Bible in 90 Days

²⁸ Then he said to them, “Follow me! For the LORD has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand!” So, they went down after him and took the passages of Jordan toward Moab and did not allow a man to pass over.

²⁹ And at that same time, they killed about ten thousand of the Moabites, all well-fed men, and all warriors. And not one man escaped.

³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day, under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

³¹ And after him came Shamgar, the son of Anath, who killed six hundred of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.

4 And again, the children of Israel began to do wickedly in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud was dead.

² And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, whose chief captain was called Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

³ Then the children of Israel cried to the LORD. For Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron and had oppressed the children of Israel very severely for twenty years.

⁴ And at that time, Deborah, a Prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel.

⁵ And this Deborah dwelt under a palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel, on Mount Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁶ Then she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh of Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel Commanded, saying, ‘Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun;

⁷ and I will draw to you (to the river Kishon) Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude, and will deliver him into your hand’?”

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

⁹ Then she answered, “I will surely go with you; but this journey that you take shall not be for your honor. For the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

¹⁰ And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And he went up with ten thousand men. And Deborah went up with him.

¹¹ Now, Heber the Kenite, who was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had departed from the Kenites and pitched his tent as far away as the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

¹² Then they showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor.

¹³ And Sisera called for all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river Kishon.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand! Has not the LORD gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

¹⁵ And the LORD destroyed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword, before Barak, so that Sisera descended from his chariot, and fled away on foot.

¹⁶ But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth of the Gentiles. And all the army of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword. There was not a man left.

¹⁷ However, Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite (for there was peace between Jabin, the king of Hazor, and between the House of Heber the Kenite).

¹⁸ And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn in, my lord. Turn in to me. Do not fear!” And when he had turned in to her, into her tent, she covered him with a rug.

¹⁹ And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.

²⁰ Again, he said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent. And when any man comes and inquires of you, saying, ‘Is any man there?’ You shall say, ‘No.’”

²¹ Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a nail from the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and drove the nail through his temples and into the ground (for he was fast asleep and weary). And he died.

²² And behold, as Barak pursued after Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead; and the nail was in his temples.

²³ So God brought down Jabin, the king of Canaan, that day, before the children of Israel.

²⁴ 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.

5 Then Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, sang the same day, saying,

² “Praise the LORD for the avenging of Israel, and for the people who offered themselves willingly!

³ “Hear, you kings! Listen, you princes! I will! I will sing to the LORD! I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel!

⁴ “LORD, when You went out of Seir, when You departed out of the field of Edom, the Earth trembled, and the skies rained! The clouds also dropped water!

⁵ “The mountains melted before the LORD, that Sinai before the LORD God of Israel.

⁶ “In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath (in the days of Jael), the highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked through byways.

⁷ “The towns were not inhabited. They decayed, I say, in Israel. Until I, Deborah, came up, who rose up a mother in Israel.

⁸ “They chose new gods. Then, war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand of Israel?

⁹ “My heart is with the governors of Israel, on those who are willing among the people. Praise the LORD!

¹⁰ Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who dwell by Middin, and who walk by the way.

¹¹ “At the sound that divides the flock among the troughs of water, there shall they recount the righteousness of the LORD, His righteousness of His towns in Israel. Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates.

¹² “Up Deborah! Up! Arise! Sing a song! Arise Barak, and lead your captives away, you son of Abinoam!

¹³ “For those who remain have dominion over the mighty of the people. The LORD has given me dominion over the strong.

¹⁴ “From Ephraim, their root arose against Amalek. After you, Benjamin, against your people, from Machir, came rulers, and from Zebulun, those who handle the pen of the writer.

¹⁵ “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Issachar and also Barak. He was set on his feet in the valley. For among the divisions of Reuben were great thoughts of heart.

¹⁶ “Why did you abide among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For among the divisions of Reuben were great thoughts of heart.

¹⁷ “Gilead abode beyond Jordan. And why does Dan remain in ships? Asher sat on the seashore and waited in his decayed places.

¹⁸ “The people of Zebulun and Naphtali have jeopardized their lives until death in the high places of the field.

¹⁹ “The kings came and fought. Then the kings of Canaan fought in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo. They received no monetary gain.

²⁰ “They fought from the sky. The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

²¹ “The River Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, you have marched valiantly!

²² “Then, the horses’ hooves were broken with the oft-beating-together of their mighty men.

²³ “‘Curse you, Meroz!’ said the Angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants, because they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty!’

²⁴ “Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, shall be blessed above women. She shall be blessed above women in tents.

²⁵ “He asked for water; she gave him milk. She brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

²⁶ “She put her hand to the nail and her right hand to the workman’s hammer. With the hammer, she struck Sisera. She struck off his head, after she had wounded and pierced his temples.

²⁷ “He bowed down at her feet. He fell down and lay still. At her feet, he bowed down and fell. And when he had sunk down, he lay there, dead.

²⁸ “The mother of Sisera looked out at a window and cried through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots tarry?’

²⁹ “Her wise ladies answered her. Yea, she answered herself with her own words,

³⁰ ‘Have they not gotten and divided the spoil, every man having a maid or two? Sisera has a prey of diverse colored garments, a prey of sundry colors made of needle work, of diverse colors of needle work on both sides, for the chief of the spoil.’

³¹ “So let all your enemies perish, O LORD! But those who love Him shall be as the Sun when he rises in His might!” And the land had rest for forty years.

6 Afterward, the children of Israel committed wickedness in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years.

² And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made themselves dens in the mountains and caves and strongholds.

³ Whenever Israel had sown, then the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and those from the East, and came upon them,

⁴ and camped by them and destroyed the fruit of the earth as far as Gaza, and left no food for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

⁵ For they and their cattle went up and came with their tents, as grasshoppers in multitude, so that they and their camels were without number. And they came into the land, to destroy it.

⁶ So was Israel exceedingly impoverished by the Midianites. Therefore, the children of Israel cried to the LORD.

⁷ And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,

⁸ the LORD sent a Prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I have brought you up from Egypt and have brought you out of the house of bondage.

⁹ ‘And I have delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you and have cast them out before you and given you their land.

¹⁰ ‘And I said to you, “I am the LORD your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My Voice.’”

¹¹ And the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the father of the Abiezrites. And his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

¹² Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you valiant man.”

¹³ To whom Gideon answered, “Ah, my Lord! If the LORD is with us, why then has all this come upon us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us of, and said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites.”

¹⁴ And the LORD looked upon him, and said, “Go in this, your might. And you shall save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites. Have not I sent you?”

¹⁵ And he answered him, “Ah, my Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my father is poor in Manasseh. And I am the least in my father’s house.”

¹⁶ Then the LORD said to him, “I will, therefore, be with you; and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

¹⁷ And he answered him, “Please, if I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign, that You are talking with me.

¹⁸ “Please do not depart from here until I come to You and bring my offering and lay it before You.” And he said, “I will wait until You come back.”

¹⁹ Then Gideon went in and prepared a kid, and unleavened bread of an ephah of flour, and put the flesh in a basket, and put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to Him under the oak, and presented it.

²⁰ And the Angel of God said to him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened bread and lay them upon this stone and pour out the broth.” And he did so.

²¹ Then the Angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that he held in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened bread. And fire rose up out of the stone and consumed the flesh and the unleavened bread. So the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

²² And when Gideon perceived that it was an Angel of the LORD, Gideon then said, “Alas, my Lord GOD! I have seen an Angel of the LORD face to face!

²³ And the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”

²⁴ Then Gideon made an Altar there to the LORD and called it Jehovah Shalom. To this day it is in Ophrah, of the father of the Abiezrites.

²⁵ And the same night, the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bullock, and another bullock of seven years old, and destroy the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that is by it,

²⁶ “and build an Altar to the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in a plain place. And take the second bullock and offer a Burnt Offering with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down.”

²⁷ Then Gideon took ten men from his servants and did as the LORD bade him. But because he feared to do it by day because of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night.

²⁸ And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken, and the grove that was next to it was cut down. And the second bullock was offered upon the Altar that was made.

²⁹ Therefore, they said one to another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing.”

³⁰ Then, the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so that he may die! For he has destroyed the altar of Baal and has also cut down the grove that was by it!”

³¹ And Joash said to all who stood by him, “Will you plead Baal’s cause? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him die by the morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself against him who has cast down his altar.”

³² And on that day, Gideon was called “Jerubbaal”; that is, “Let Baal plead for himself because he has broken down his altar.”

³³ Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and those from the East were gathered together and went and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁴ But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer joined with him.

³⁵ And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, which had also joined with him. And he sent messengers to Asher and to Zebulun and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said,

³⁷ “behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the threshing place. If the dew appears on the fleece only and it is dry upon the earth, then I shall be sure that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

³⁸ And so it was. For he rose up early the next day and squeezed the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece and filled a bowl of water.

³⁹ Again, Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, so that I may speak once more. Please let me test once again with the fleece. Let it now be dry only upon the fleece and let dew be upon all the ground.”

⁴⁰ And God did so the same night. For it was dry upon the fleece only and there was dew on all the ground.

7 Then Jerubbaal (who is Gideon) rose up early, and all the people who were with him, and camped beside the well of Harod, so that the army of the Midianites was on the northern side of them, in the valley, by the hill of Moreh.

² And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too numerous for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel glorifies himself against Me, and says, ‘My hand has saved me!’

³ “Now, therefore, proclaim in the audience of the people, and say, ‘Whoever is afraid or fearful, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people who were at Mount Gilead returned. So, ten thousand remained.

⁴ And the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. And of whomever I say to you, ‘This man shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you. And of whomever I say to you, ‘This man shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”

⁵ So, he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “As many as lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, separate, likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”

⁶ And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men. But all the remaining people kneeled down upon their knees to drink water.

⁷ Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With these three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. And let all the other men go, each to his home.”

⁸ So, the people took provisions with them, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained the three hundred men. And the army of Midian was beneath him in a valley.

⁹ And the same night, the LORD said to him, “Arise. Go down against the army. For I have delivered it into your hand.

¹⁰ “But if you fear to go down, you and Purah, your servant, go down to the army.

¹¹ “And you shall hear what they say, and so shall your hands be strong to go down against the army.” Then he and Purah, his servant, went down to an outpost of the soldiers who were in the camp.

¹² And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all those of the East lay in the valley, like grasshoppers in multitude. And their camels were without number, as the sand which is by the seaside in multitude.

¹³ And when Gideon had come, behold, a man told a dream to his neighbor, and said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream. And lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled from above, into the camp of Midian, and came into a tent, and struck it so that it fell. And it overturned it, so that the tent fell down.”

¹⁴ And his friend answered, and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand has God delivered Midian and all the army.”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream told, and the interpretation of the same, he worshipped and returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Up! For the LORD has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”

¹⁶ And he divided the three hundred men into three bands, and gave every man a trumpet in his hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps inside the pitchers.

¹⁷ And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise when I come to the edge of the camp. Just as I do, so do you.

¹⁸ “When I blow with a trumpet, all who are with me also blow with trumpets, on every side of the camp, and say, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”

¹⁹ So, Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outer edge of the camp, in the beginning of the middle watch, and they raised up the watchmen. And they blew with their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

²⁰ And the three companies blew with trumpets and broke the pitchers. And they held the lamps in their left hand and the trumpets in their right hands, to blow them. And they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”

²¹ And they stood, every man in his place, all around the camp. And the whole army ran and cried and fled.

²² And the three hundred blew with trumpets. And the LORD set every man’s sword upon his neighbor, and upon all the camp. So the army fled to Beth Hashittah in Zererah, to the border of Abel Meholah, to Tabbath.

²³ Then the men of Israel being gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, pursued after the Midianites.

²⁴ And Gideon sent messengers to all Mount Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and take from them the waters up to Beth Barah and Jordan!” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and took the waters up to Beth Barah and Jordan.

²⁵ And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb, and killed Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued the Midianites, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, beyond Jordan.

8 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you treated us in such a way that you did not call us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they chided with him sharply.

² To whom he said, “Now what have I done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

³ “God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” And when he had thus spoken, then their spirits abated toward him.

⁴ And Gideon came to Jordan to pass over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, weary, yet pursuing.

⁵ And he said to the men of Succoth, “Please give morsels of bread to the people who follow me (for they are weary), so that I may follow after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

⁶ And the princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands, so that we should give bread to your army?”

⁷ Gideon then said, “In that case, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”

⁸ And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them likewise. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹ And he also said to the men of Penuel, “When I come back in peace, I will break down this tower.”

¹⁰ Now, Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. And their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the armies of those of the East. For a hundred-twenty thousand men were killed who drew swords.

¹¹ And Gideon went through those who dwelt in tabernacles on the eastern side of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck the camp. For the army was careless.

¹² And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he followed after them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

¹³ So Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from battle while the Sun was high,

¹⁴ and took a servant of the men of Succoth and inquired of him. And he wrote down the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

¹⁵ And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, “Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, so that we should give bread to your weary men?’”

¹⁶ Then he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers and tore the men of Succoth with them.

¹⁷ Also, he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

¹⁸ Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?” And they answered, “They were the same as you. One was like the children of a king.”

¹⁹ And he said, “They were my brethren, my mother’s children. As the LORD lives, if you had saved their lives, I would not kill you.”

²⁰ Then he said to Jether, his firstborn son, “Up and kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword. For he feared because he was still young.

²¹ Then, Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise and fall upon us! For as the man is, so is his strength!” And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Reign over us, you and your son and your son’s son. For you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.”

²³ And Gideon said to them, “I will not reign over you. Nor shall my child reign over you. The LORD shall reign over you.”

²⁴ Again, Gideon said to them, “I would ask a request of you: that you would give me the earrings from each man’s plunder (for they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites).”

²⁵ And they answered, “We will give them.” And they spread a garment and cast in the earrings from each man’s plunder.

²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings that he required was one thousand, seven hundred shekels of gold, besides collars and jewels and purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around the camels’ necks.

²⁷ And Gideon made an ephod out of it and put it in Ophrah, his city. And all Israel went a whoring there after it (which was the destruction of Gideon and his House).

²⁸ Thus was Midian brought low before the children of Israel, so that they no longer lifted up their heads. And the country was quiet for forty years during the days of Gideon.

²⁹ Then Jerubbaal, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house.

³⁰ And Gideon had seventy sons begotten from his body; for he had many wives.

³¹ And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

³² So Gideon, the son of Joash, died at a good age, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash, his father, in Ophrah, of the father of the Abiezrites.

³³ But when Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned away and went a whoring after Baal and made Baal-Berith their god.

³⁴ And the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, Who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.

³⁵ Nor did they show mercy on the House of Jerubbaal (Gideon), according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

9 Then Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, went to Shechem, to his mother’s brethren, and communed with them and with all the family and House of his mother’s father, saying,

² “Please say, in the audience of all the men of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you: that all the sons of Jerubbaal (seventy people) reign over you, or that one reigns over you?’ Remember, also, that I am your flesh and bone.”

³ Then his mother’s brethren spoke all these words about him in the audience of all the men of Shechem; and their hearts were moved to follow Abimelech. For they said, “He is our brother.”

⁴ And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the House of Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.

⁵ And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy people upon one stone. Still, Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, remained. For he hid himself.

⁶ And all the men of Shechem gathered together, with all the House of Millo, and came and made Abimelech king on the plain where the stone was erected in Shechem.

⁷ And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and lifted up his voice and cried and said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

⁸ “The trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’

⁹ “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I leave my fatness with which they honor God and man and go to advance above the trees?’

¹⁰ “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come! Be king over us!’

¹¹ “But the fig tree answered them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to advance above the trees?’

¹² “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come! Be king over us!’

¹³ “But the vine said to them, ‘Should I leave my wine, by which I cheer God and man, and go to advance above the trees?’

¹⁴ “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘Come! Reign over us!’

¹⁵ “And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If you will indeed anoint me king over you, come and put your trust under my shadow. And if not, the fire shall come out of the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you are true and incorruptible in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal, and with his House, and have done to him according to what his hands deserve

¹⁷ “(for my father fought for you and risked his life and delivered you out of the hands of Midian)—

¹⁸ “and you have risen up against my father’s House this day, and have killed his children (seventy people) upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother—

¹⁹ “if you, then, have dealt truly and purely with Jerubbaal and with his House this day, then rejoice with Abimelech and let him rejoice with you!

²⁰ “But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and consume the men of Shechem and the House of Millo. Also, let a fire come forth from the men of Shechem, and from the House of Millo, and consume Abimelech.”

²¹ And Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech, his brother.

²² So, Abimelech reigned for three years over Israel.

²³ But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. And the men of Shechem broke their promise to Abimelech,

²⁴ so that the cruelty toward the seventy sons of Jerubbaal and their blood might come and be laid upon Abimelech, their brother who had killed them, and upon the men of Shechem who had aided him to kill his brethren.

²⁵ So the men of Shechem set men in waiting for him, on the tops of the mountains, who robbed all who passed that way by them. And it was told to Abimelech.

²⁶ Then Gaal, the son of Ebed, came with his brethren. And they went to Shechem. And the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.

²⁷ Therefore, they went out into the field and gathered in their grapes and trod them, and made merry, and went into the house of their gods, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

²⁸ Then Gaal, the son of Ebed, said, “Who is Abimelech? And who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal? And is not Zebul his officer? Serve rather the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. For why should we serve him?

²⁹ “Now, I wish this people were under my hand. Then I would put away Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out.”

³⁰ And when Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal, the son of Ebed, his wrath was kindled.

³¹ Therefore, he sent messengers to Abimelech privately, saying, “Behold, Gaal, the son of Ebed, and his brethren, have come to Shechem. And behold, they fortify the city against you.

³² “Now, therefore, arise by night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in wait in the field,

³³ “and rise early in the morning, as soon as the Sun is up, and assault the city. And when he and the people who are with him shall come out against you, do to him what you can.”

³⁴ So Abimelech rose up by night, and all the people who were with him. And they lay in wait against Shechem, in four bands.

³⁵ Then Gaal, the son of Ebed, went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech and the folk who were with him rose up from lying in wait.

³⁶ And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” And Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains seem as men to you.”

³⁷ And Gaal spoke again, and said, “See, people are coming down by the middle of the land, and another band comes by the way of the plain of Meonenim.”

³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Where, now, is your mouth that said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Is not this the people that you have despised? Please go out, now, and fight with them.”

³⁹ And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.

⁴⁰ But Abimelech pursued him; and he fled before him. And many were overthrown and wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.

⁴¹ And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah. And Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.

⁴² And the next day, the people went out into the field, which was told to Abimelech.

⁴³ And he took the people and divided them into three bands, and laid wait in the fields, and watched. And behold, the people had come out of the city. And he rose up against them and struck them.

⁴⁴ And Abimelech, and the bands who were with him, rushed forward and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And the two other bands ran upon all the people who were in the field and killed them.

⁴⁵ And when Abimelech had fought against the city all that day, he took the city and killed the people who were in it, and destroyed the city, and sowed salt in it.

⁴⁶ And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard it, they entered into a stronghold of the house of the god Berith.

⁴⁷ And it was told to Abimelech, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.

⁴⁸ And Abimelech got up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took axes with him and cut down boughs of trees, and took them, and bore them on his shoulder, and said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do likewise!”

⁴⁹ Then, each of all the people also cut down his own bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them against the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire with them. So, all the men of the tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and besieged Thebez, and took it.

⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women had fled there, and all the chiefs of the city, and shut themselves in, and went up to the top of the tower.

⁵² And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and went hard to the door of the tower to set it on fire.

⁵³ But a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head and broke his skull.

⁵⁴ Then Abimelech hastily called his page who bore his harness and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that men do not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ And his page thrust him through, and he died.

⁵⁵ And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each man departed to his own home.

⁵⁶ Thus, God reckoned for the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in slaying his seventy brethren.

⁵⁷ Also, God brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem upon their heads. So, upon them came the curse of Jotham, the son of Jerubbaal.

10 After Abimelech, Tola—the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who dwelt in Shamir on Mount Ephraim—arose to defend Israel.

² And he judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

³ And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty-two years.

⁴ And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth Jair to this day and are in the land of Gilead.

⁵ And Jair died and was buried in Camon.

⁶ And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtoreth and the gods of Aram and the gods of Sidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the children of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.

⁷ Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon,

⁸ who, from that year on, shattered and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years, all the children of Israel who were beyond Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

⁹ Moreover, the children of Ammon went over Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin and against the House of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely tormented.

¹⁰ Then, the children of Israel cried to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have forsaken our own God and have served Baal.

¹¹ And the LORD said to 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?

¹² “The Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites also oppressed you, and you cried to Me; and I saved you out of their hands.

¹³ “Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore, I will no longer deliver you.

¹⁴ “Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your tribulation.”

¹⁵ And the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever pleases You. Only, please deliver us this day!”

¹⁶ Then they put away the strange gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

¹⁷ Then, the children of Ammon gathered themselves together and pitched in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves and pitched in Mizpah.

¹⁸ And the people and princes of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will begin the battle against the children of Ammon, the same shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

11 Then Gilead begat Jephthah. And Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant man, but the son of a harlot.

² And Gilead’s wife bore him sons. And when the woman’s children had come of age, they thrust out Jephthah and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father’s House; for you are the son of another woman.

³ Then Jephthah fled from his brethren and dwelt in the land of Tob. And Jephthah’s worthless friends gathered there and went out with him.

⁴ And in the process of time, the children of Ammon made war with Israel.

⁵ And when the children of Ammon fought with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.

⁶ And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our captain, so that we may fight with the children of Ammon.”

⁷ Jephthah then answered the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s House? How then can you come to me now in the time of your tribulation?”

⁸ Then the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we turn again to you now, so that you may go with us and fight against the children of Ammon and be our Head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹ And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back home to fight against the children of Ammon, if the LORD gives them before me, shall I be your head?”

¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD be Witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”

¹¹ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead; and the people made him head and captain over them. And Jephthah repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

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

¹³ And the king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, from Arnon to Jabbok and to Jordan. Now, therefore, restore those lands quietly.”

¹⁴ Yet, Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the children of Ammon,

¹⁵ and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the children of Ammon.

¹⁶ ‘But after Israel came up from Egypt and walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea, they then came to Kadesh.

¹⁷ ‘And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me go through your land.” But the king of Edom would not consent. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not. Therefore, Israel stayed in Kadesh.

¹⁸ ‘Then they went through the wilderness and surrounded the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the eastern side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of Arnon and did not come within the territory of Moab (for Arnon was the border of Moab).

¹⁹ ‘Israel also sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, “Please let us pass by your land to our place.”

²⁰ ‘But Sihon did not consent to Israel going through his territory. And Sihon gathered all his people together and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel.

²¹ ‘And the LORD God of Israel gave Sihon and all his people into the hands of Israel and they struck them. So, Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

²² ‘And they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from Arnon to Jabbok, and from the wilderness to Jordan.

²³ ‘Therefore, now the LORD God of Israel has cast out the Amorites before his people, Israel. And should you possess it?

²⁴ ‘Would not you possess that which Chemosh, your god, gives you to possess? So, whomever the LORD our God drives out before us, we will possess.

²⁵ ‘And are you now far better than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he not strive with Israel and fight against them

²⁶ ‘when Israel dwelt in Heshbon and in her towns and in Aroer and in her towns and in all the cities that are by the borders of Arnon, for three hundred years? Why, then, did you not recover them in that space?

²⁷ ‘Therefore I have not offended you. But you do me wrong to war against me. The LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.’”

²⁸ However, the king of the children of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah which he had sent.

²⁹ Then, the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah; and he passed over to Gilead and to Manasseh and came to Mizpah in Gilead. And he went to the children of Ammon from Mizpah in Gilead.

³⁰ And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You shall deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,

³¹ “then that thing that comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I come home in peace from the children of Ammon, shall be the LORD’s. And I will offer it for a Burnt Offering.”

³² And so, Jephthah went to the children of Ammon to fight against them. And the LORD delivered them into his hands.

³³ And he struck them from Aroer until one comes to Minnith—twenty cities, to Abel of the vineyards—with an exceedingly great slaughter. Thus, the children of Ammon were humbled before the children of Israel.

³⁴ Now, when Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dances. She was his only child. He had no other son or daughter.

³⁵ And when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me low and are from those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD and cannot go back!”

³⁶ And she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do with me as you have promised, seeing that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the children of Ammon.”

³⁷ Also, she said to her father, “Do this much for me: allow me two months, so that I may go to the mountains and bewail my virginity, me and my friends.”

³⁸ And he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months. So, she went with her companions and lamented her virginity upon the mountains.

³⁹ And after two months, she turned back to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And she had known no man. And it was a custom in Israel.

⁴⁰ And the daughters of Israel went for four days every year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

12 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and went northward, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you go fight against the children of Ammon and not call us to go with you? We will, therefore, burn your house upon you with fire!”

² And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were in a great struggle with the children of Ammon. And when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.

³ “So, when I saw that you did not deliver me, I put my life in my own hands, and went upon the children of Ammon. So, the LORD delivered them into my hands. Why, then, have you come upon me now to fight against me?”

⁴ Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.”

⁵ Also, the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites. And when an Ephraimite who had escaped said, “Let me pass,” then the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”

⁶ then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth’.” And if he said ‘Sibboleth’ (for he could not pronounce it) then they took him and killed him at the passages of Jordan. And forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.

⁷ And Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

⁸ After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel,

⁹ who had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters, whom he sent out. And he took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel for seven years.

¹⁰ Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹ And after him, Elon, a Zebulunite, judged Israel. And he judged Israel for ten years.

¹² Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon, in the country of Zebulun.

¹³ And after him, Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, judged Israel.

¹⁴ And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel for eight years.

¹⁵ Then Abdon, the son of Hillel the Pirathonite, died and was buried in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, on the Mount of the Amalekites.

13 But the children of Israel continued to commit wickedness in the sight of the LORD. And the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

² Then there was a man in Zorah, of the family of the Danites, named Manoah, whose wife was barren and did not bear.

³ And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, “Behold, now you are barren, and do not bear. But you shall conceive and bear a son.

⁴ “And now, therefore, be careful that you drink no wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing.

⁵ “For lo, you shall conceive and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head. For the child shall be a Nazirite to God, from his birth. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the wife came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and the appearance of him was like the appearance of the Angel of God exceedingly fearful. But I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.

⁷ “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And now you shall drink no wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God, from his birth to the day of his death.’”

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “Please, my Lord, let the man of God, whom You sent, now come back to us and teach us what we shall do for the child after he is born.”

⁹ And God heard the voice of Manoah. And the Angel of God came to the wife again, as she sat in the field. But Manoah, her husband, was not with her.

¹⁰ And the wife hurried and ran and told her husband and said to him, “Behold, the man who came to me today has appeared to me!”

¹¹ And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “Yes.”

¹² Then Manoah said, “Now let your saying come to pass at this time. How shall the boy live and what shall be his work?”

¹³ And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “The woman must be careful to do all that I said to her.

¹⁴ “She may eat of nothing that comes from the vine. She shall not drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing. Let her observe all that I have commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah then said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please, let us detain you until we have made a kid ready for you.”

¹⁶ And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you make me stay, I will not eat of your bread. And if you would make a Burnt Offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was an Angel of the LORD.

¹⁷ Again, Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that when your saying comes to pass, we may honor you?”

¹⁸ And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, which is secret?”

¹⁹ Then Manoah took a kid, with a Meat Offering, and offered it upon a stone, to the LORD. And He did wonders, while Manoah and his wife looked on.

²⁰ For when the flame came up toward Heaven from the Altar, the Angel of the LORD ascended up in the flame of the Altar. And Manoah and his wife beheld it and fell on their faces to the ground.

²¹ And the Angel of the LORD no longer appeared to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that it was an Angel of the LORD.

²² And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”

²³ But his wife said to him, “If the LORD wished to kill us, He would not have received a Burnt Offering, and a Meat Offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or told us such things at this time.”

²⁴ And the wife bore a son and called his name, Samson. And the child grew; and the LORD blessed him.

²⁵ And the Spirit of the LORD began to strengthen him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

14 Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.

² And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, “I have seen a woman in Timnah, of the daughters of the Philistines. Now, therefore, give me her as a wife.”

³ Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there never a wife among the daughters of your brethren, and among all my people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Give me her, for she pleases me well.”

⁴ But his father and his mother did not know that it came from the LORD, that he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. For at that time, the Philistines reigned over Israel.

⁵ Then Samson and his father and his mother went down to Timnah and came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion roared upon him.

⁶ And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him. And he tore him as one would have torn a kid. And he had nothing in his hand, nor did he tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷ And he went down and talked with the woman, who was beautiful in the eyes of Samson.

⁸ And within a few days, when he returned to marry her, he went aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, there was a swarm of bees, and honey in the body of the lion.

⁹ And he took it in his hands and began eating and came to his father and to his mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.

¹⁰ So, his father went down to the woman. And Samson made a feast there. For so the young men used to do.

¹¹ And when they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

¹² Then Samson said to them, “I will now put forth a riddle to you. And if you can declare it to me within seven days of the feast, and solve it, I will give you thirty sheets and thirty changes of clothes.

¹³ “But if you cannot declare it me, then you shall give me thirty sheets and thirty changes of clothes.” And they answered him, “Put forth your riddle, so that we may hear it.”

¹⁴ And he said to them, “Out of the eater came food, and out of the strong came sweetness.” And they could not solve the riddle within three days.

¹⁵ And when the seventh day had come, they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband so that he may explain the riddle to us, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to steal from us? Is it not so?”

¹⁶ And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, “Surely you hate me and do not love me! For you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people and have not explained it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or my mother; and shall I tell it to you?”

¹⁷ Then Samson’s wife wept before him for seven days, while their feast lasted. And when the seventh day came, he explained it to her (because she pressed upon him so much). So, she explained the riddle to the children of her people.

¹⁸ And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day, before the Sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” Then he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle.”

¹⁹ And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him. And he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men and plundered them and gave changes of clothing to those who explained the riddle. And his wrath was kindled; and he went up to his father’s house.

²⁰ Then Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

15 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a kid, saying, “I will go in to my wife, into the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in.

² And her father said, “I thought that you had hated her; therefore, I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Please take her instead of the other.’

³ Then Samson said to them, “Now I am blameless regarding the Philistines, if I do them displeasure.”

⁴ And Samson went out and took three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned them tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst, between two tails.

⁵ And when he had set the brands on fire, he sent them out into the standing grain of the Philistines and burnt up both the ricks and the standing grain, with the vineyards and olives.

⁶ Then the Philistines said, “Who has 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.” Then the Philistines came up and burnt her and her father with fire.

⁷ And Samson said to them, “Though you have done this, I will still be avenged of you; and then I will cease.”

⁸ So he struck them, hip and thigh, with a mighty plague. Then he went and dwelt in the top of the rock, Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines came up and camped in Judah and were spread out in Lehi.

¹⁰ And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up to us? And they answered, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”

¹¹ Then, three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock, Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? Why, then, have you done this to us?” And he answered them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”

¹² Again they said to him, “We have come to bind you and to deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not fall upon me yourselves.”