Bible in 90 Days

²⁸ He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has helped us to defeat our enemies, the people of Moab.” So Israel followed Ehud. They took control of the places where the Jordan River could easily be crossed. Israel did not allow the Moabites to come across the Jordan River. ²⁹ Israel killed about 10,000 strong and able men from Moab. Not one Moabite man escaped. ³⁰ So that day Moab was forced to be under the rule of Israel. And there was peace in the land for 80 years.

Shamgar, the Judge

³¹ After Ehud, another man saved Israel. His name was Shamgar son of Anath. Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with a sharp stick used to guide oxen.

Deborah, the Woman Judge

4 After Ehud died, the people of Israel again did what the Lord said was wrong. ² So he let Jabin, a king of Canaan, defeat Israel. Jabin ruled in the city of Hazor. Sisera was the commander of Jabin’s army. Sisera lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ He had 900 iron chariots and was very cruel to the people of Israel for 20 years. So they cried to the Lord for help.

⁴ There was a prophetess named Deborah. She was the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge of Israel at that time. ⁵ Deborah would sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah. This was between the cities of Ramah and Bethel, in the mountains of Ephraim. And the people of Israel would come to her to settle their arguments.

⁶ Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak. He was the son of Abinoam. Barak lived in the city of Kedesh, which is in the area of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will make Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, come to you. Sisera, his chariots and his army will meet you at the Kishon River. I will help you to defeat Sisera there.’”

⁸ Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go if you will go with me. But if you will not go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹ “Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered. “But you will not get credit for the victory. The Lord will let a woman defeat Sisera.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ At Kedesh, Barak called the people of Zebulun and Naphtali together. From them, he gathered 10,000 men to follow him. Deborah went with Barak also.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenite people. (The Kenites were descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law.) Heber had put up his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim. This is near Kedesh.

¹² Then Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. ¹³ So Sisera gathered his 900 iron chariots and all the men with him. They went from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! Today is the day the Lord will help you defeat Sisera. You know the Lord has already cleared the way for you.” So Barak led 10,000 men down from Mount Tabor. ¹⁵ He and his men attacked Sisera and his men. During the battle the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. So Barak and his men used their swords to defeat Sisera’s army. But Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot. ¹⁶ Barak and his men chased Sisera’s chariots and army to Harosheth Haggoyim. They used their swords to kill all of Sisera’s men. Not one of them was left alive.

¹⁷ But Sisera himself ran away. He came to the tent where Jael lived. She was the wife of Heber, one of the Kenite family groups. Heber’s family was at peace with Jabin king of Hazor. ¹⁸ Jael went out to meet Sisera. She said to him, “Come into my tent, master! Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a rug.

¹⁹ Sisera said to Jael, “I am thirsty. Please give me some water to drink.” So she opened a leather bag in which she kept milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him up.

²⁰ Then Sisera said to Jael, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”

²¹ But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and a hammer. She quietly went to Sisera. Since he was very tired, he was sleeping. She hammered the tent peg through the side of Sisera’s head and into the ground! And so Sisera died.

²² Then Barak came by Jael’s tent, chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, “Come. I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered her tent. There Sisera lay dead, with the tent peg in his head.

²³ On that day God defeated Jabin king of Canaan in the sight of Israel.

²⁴ Israel became stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan. Finally, they destroyed him.

The Song of Deborah

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

So there was peace in the land for 40 years.

The Midianites Attack Israel

6 Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So for seven years the Lord let the people of Midian rule Israel. ² The Midianites were very powerful and were cruel to the Israelites. So the Israelites made hiding places in the mountains. They also hid in caves and safe places. ³ Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other peoples from the east would come and attack them. ⁴ These people camped in the land. And they destroyed the crops that the Israelites had planted. They did this as far as the land near Gaza. The people left nothing for Israel to eat. They left them no sheep, cattle or donkeys. ⁵ The Midianites came up and camped in the land. They brought their tents and their animals with them. They were like swarms of locusts! There were so many people and camels they could not be counted. These people came into the land to ruin it. ⁶ Israel became very poor because of the Midianites. So the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

⁷ The Israelites cried out to the Lord for help against the Midianites. ⁸ So the Lord sent a prophet to them. The prophet said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you out of Egypt, the land of slavery. ⁹ I saved you from the people of Egypt. And I saved you from all the people of Canaan. I forced them out of their land. And I gave it to you. ¹⁰ Then I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You will live in the land of the Amorites, but you must not worship their gods.’ But you did not obey me.”

The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon

¹¹ The angel of the Lord came and sat down under an oak tree at Ophrah. The oak tree belonged to Joash, who was one of the Abiezrite people. Joash was the father of Gideon. Gideon was separating some wheat from the chaff in a winepress. Gideon did this to keep the wheat from the Midianites. ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!”

¹³ Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir. If the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? Our ancestors told us he did miracles. They told us the Lord brought them out of Egypt. But now he has left us. He has allowed the Midianites to defeat us.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “You have the strength to save the people of Israel. Go and save them from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.”

¹⁵ But Gideon answered, “Pardon me, Lord. How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh. And I am the least important member of my family.”

¹⁶ The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. It will seem as if you are fighting only one man.”

¹⁷ Then Gideon said to the Lord, “If you are pleased with me, give me proof. Show me that it is really you talking with me. ¹⁸ Please wait here. Do not go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it in front of you.”

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

¹⁹ So Gideon went in and cooked a young goat. He also took about 20 quarts of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket. And he put the broth from the boiled meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth and the bread without yeast. He brought the food to the angel of the Lord. Gideon gave it to him under the oak tree.

²⁰ The angel of God said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the bread without yeast on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on them.” And Gideon did as he was told. ²¹ The angel of the Lord had a stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Then fire jumped up from the rock! The meat and the bread were completely burned up! And the angel of the Lord disappeared! ²² Then Gideon understood he had been talking to the angel of the Lord. So Gideon cried, “Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

²³ But the Lord said to Gideon, “Calm down! Don’t be afraid! You will not die!”

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar there to worship the Lord. Gideon named the altar The Lord Is Peace. It still stands at Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.

Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal

²⁵ That same night the Lord spoke to Gideon. The Lord said, “Take the bull that belongs to your father and a second bull seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal. Cut down the Asherah idol beside it. ²⁶ Then build an altar to the Lord your God. Build it on this high ground. Lay its stones in the right order. Then kill and burn the bull on this altar. Use the wood from the Asherah idol to burn your offering.”

²⁷ So Gideon got ten of his servants. And he did what the Lord had told him to do. But Gideon was afraid that his family and the men of the city might see him. So he did it at night, not in the daytime.

²⁸ The men of the city got up the next morning. They saw that the altar for Baal had been destroyed! And they saw that the Asherah idol beside it had been cut down! They also saw the altar Gideon had built. And they saw the bull that had been sacrificed on it. ²⁹ The men of the city looked at each other and asked, “Who did this?” They asked many questions and looked for the person who had done those things.

Someone told them, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”

³⁰ So they said to Joash, “Bring your son out. He has pulled down the altar of Baal. He has cut down the Asherah idol beside it. So your son must die!”

³¹ But Joash spoke to the angry crowd around him. He said, “Are you going to take Baal’s side? Are you going to defend Baal? Anyone who takes Baal’s side will be killed by morning! If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself. It’s his altar that has been pulled down.” ³² So on that day Gideon got the name Jerub-Baal. The name means “let Baal fight against him.” They named him this because Gideon pulled down Baal’s altar.

Gideon Defeats Midian

³³ All the Midianites, the Amalekites and other peoples from the east joined together. They came across the Jordan River and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ But the Spirit of the Lord entered Gideon! Gideon blew a trumpet to call the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers to all of Manasseh. The people of Manasseh were called to follow Gideon. Gideon also sent messengers to the people of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. They also went up to meet Gideon and his men.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “You said you would help me save Israel. ³⁷ I will put some wool on the threshing floor. Let there be dew only on the wool. But let all of the ground be dry. Then I will know what you said is true. I will know that you will use me to save Israel.” ³⁸ And that is just what happened. Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the wool. He got a full bowl of water from the wool.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me. Let me ask just one more thing. Please let me make one more test. Let the wool be dry while the ground around it gets wet with dew.” ⁴⁰ That night God did that very thing. Just the wool was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.

7 Early in the morning Jerub-Baal and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. (Jerub-Baal is also called Gideon.) The Midianites were camped north of them. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh. ² Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don’t want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves. ³ So now, announce to the people, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead. He may go back home.’” And 22,000 men went back home. But 10,000 remained.

⁴ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take the men down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, ‘This man will go with you,’ he will go. But if I say, ‘That one will not go with you,’ he will not go.”

⁵ So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, “Separate them. Those who drink water by lapping it up like a dog will be in one group. Those who bend down to drink will be in the other group.” ⁶ There were 300 men who used their hands to bring water to their mouths. They lapped it as a dog does. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you, using the 300 men who lapped the water. And I will allow you to defeat Midian. Let all the other men go to their homes.” ⁸ So Gideon sent the rest of Israel to their homes. But he kept 300 men. He took the jars and the trumpets of those who went home.

Now the camp of Midian was in the valley below Gideon. ⁹ That night the Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “Get up. Go down and attack the camp of the Midianites. I will allow you to defeat them. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to go down, take your servant Purah with you. ¹¹ When you come to the camp of Midian, you will hear what they are saying. Then you will not be afraid to attack the camp.”

Gideon Is Encouraged

So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp. ¹² The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the peoples from the east were camped in that valley. There were so many of them they seemed like locusts. They had so many camels no one could count them. There were as many as there are grains of sand on the seashore!

¹³ When Gideon came to the enemy camp, he heard a man talking. That man was telling his friend about a dream. He was saying, “Listen, I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into the camp of Midian. It hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat!”

¹⁴ The man’s friend said, “Your dream is about the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. God will let Gideon defeat Midian and the whole army!”

¹⁵ When Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he worshiped God. Then Gideon went back to the camp of Israel. He called out to them, “Get up! The Lord has defeated the army of Midian for you!” ¹⁶ Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar. A burning torch was inside each jar.

¹⁷ Gideon told the men, “Watch me and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do what I do. ¹⁸ Surround the enemy camp. I and everyone with me will blow our trumpets. When we blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets, too. Then shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

Midian Is Defeated

¹⁹ So Gideon and the 100 men with him came to the edge of the enemy camp. They came just after the enemy had changed guards. It was during the middle watch of the night. Then Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. ²⁰ All three groups of Gideon’s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. Then they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” ²¹ Each of Gideon’s men stayed in his place around the camp. But inside the camp, the men of Midian began shouting and running away.

²² When Gideon’s 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused all the men of Midian to fight each other with their swords! The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah. It is toward Zererah. They ran as far as the border of the city of Abel Meholah. It is near the city of Tabbath. ²³ Then men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher and all of Manasseh were called out to chase the Midianites. ²⁴ Gideon sent messengers through all the mountains of Ephraim. They said, “Come down and attack the Midianites. Take control of the Jordan River as far as Beth Barah. Do this before the Midianites can get to the river and cross it.”

So they called out all the men of Ephraim. They took control of the Jordan River as far as Beth Barah. ²⁵ The men of Ephraim captured two princes of Midian named Oreb and Zeeb. The men of Ephraim killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. They killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. And they continued chasing the Midianites. They cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb and took them to Gideon. He was now east of the Jordan River.

8 The men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight against Midian?” They were very angry at Gideon.

² But he answered them, “I have not done as well as you! The small part you did was better than all that my people of Abiezer did. ³ God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of Midian. How can I compare what I did with what you did?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, they were not as angry anymore.

Gideon Captures Two Kings

⁴ Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River. They were tired, but they chased the enemy across to the other side. ⁵ Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my soldiers some bread. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶ But the leaders of Succoth said, “Why should we give your soldiers bread? You haven’t caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”

⁷ Then Gideon said, “The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. After that, I will whip your skin with thorns and briers from the desert.”

⁸ Gideon left Succoth and went to the city of Peniel. He asked the men there for food. It was just as he had asked the men of Succoth. And the men of Peniel gave him the same answer as the men of Succoth. ⁹ So Gideon said to the men of Peniel, “After I win the victory, I will come back here. And I will pull down this tower.”

¹⁰ Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army had about 15,000 men. They were all who were left of the army of the peoples of the east. Already 120,000 soldiers of that army had been killed.

¹¹ Gideon used the road of those who live in tents. This road is east of Nobah and Jogbehah. Gideon attacked the enemy army when they did not expect it. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, ran away. But Gideon chased and captured them. Gideon and his men defeated the enemy army.

¹³ Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle. He and his men returned by the Pass of Heres. ¹⁴ Gideon captured a young man from Succoth and asked him some questions. The young man wrote down for Gideon the names of 77 men. They were the officers and elders of Succoth.

Gideon Punishes Succoth

¹⁵ Then Gideon came to Succoth. He said to the men of that city, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, ‘Why should we give bread to your tired men? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’” ¹⁶ So Gideon took the elders of the city. He punished them with thorns and briers from the desert. ¹⁷ He also pulled down the tower of Peniel. Then he killed the men in that city.

¹⁸ Gideon spoke to Zebah and Zalmunna. He said, “You killed some men on Mount Tabor. What were those men like?”

Zebah and Zalmunna answered, “They were like you. Each one of them seemed like a prince.”

¹⁹ Gideon said, “Those were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As surely as the Lord lives, I would not kill you if you had spared them.” ²⁰ Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son. Gideon said to him, “Kill them.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid. So he did not take out his sword.

²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on. Kill us yourself. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a man to do a man’s job.’” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. Then he took the decorations off their camels’ necks.

Gideon Makes an Idol

²² The people of Israel said to Gideon, “You saved us from the Midianites. So now, rule over us. We want you, your son and your grandson to rule over us.”

²³ But Gideon told them, “The Lord will be your ruler. I will not rule over you. And my son will not rule over you.” ²⁴ He said, “I want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold earring from the things you took in the fighting.” (The Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. And some Ishmaelites had been defeated in the battle.)

²⁵ So the people of Israel said to Gideon, “We will gladly give you what you want.” So they put a coat down on the ground. Each man threw an earring onto the coat. ²⁶ The gold earrings weighed about 43 pounds. This did not count the weight of the other gifts the people gave to Gideon. They gave him decorations, necklaces and purple robes. These were things that the kings of Midian had worn. The people also gave him chains from the camels of the kings of Midian. ²⁷ Gideon used the gold to make an idol. He put the idol in his hometown of Ophrah. All the people of Israel were unfaithful to God and worshiped the idol. It became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.

The Death of Gideon

²⁸ So Midian was forced to be under the rule of Israel. Midian did not cause trouble anymore. And the land had peace for 40 years, as long as Gideon was alive.

²⁹ Gideon son of Joash went to his home to live. ³⁰ He had 70 sons of his own. He had many sons because he had many wives. ³¹ Gideon had a slave woman who lived in Shechem. He also had a son by her. He named that son Abimelech. ³² So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of Joash, his father. That tomb is in Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.

³³ As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel were again unfaithful to God. They followed the Baal gods. They made Baal-of-the-Agreement their god. ³⁴ The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God. He had saved them from all their enemies who were living all around them. ³⁵ And Jerub-Baal, also called Gideon, had done many good things for Israel. But Israel was not kind to the family of Gideon for these things.

Abimelech Becomes King

9 Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal, also called Gideon, went to his uncles. They lived in the city of Shechem. He said to his uncles and all of his mother’s family group, ² “Ask the leaders of Shechem this question: ‘Is it better for you to be ruled by the 70 sons of Jerub-Baal or to be ruled by only 1 man?’ Remember, I am your relative.”

³ Abimelech’s uncles spoke to all the leaders of Shechem. They asked them that question. All the leaders decided to follow Abimelech. They said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech about one and three-fourths pounds of silver. The silver was from the temple of the god Baal-of-the-Agreement. Abimelech used the silver to hire some worthless, reckless men. They followed Abimelech wherever he went. ⁵ Abimelech went to Ophrah, the hometown of his father. There Abimelech murdered his 70 brothers. They were the sons of Abimelech’s father, Gideon. He killed them all on one stone. But Gideon’s youngest son, Jotham, hid from Abimelech and escaped. ⁶ Then all of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo came together. They gathered beside the great tree at the stone pillar in Shechem. There they made Abimelech their king.

Jotham’s Story

⁷ When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. Jotham shouted to the people: “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem. Then God may listen to you! ⁸ One day the trees decided to appoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree, ‘You be king over us!’

⁹ “But the olive tree said, ‘Men and gods are honored by my oil. Should I stop making it just to go and sway over the other trees?’

¹⁰ “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king!’

¹¹ “But the fig tree answered, ‘Should I stop making my sweet and good fruit? Should I stop just to go and sway over the other trees?’

¹² “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king!’

¹³ “But the vine answered, ‘My wine makes men and gods happy. Should I stop making it just to go and sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹⁵ “But the thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to appoint me king over you, come and find shelter in my shade! But if you do not want to do this, let fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn up the cedars of Lebanon!’

¹⁶ “Now, were you completely honest and sincere when you made Abimelech king? Have you been fair to Gideon and his family? Have you treated Gideon as you should? ¹⁷ Remember, my father fought for you. He risked his life to save you from the power of the Midianites. ¹⁸ But now you have turned against my father’s family. You have killed my father’s 70 sons on one stone. You have made Abimelech king over the people of Shechem. He is the son of my father’s slave girl! You have made Abimelech king just because he is your relative. ¹⁹ So then, if you have been honest and sincere to Gideon and his family today, be happy with Abimelech as your king. And may he be happy with you! ²⁰ But if you have not acted right, may fire come out of Abimelech! May that fire completely burn you leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! Also may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and burn up Abimelech!”

²¹ Then Jotham ran away. He escaped to the city of Beer. He lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

Abimelech Fights Against Shechem

²² Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. ²³ Then God sent an evil spirit to make trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. So the leaders of Shechem turned against him. ²⁴ Abimelech had killed Gideon’s 70 sons. They were Abimelech’s own brothers. And the leaders of Shechem had helped him kill them. So God sent the evil spirit to punish them. ²⁵ The leaders of Shechem were against Abimelech then. They put men on the hilltops. These men attacked and robbed everyone who went by. Abimelech was told about these attacks.

²⁶ A man named Gaal and his brothers moved into Shechem. He was the son of Ebed. The leaders of Shechem decided to trust and follow Gaal. ²⁷ The people of Shechem went out to the vineyards to pick grapes. They walked on the grapes to make wine. Then they had a feast in the temple of their god. The people ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸ Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “We are the men of Shechem. Why should we obey Abimelech? Who does he think he is? Isn’t Abimelech one of Gideon’s sons? Didn’t Abimelech make Zebul his officer? We should not obey Abimelech! We should obey the men of Hamor, Shechem’s father. Why should we obey Abimelech? ²⁹ If you made me commander of these people, I would get rid of Abimelech! I would say to him, ‘Get your army ready and come out to battle!’”

³⁰ Now Zebul was the ruler of Shechem. He heard what Gaal son of Ebed said. And Zebul became very angry. ³¹ He sent messengers to Abimelech in the city of Arumah. The message said, “Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal’s brothers have come to Shechem. Gaal is turning the city against you! ³² So now you and your men should get up in the night. Then go lie in the fields outside the city. ³³ When the sun comes up in the morning, attack the city. Gaal and his men will come out to fight you. Then do what you can to them.”

³⁴ So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night. They went near Shechem and separated into four groups. There they hid. ³⁵ Gaal son of Ebed went out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate. As he was standing there, Abimelech and his soldiers came out of their hiding places.

³⁶ When Gaal saw the soldiers, he said to Zebul, “Look! There are people coming down from the mountains!”

But Zebul said, “You are seeing the shadows of the mountains. The shadows just look like people.”

³⁷ But again Gaal said, “Look, there are people coming down from the center of the land. And there is a group coming from the fortune-tellers’ tree!”

³⁸ Zebul said to Gaal, “Where is your bragging now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech? Why should we obey him?’ You made fun of these men. Now go out and fight them.”

³⁹ So Gaal led the men of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. ⁴⁰ Abimelech and his men chased them. Many of Gaal’s men were killed before they could get back to the city gate. ⁴¹ Then Abimelech stayed at Arumah. Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers to leave Shechem.

⁴² The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields. Abimelech was told about it. ⁴³ So he separated his men into three groups. And he hid them in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he jumped up and attacked them. ⁴⁴ Abimelech and his group ran to the entrance gate to the city. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and killed them. ⁴⁵ Abimelech and his men fought the city of Shechem all day. They captured it and killed its people. Then Abimelech tore down the city. And he threw salt^[a] over the ruins so nothing would ever grow there.

The Tower of Shechem

⁴⁶ The people who lived at the nearby Tower of Shechem heard what had happened to Shechem. So the leaders gathered in the safest room of the temple of the god Baal-of-the-Agreement. ⁴⁷ Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem had gathered there. ⁴⁸ So he and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon, near Shechem. Abimelech took an ax and cut some branches. Then he put them on his shoulders. He said to all his men with him, “Hurry! Do what I have done!” ⁴⁹ So all those men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled the branches against the safest room of the temple. Then they set them on fire and burned the people in the room. So all the people who lived at the Tower of Shechem also died. There were about 1,000 men and women.

Abimelech’s Death

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to the city of Thebez. He surrounded the city, attacked it and captured it. ⁵¹ But inside the city was a strong tower. All the men and women of that city ran to the tower. When they got inside, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² Abimelech came to the tower and attacked it. He went up to the door of the tower to set it on fire. ⁵³ As Abimelech came near, a woman dropped a large stone for grinding grain on his head. The stone crushed Abimelech’s skull.

⁵⁴ He quickly called to the officer who carried his armor. He said, “Take out your sword and kill me. I don’t want people to say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’” So the officer stabbed Abimelech, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the people of Israel saw Abimelech was dead, they all returned home.

⁵⁶ In that way God punished Abimelech for all the evil he had done. Abimelech had sinned against his own father by killing his 70 brothers. ⁵⁷ God also punished the men of Shechem for the evil they had done. So the curse Jotham had spoken came true. (Jotham was the youngest son of Gideon.)

Tola, the Judge

10 After Abimelech died, another judge came to save the people of Israel. He was Tola son of Puah. (Puah was the son of Dodo.) Tola was from the people of Issachar. He lived in the city of Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. ² Tola was a judge for Israel for 23 years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

Jair, the Judge

³ After Tola died, Jair became judge. He lived in the region of Gilead. He was a judge for Israel for 22 years. ⁴ Jair had 30 sons, who rode 30 donkeys. These 30 sons controlled 30 towns in Gilead. These towns are called the Towns of Jair to this day. ⁵ Jair died and was buried in the city of Kamon.

The Ammonites Trouble Israel

⁶ Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They worshiped the Baal and Ashtoreth idols. They also worshiped the gods of the peoples of Aram, Sidon, Moab and Ammon. And they worshiped the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites left the Lord and stopped serving him. ⁷ So the Lord became angry with them. He allowed the Philistines and the Ammonites to defeat them. ⁸ In the same year those people destroyed the Israelites who lived east of the Jordan River. This is in the region of Gilead, where the Amorites lived. The Israelites suffered for 18 years. ⁹ The Ammonites then crossed the Jordan River to fight the people of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. The Ammonites caused much trouble to the people of Israel. ¹⁰ So the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you. We left our God and worshiped the Baal idols.”

¹¹ The Lord answered the Israelites, “You cried to me when the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites and the Philistines hurt you. I saved you from these people. ¹² You cried to me when the Sidonians, Amalekites and Maonites hurt you. I also saved you from those people. ¹³ But you have left me. You have worshiped other gods. So I refuse to save you again! ¹⁴ You have chosen those gods. So go call to them for help. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

¹⁵ But the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do to us whatever you want, but please save us today!” ¹⁶ Then the Israelites threw away the foreign gods among them. And they worshiped the Lord again. So he felt sorry for them when he saw their suffering.

¹⁷ The Ammonite people gathered for war and camped in Gilead. The Israelites gathered and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ The leaders of the people of Gilead said, “Who will lead us to attack the people of Ammon? He will become the head of all those who live in Gilead.”

Jephthah Is Chosen as Leader

11 Jephthah was from the people of Gilead. He was a strong soldier. His father was named Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute. ² Gilead’s wife had several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave his home. They said to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property. You are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah ran away from his brothers. He lived in the land of Tob. There some worthless men began to follow Jephthah.

⁴ After a time the Ammonite people fought against Israel. ⁵ The Ammonites made war against Israel. At that time the elders of Gilead came to Jephthah. They wanted him to come back to Gilead. ⁶ They said to him, “Come and lead our army so we can fight the Ammonites.”

⁷ But Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me? You forced me to leave my father’s house! Why are you coming to me now that you are in trouble?”

⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason we come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites! You will be the ruler over everyone who lives in Gilead.”

⁹ Then Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to Gilead to fight the Ammonites. If the Lord helps me win, I will be your ruler.”

¹⁰ The elders of Gilead said to him, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. We promise to do all that you tell us to do.” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander of their army. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at Mizpah.

Jephthah Sends Messengers to the Ammonite King

¹² Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites. The messengers asked the king, “What have you got against Israel? Why have you come to attack our land?”

¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah. He said, “We are fighting Israel because you took our land when you came up from Egypt. You took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now tell the people of Israel to give our land back to us in peace.”

¹⁴ Jephthah sent the messengers to the Ammonite king again. ¹⁵ They took this message:

“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of the people of Moab or Ammon. ¹⁶ When the people of Israel came out of Egypt, they went into the desert. They went to the Gulf of Aqaba and then to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom. They asked, ‘Let the people of Israel go across your land.’ But the king of Edom didn’t let us. We sent the same message to the king of Moab. But he would not let us go across his land either. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.

¹⁸ “Then the Israelites went into the desert. They went around the borders of the lands of Edom and Moab. Israel walked east of the land of Moab. They camped on the other side of the Arnon River. It was the border of the land of Moab. They did not cross it to go into the land of Moab.

¹⁹ “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites. Sihon was the king of the city of Heshbon. The messengers asked Sihon, ‘Let the people of Israel pass through your land. We want to go to our land.’ ²⁰ But Sihon would not let the Israelites cross his land. He gathered all of his people and camped at Jahaz. Then the Amorites fought with Israel.

²¹ “But the Lord, the God of Israel, helped the Israelites to defeat Sihon and his army. All the land of the Amorites became the property of Israel. ²² So Israel took all the land of the Amorites. It went from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. It also went from the desert to the Jordan River.

²³ “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced out the Amorites ahead of the people of Israel. So do you think you can make the people of Israel leave this land? ²⁴ Surely you can live in the land which your god Chemosh has given you. So we will live in the land the Lord our God has given us!

²⁵ “Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab. Did he ever quarrel or fight with the people of Israel? ²⁶ For 300 years the Israelites have lived in Heshbon and Aroer and the towns around them. They have lived for 300 years in all the cities along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken these cities back in all that time? ²⁷ I have not sinned against you. But you are sinning against me by making war on me! May the Lord, the Judge, decide whether the Israelites or Ammonites are right.”

²⁸ But the king of the Ammonites ignored this message from Jephthah.

Jephthah’s Promise

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jephthah. Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He came to the city of Mizpah in Gilead. From there, Jephthah passed through to the land of the Ammonites. ³⁰ Jephthah made a promise to the Lord. He said, “If you will let me defeat the Ammonites, ³¹ I will give you a burnt offering. I will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of my house to meet me when I return from the victory. It will be the Lord’s.”

³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites. The Lord helped him defeat them. ³³ Jephthah defeated them from the city of Aroer to the area of Minnith. He defeated them as far as the city of Abel Keramim. He defeated 20 cities in this area. The defeat was great. So the Ammonites were defeated by the Israelites.

³⁴ When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child. Jephthah did not have any other sons or daughters. ³⁵ When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He said, “My daughter! You have made me so sad! This is because I have made a promise to the Lord, and I cannot break it!”

³⁶ Then his daughter said, “Father, you made a promise to the Lord. So do to me just what you promised. The Lord helped you defeat your enemies, the Ammonites.” ³⁷ Then she said, “But let me do one thing. Let me be alone for two months to go to the mountains. I will never marry. So let me and my friends go and cry together.”

³⁸ Jephthah said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months. She and her friends stayed in the mountains. There they cried for her because she would never marry. ³⁹ After two months she returned to her father. Jephthah did to her what he promised to the Lord. Now Jephthah’s daughter had never had a husband.

So this became a custom in Israel. ⁴⁰ Every year the women of Israel would go out for four days. They did this to remember the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead.

Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The men of Ephraim called all their soldiers together. Then they crossed the river to the town of Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why didn’t you call us to help you fight the Ammonites? We will burn your house down with you in it!”

² Jephthah answered them, “My people and I fought a great battle against the Ammonites. I called you, but you didn’t come to help me. ³ I saw that you would not help me. So I risked my own life! I went over to fight against the Ammonites. The Lord helped me to defeat them. Now why have you come to fight against me today?”

⁴ Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought the men of Ephraim. The men of Gilead attacked them because the Ephraimites had insulted them. They had said, “You men of Gilead are nothing but deserters from Ephraim and Manasseh.” ⁵ The men of Gilead captured the crossing places of the Jordan River. Those places led to the country of Ephraim. A man from Ephraim trying to escape would say, “Let me cross the river.” Then the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he said, “No,” ⁶ they would say to him, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth.’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. They pronounced it “Sibboleth.” If the man from Ephraim said, “Sibboleth,” the men of Gilead would kill him at the crossing place. So 42,000 men from Ephraim were killed at that time.

⁷ Jephthah was a judge for the people of Israel for six years. Then Jephthah, the man from Gilead, died. He was buried in a town in Gilead.

Ibzan, the Judge

⁸ After Jephthah died, Ibzan was a judge for Israel. He was from Bethlehem. ⁹ He had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He let his daughters marry men who were not in his family group. And he brought 30 women who were not in his tribe to be wives for his sons. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years. ¹⁰ Then he died and was buried in Bethlehem.

Elon, the Judge

¹¹ After Ibzan died, Elon was a judge for Israel. He was from the tribe of Zebulun. He judged Israel for ten years. ¹² Then Elon, the man of Zebulun, died. He was buried in the city of Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

Abdon, the Judge

¹³ After Elon died, Abdon was a judge for Israel. He was the son of Hillel. Abdon was from the city of Pirathon. ¹⁴ He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, who rode on 70 donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel died. He was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim. This is in the mountains where the Amalekites lived.

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So he let the Philistines rule over them for 40 years.

² There was a man named Manoah from the city of Zorah. Manoah was from the tribe of Dan. He had a wife, but she could not have children. ³ The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife. He said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son! ⁴ Don’t drink wine or beer. Don’t eat anything that is unclean. ⁵ You will become pregnant and have a son. You must never cut his hair because he will be a Nazirite. He will be given to God from birth. He will begin the work of saving Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then Manoah’s wife went to him and told him what had happened. She said, “A man from God came to me. He looked like an angel from God. His appearance was frightening. I didn’t ask him where he was from. And he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will be pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink wine or beer. Don’t eat anything that is unclean. The reason is that the boy will be a Nazirite to God. He will be that from his birth until the day of his death.’”

⁸ Then Manoah said a prayer to the Lord: “Lord, I beg you to let the man of God come to us again. Let him teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us.”

⁹ God heard Manoah’s prayer. The angel of God came to Manoah’s wife again. This was while she was sitting in a field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ So she ran to tell him, “He is here! The man who appeared to me the other day is here!”

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

The man said, “I am.”

¹² So Manoah asked, “When what you say happens, what kind of life should the boy live? What should he do?”

¹³ The angel of the Lord said, “Your wife must do everything I told her to do. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink any wine or beer. She must not eat anything that is unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her to do.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay awhile. We want to cook a young goat for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord answered, “Even if I stay awhile, I would not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? We want to know. Then we may honor you when what you have said really happens.”

¹⁸ The angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful for you to understand.” ¹⁹ Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He also offered some grain as a gift to the Lord. The Lord did an amazing thing. Manoah and his wife watched what happened. ²⁰ The flames went up to the sky from the altar. As the fire burned, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire! When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground. ²¹ The angel of the Lord did not appear to them again. Then Manoah understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord. ²² Manoah said, “We have seen God! Surely we will die because of this!”

²³ But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If he wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering or grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things. And he would not have told us all this.”

²⁴ So the woman gave birth to a boy. She named him Samson. Samson grew, and the Lord blessed him. ²⁵ The Spirit of the Lord began to work in Samson. This was while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan. It is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson went down to the city of Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman. ² When he returned home, he said to his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to get her for me. I want to marry her.”

³ His father and mother answered, “Surely there is a woman from Israel you can marry. Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines? The Philistines are not even circumcised.”

But Samson said, “Get that woman for me! She is the one I want!” ⁴ (Samson’s parents did not know that the Lord wanted this to happen. He was looking for a way to start a fight with the Philistines. They were ruling over Israel at this time.) ⁵ Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. They went as far as the vineyard near there. Suddenly, a young lion came roaring toward Samson! ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson with great power. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands. For him it was as easy as tearing apart a young goat. But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷ Then he went down to the city. There he talked to the Philistine woman, and he liked her.

⁸ Several days later Samson went back to marry her. On his way he went over to look at the body of the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in it. They had made some honey. ⁹ Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating it. When he came to his parents, he gave some to them. They ate it, too. But Samson did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion.

¹⁰ Samson’s father went down to see the Philistine woman. The custom was for the bridegroom to give a feast. So Samson gave a feast. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they sent 30 men to be with him.

Samson’s Riddle

¹² Then Samson said to the 30 men, “Let me tell you a riddle. This feast will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can, I will give you 30 linen shirts. I will also give you 30 changes of clothes. ¹³ But if you can’t tell me the answer, you must pay me. You must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.”

So they said, “Tell us your riddle. We want to hear it.”

¹⁴ Samson said,

The 30 men tried for three days to figure it out. But they could not find the answer.

¹⁵ On the fourth^[b] day, they came to Samson’s wife. They said, “Did you invite us here to make us poor? Trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle. If you don’t, we will burn you and everyone in your father’s house!”

¹⁶ So Samson’s wife went to him and began crying. She said, “You hate me! You don’t really love me! You told my people a riddle, but you won’t tell me the answer.”

Samson said, “I haven’t even told my father or mother. Why should I tell you?”

¹⁷ Samson’s wife cried for the rest of the seven days of the feast. So he finally gave her the answer on the seventh day. He told her because she kept bothering him. Then she told her people the answer to the riddle.

¹⁸ Before sunset on the seventh day of the feast, the Philistine men had the answer. They came to Samson and said,

Then Samson said to them,

¹⁹ The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson and gave him great power. Samson went down to the city of Ashkelon. He killed 30 of their men and took all their clothes and property. He gave those clothes to the men who had answered his riddle. Then he went to his father’s house very angry. ²⁰ And Samson’s wife was given to his best man at the wedding.

Samson Troubles the Philistines

15 At the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let Samson go in.

² He said to Samson, “I thought you really hated your wife. So I gave her to the best man from the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her.”

³ But Samson said to him, “Now I have a good reason to hurt you Philistines. No one will blame me!” ⁴ So Samson went out and caught 300 foxes. He took 2 foxes at a time and tied their tails together. Then he tied a torch to the tails of each pair of foxes. ⁵ Samson lit the torches. Then he let the foxes loose in the grainfields of the Philistines. In this way he burned up their standing grain and the piles of grain. He also burned up their vineyards and their olive trees.

⁶ The Philistines asked, “Who did this?”

Someone told them, “Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, did. He did this because his father-in-law gave his wife to his best man.”

So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death. ⁷ Then Samson said to the Philistines, “Since you did this, I will hurt you, too! I won’t stop until I pay you back!” ⁸ Samson attacked the Philistines and killed many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave. It was in the rock of Etam.

⁹ Then the Philistines went up and camped in the land of Judah. They stopped near a place named Lehi. ¹⁰ The men of Judah asked them, “Why have you come here to fight us?”

They answered, “We have come to make Samson our prisoner. We want to pay him back for what he did to our people.”

¹¹ Then 3,000 men of Judah went to the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”

Samson answered, “I only paid them back for what they did to me!”

¹² Then they said to him, “We have come to tie you up. We will give you to the Philistines.”

Samson said to them, “Promise me you will not hurt me yourselves.”