
come people down by the middle of the land, and another company
come along by the plain of Meonenim.
Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy
mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should
serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out,
I pray now, and fight with them.
And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem,
and fought with Abimelech.
And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before
him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering
of the gate.
And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul
thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in
Shechem.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the
people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech.
And he took the people, and divided them
into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and,
behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up
against them, and smote them.
And Abimelech, and the company that was with
him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the
city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were
in the fields, and slew them.
And Abimelech fought against the city all
that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was
therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
And when all the men of the tower of Shechem
heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god
Berith.
And it was told Abimelech, that all the men
of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he
and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in
his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and
laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with
him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have
done.
And all the people likewise cut down every
man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold,
and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the
tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped
against Thebez, and took it.
But there was a strong tower within the
city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the
city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the
tower.
And Abimelech came unto the tower, and
fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn
it with fire.
And a certain woman cast a piece of a
millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull.
Then he called hastily unto the young man
his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me,
that men say not of me, A women slew him. And his young man thrust
him through, and he died.
And when the men of Israel saw that
Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.
Thus God rendered the wickedness of
Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy
brethren:
And all the evil of the men of Shechem did
God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham
the son of Jerubbaal.
And after Abimelech there arose to defend
Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar;
and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.
And he judged Israel twenty and three years,
and died, and was buried in Shamir.
And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and
judged Israel twenty and two years.
And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty
ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair
unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
And the children of Israel did evil again in
the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the
gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the
gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and
forsook the LORD, and served not him.
And the anger of the LORD was hot against
Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and
into the hands of the children of Ammon.
And that year they vexed and oppressed the
children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that
were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is
in Gilead.
Moreover the children of Ammon passed over
Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and
against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore
distressed.
And the children of Israel cried unto the
LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have
forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
And the LORD said unto the children of
Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the
Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the
Philistines?
The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and
the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered
you out of their hand.
Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other
gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
Go and cry unto the gods which ye have
chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
And the children of Israel said unto the
LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto
thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
And they put away the strange gods from
among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the
misery of Israel.
Then the children of Ammon were gathered
together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel
assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
And the people and princes of Gilead said
one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the
children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of
Gilead.
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man
of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat
Jephthah.
And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his
wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto
him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the
son of a strange woman.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and
dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to
Jephthah, and went out with him.
And it came to pass in process of time, that
the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it was so, that when the children of
Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch
Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be
our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead,
Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why
are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah,
Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us,
and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all
the inhabitants of Gilead.
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead,
If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon,
and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
And the elders of Gilead said unto
Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according
to thy words.
Then Jephthah went with the elders of
Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and
Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king
of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me,
that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
And the king of the children of Ammon
answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away
my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto
Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again
peaceably.
And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the
king of the children of Ammon:
And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah,
Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children
of Ammon:
But when Israel came up from Egypt, and
walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to
Kadesh;
Then Israel sent messengers unto the king
of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but
the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they
sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel
abode in Kadesh.
Then they went along through the
wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab,
and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the
other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for
Arnon was the border of Moab.
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king
of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let
us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass
through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and
pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon
and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so
Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of
that country.
And they possessed all the coasts of the
Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even
unto Jordan.
So now the LORD God of Israel hath
dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and
shouldest thou possess it?
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh
thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God
shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
And now art thou any thing better than
Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against
Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her
towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be
along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore
did ye not recover them within that time?
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee,
but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be
judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of
Ammon.
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon
hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon
Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over
Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the
children of Ammon.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and
said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into
mine hands,
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh
forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace
from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will
offer it up for a burnt offering.
So Jephthah passed over unto the children
of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into
his hands.
And he smote them from Aroer, even till
thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the
vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon
were subdued before the children of Israel.
And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house,
and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and
with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither
son nor daughter.
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that
he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought
me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have
opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
And she said unto him, My father, if thou
hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that
which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath
taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of
Ammon.
And she said unto her father, Let this
thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and
down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my
fellows.
And he said, Go. And he sent her away for
two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her
virginity upon the mountains.
And it came to pass at the end of two
months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her
according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And
it was a custom in Israel,
That the daughters of Israel went yearly to
lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a
year.
And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves
together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore
passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and
didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon
thee with fire.
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people
were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called
you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I
put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of
Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are
ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men
of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote
Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim
among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.
And the Gileadites took the passages of
Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those
Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men
of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said,
Nay;
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth:
and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it
right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan:
and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two
thousand.
And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then
died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of
Gilead.
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged
Israel.
And he had thirty sons, and thirty
daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from
abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
Then died Ibzan, and was buried at
Bethlehem.
And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged
Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.
And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was
buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a
Pirathonite, judged Israel.
And he had forty sons and thirty nephews,
that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel
eight years.
And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite
died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the
mount of the Amalekites.
And the children of Israel did evil again in
the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of
the Philistines forty years.
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the
family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was
barren, and bare not.
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the
woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest
not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink
not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a
son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a
Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Then the woman came and told her husband,
saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not
whence he was, neither told he me his name:
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt
conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink,
neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to
God from the womb to the day of his death.
Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O
my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto
us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be
born.
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah;
and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the
field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
And the woman made haste, and ran, and
shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath
appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife,
and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that
spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to
pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto
him?
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah,
Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of
the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any
unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD,
I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a
kid for thee.
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah,
Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou
wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For
Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD,
What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee
honour?
And the angel of the LORD said unto him,
Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering,
and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did
wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
For it came to pass, when the flame went up
toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked
on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the angel of the LORD did no more
appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an
angel of the LORD.
And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall
surely die, because we have seen God.
But his wife said unto him, If the LORD
were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt
offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have
shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us
such things as these.
And the woman bare a son, and called his
name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
And the Spirit of the LORD began to move
him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a
woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
And he came up, and told his father and his
mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters
of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Then his father and his mother said unto
him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or
among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the
uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her
for me; for she pleaseth me well.
But his father and his mother knew not that
it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the
Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over
Israel.
Then went Samson down, and his father and
his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and,
behold, a young lion roared against him.
And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily
upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had
nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what
he had done.
And he went down, and talked with the woman;
and she pleased Samson well.
And after a time he returned to take her,
and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold,
there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the
lion.
And he took thereof in his hands, and went
on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and
they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out
of the carcase of the lion.
So his father went down unto the woman: and
Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
And it came to pass, when they saw him,
that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
And Samson said unto them, I will now put
forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within
the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you
thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall
ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they
said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
And he said unto them, Out of the eater
came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And
they could not in three days expound the riddle.
And it came to pass on the seventh day,
that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may
declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's
house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not
so?
And Samson's wife wept before him, and
said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth
a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me.
And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell it thee?
And she wept before him the seven days,
while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day,
that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the
riddle to the children of her people.
And the men of the city said unto him on
the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than
honey? And what is stronger than a lion? and he said unto them, If
ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my
riddle.
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him,
and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took
their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his
father's house.
But Samson's wife was given to his
companion, whom he had used as his friend.
But it came to pass within a while after, in
the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid;
and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her
father would not suffer him to go in.
And her father said, I verily thought that
thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy
companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I
pray thee, instead of her.
And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I
be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a
displeasure.
And Samson went and caught three hundred
foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a
firebrand in the midst between two tails.
And when he had set the brands on fire, he
let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up
both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and
olives.
Then the Philistines said, Who hath done
this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite,
because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And
the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with
fire.
And Samson said unto them, Though ye have
done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will
cease.
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great
slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock
Etam.
Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in
Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come
up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to
do to him as he hath done to us.
Then three thousand men of Judah went to
the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that
the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast
done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I
done unto them.
And they said unto him, We are come down to
bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the
Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will
not fall upon me yourselves.
And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we
will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely
we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and
brought him up from the rock.
And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines
shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon
him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was
burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and
put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men
therewith.
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an
ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a
thousand men.
And it came to pass, when he had made an
end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and
called that place Ramathlehi.
And he was sore athirst, and called on the
LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the
hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into
the hand of the uncircumcised?
But God clave an hollow place that was in
the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his
spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name
thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
And he judged Israel in the days of the
Philistines twenty years.
Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an
harlot, and went in unto her.
And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson
is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him
all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night,
saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at
midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two
posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his
shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before
Hebron.
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved
a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
And the lords of the Philistines came up
unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great
strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that
we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of
us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray
thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest
be bound to afflict thee.
And Samson said unto her, If they bind me
with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak,
and be as another man.
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up
to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound
him with them.
Now there were men lying in wait, abiding
with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be
upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is
broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not
known.
And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou
hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee,
wherewith thou mightest be bound.
And he said unto her, If they bind me fast
with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and
be as another man.
Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound
him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee,
Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he
brake them from off his arms like a thread.
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou
hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest
be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of
my head with the web.
And she fastened it with the pin, and said
unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out
of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the
web.
And she said unto him, How canst thou say,
I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me
these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength
lieth.
And it came to pass, when she pressed him
daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed
unto death;
That he told her all his heart, and said
unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have
been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven,
then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be
like any other man.
And when Delilah saw that he had told her
all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the
Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all
his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and
brought money in their hand.
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and
she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven
locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength
went from him.
And she said, The Philistines be upon thee,
Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as
at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the
LORD was departed from him.
But the Philistines took him, and put out
his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters
of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow
again after he was shaven.
Then the lords of the Philistines gathered
them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god,
and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our
enemy into our hand.
And when the people saw him, they praised
their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our
enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of
us.
And it came to pass, when their hearts were
merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made
them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
And Samson said unto the lad that held him
by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the
house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
Now the house was full of men and women;
and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were
upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport.
And Samson called unto the LORD, and said,
O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray
thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the
Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson took hold of the two middle
pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up,
of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his
left.
And Samson said, Let me die with the
Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house
fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So
the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he
slew in his life.
Then his brethren and all the house of his
father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him
between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father.
And he judged Israel twenty years.
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose
name was Micah.
And he said unto his mother, The eleven
hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which
thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver
is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the
LORD, my son.
And when he had restored the eleven hundred
shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly
dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make
a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it
unto thee.
Yet he restored the money unto his mother;
and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to
the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image:
and they were in the house of Micah.
And the man Micah had an house of gods, and
made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who
became his priest.
In those days there was no king in Israel,
but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
And there was a young man out of
Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he
sojourned there.
And the man departed out of the city from
Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came
to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou?
And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to
sojourn where I may find a place.
And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and
be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels
of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So
the Levite went in.
And the Levite was content to dwell with
the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the
young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD
will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
In those days there was no king in Israel:
and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an
inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance
had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
And the children of Dan sent of their family
five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from
Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto
them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to
the house of Micah, they lodged there.
When they were by the house of Micah, they
knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in
thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what
makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth
Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray
thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be
prosperous.
And the priest said unto them, Go in peace:
before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.
Then the five men departed, and came to
Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt
careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and
there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame
in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no
business with any man.
And they came unto their brethren to Zorah
and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
And they said, Arise, that we may go up
against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very
good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to
possess the land.
When ye go, ye shall come unto a people
secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands;
a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the
earth.
And there went from thence of the family of
the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men
appointed with weapons of war.
And they went up, and pitched in
Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place
Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.
And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim,
and came unto the house of Micah.
Then answered the five men that went to spy
out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know
that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven
image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to
do.
And they turned thitherward, and came to
the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of
Micah, and saluted him.
And the six hundred men appointed with
their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by
the entering of the gate.
And the five men that went to spy out the
land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and
the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest
stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that
were appointed with weapons of war.
And these went into Micah's house, and
fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the
molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?
And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay
thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father
and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house
of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in
Israel?
And the priest's heart was glad, and he
took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in
the midst of the people.
So they turned and departed, and put the
little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.
And when they were a good way from the
house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's
house were gathered together, and overtook the children of
Dan.
And they cried unto the children of Dan.
And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee,
that thou comest with such a company?
And he said, Ye have taken away my gods
which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I
more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
And the children of Dan said unto him, Let
not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee,
and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.
And the children of Dan went their way: and
when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and
went back unto his house.
And they took the things which Micah had
made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a
people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the
edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
And there was no deliverer, because it was
far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was
in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and
dwelt therein.
And they called the name of the city Dan,
after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel:
howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
And the children of Dan set up the graven
image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he
and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the
captivity of the land.
And they set them up Micah's graven image,
which he made, all the time that the house of God was in
Shiloh.
And it came to pass in those days, when
there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite
sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a
concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
And his concubine played the whore against
him, and went away from him unto her father's house to
Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
And her husband arose, and went after her,
to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his
servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into
her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he
rejoiced to meet him.
And his father in law, the damsel's father,
retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and
drink, and lodged there.
And it came to pass on the fourth day, when
they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the
damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with
a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
And they sat down, and did eat and drink
both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the
man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine
heart be merry.
And when the man rose up to depart, his
father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
And he arose early in the morning on the
fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine
heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did
eat both of them.
And when the man rose up to depart, he, and
his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's
father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening,
I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end,
lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you
early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
But the man would not tarry that night, but
he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is
Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine
also was with him.
And when they were by Jebus, the day was
far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee,
and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in
it.
And his master said unto him, We will not
turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the
children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
And he said unto his servant, Come, and let
us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah,
or in Ramah.
And they passed on and went their way; and
the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which
belongeth to Benjamin.
And they turned aside thither, to go in and
to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a
street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his
house to lodging.
And, behold, there came an old man from his
work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and
he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were
Benjamites.
And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw
a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said,
Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
And he said unto him, We are passing from
Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I:
and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of
the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.
Yet there is both straw and provender for
our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy
handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there
is no want of any thing.
And the old man said, Peace be with thee;
howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the
street.
So he brought him into his house, and gave
provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat
and drink.
Now as they were making their hearts merry,
behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the
house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of
the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into
thine house, that we may know him.
And the man, the master of the house, went
out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray
you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine
house, do not this folly.
Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and
his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and
do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not
so vile a thing.
But the men would not hearken to him: so
the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and
they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and
when the day began to spring, they let her go.
Then came the woman in the dawning of the
day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord
was, till it was light.
And her lord rose up in the morning, and
opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and,
behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the
house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
And he said unto her, Up, and let us be
going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and
the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
And when he was come into his house, he
took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her,
together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all
the coasts of Israel.
And it was so, that all that saw it said,
There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children
of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider
of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
Then all the children of Israel went out,
and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan
even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in
Mizpeh.
And the chief of all the people, even of all
the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the
people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the
children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children
of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
And the Levite, the husband of the woman
that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that
belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and
beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have
slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.
And I took my concubine, and cut her in
pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance
of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in
Israel.
Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give
here your advice and counsel.
And all the people arose as one man, saying,
We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us
turn into his house.
But now this shall be the thing which we
will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;
And we will take ten men of an hundred
throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand,
and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the
people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin,
according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
So all the men of Israel were gathered
against the city, knit together as one man.
And the tribes of Israel sent men through
all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is
done among you?
Now therefore deliver us the men, the
children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to
death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin
would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of
Israel.
But the children of Benjamin gathered
themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to
battle against the children of Israel.
And the children of Benjamin were numbered
at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that
drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered
seven hundred chosen men.
Among all this people there were seven
hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an
hair breadth, and not miss.
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin,
were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these
were men of war.
And the children of Israel arose, and went
up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which
of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of
Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.
And the children of Israel rose up in the
morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
And the men of Israel went out to battle
against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to
fight against them at Gibeah.
And the children of Benjamin came forth out
of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that
day twenty and two thousand men.
And the people the men of Israel encouraged
themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where
they put themselves in array the first day.
(And the children of Israel went up and
wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD,
saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of
Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)
And the children of Israel came near
against the children of Benjamin the second day.
And Benjamin went forth against them out of
Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the
children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the
sword.
Then all the children of Israel, and all
the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and
sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
And the children of Israel enquired of the
LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those
days,
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son
of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again
go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or
shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will
deliver them into thine hand.
And Israel set liers in wait round about
Gibeah.
And the children of Israel went up against
the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in
array against Gibeah, as at other times.
And the children of Benjamin went out
against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they
began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the
highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other
to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
And the children of Benjamin said, They are
smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel
said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the
highways.
And all the men of Israel rose up out of
their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the
liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of
the meadows of Gibeah.
And there came against Gibeah ten thousand
chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they
knew not that evil was near them.
And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel:
and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day
twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the
sword.
So the children of Benjamin saw that they
were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites,
because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set
beside Gibeah.
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed
upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote
all the city with the edge of the sword.
Now there was an appointed sign between the
men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great
flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
And when the men of Israel retired in the
battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about
thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before
us, as in the first battle.
But when the flame began to arise up out of
the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them,
and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
And when the men of Israel turned again,
the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come
upon them.
Therefore they turned their backs before
the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle
overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed
in the midst of them.
Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round
about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against
Gibeah toward the sunrising.
And there fell of Benjamin eighteen
thousand men; all these were men of valour.
And they turned and fled toward the
wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the
highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom,
and slew two thousand men of them.
So that all which fell that day of Benjamin
were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these
were men of valour.
But six hundred men turned and fled to the
wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four
months.
And the men of Israel turned again upon the
children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as
well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to
hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh,
saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin
to wife.
And the people came to the house of God, and
abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and
wept sore;
And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this
come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe
lacking in Israel?
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the
people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings.
And the children of Israel said, Who is
there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the
congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath
concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He
shall surely be put to death.
And the children of Israel repented them for
Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from
Israel this day.
How shall we do for wives for them that
remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them
of our daughters to wives?
And they said, What one is there of the
tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And,
behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the
assembly.
For the people were numbered, and, behold,
there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
And the congregation sent thither twelve
thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and
smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword,
with the women and the children.
And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye
shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by
man.
And they found among the inhabitants of
Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by
lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh,
which is in the land of Canaan.
And the whole congregation sent some to
speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and
to call peaceably unto them.
And Benjamin came again at that time; and
they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of
Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
And the people repented them for Benjamin,
because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of
Israel.
Then the elders of the congregation said,
How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women
are destroyed out of Benjamin?
And they said, There must be an inheritance
for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed
out of Israel.
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our
daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be
he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of
the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of
Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel
to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Therefore they commanded the children of
Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
And see, and, behold, if the daughters of
Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the
vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of
Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
And it shall be, when their fathers or
their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto
them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved
not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them
at this time, that ye should be guilty.
And the children of Benjamin did so, and
took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced,
whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their
inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
And the children of Israel departed thence
at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they
went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel:
every man did that which was right in his own eyes.