Bible in 90 Days

²⁸ He said to the Israelites, “Follow me! The Lord has helped us defeat our enemies, the Moabites.”

So the Israelites followed Ehud. They went down with him to take control of the places where people could easily cross the Jordan River into the land of Moab. The Israelites did not allow any one to go across the Jordan River. ²⁹ They killed about 10,000 strong and brave men from Moab. Not one Moabite man escaped. ³⁰ So on that day the Israelites began to rule over the Moabites, and there was peace in the land for 80 years.

Shamgar, the Judge

³¹ After Ehud saved the Israelites, another man saved Israel. That man’s name was Shamgar son of Anath.^[a] Shamgar used an ox goad to kill 600 Philistine men.

Deborah, the Judge

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

⁴ There was a woman prophet named Deborah. She was the wife of a man named Lappidoth. She was judge of Israel at that time. ⁵ One day Deborah was sitting under the Palm Tree of Deborah, and the Israelites came up to her to ask what to do about Sisera. (The Palm Tree of Deborah is between the cities of Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim.) ⁶ Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak and asked him to come meet with her. Barak was the son of a man named 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 from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will make Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, come to you. I will make Sisera, his chariots, and his army come to the Kishon River.^[b] I will help you defeat Sisera there.’”

⁸ Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go and do this if you will go with me. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

⁹ “Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered. “But because of your attitude, you will not be honored when Sisera is defeated. The Lord will allow a woman to defeat Sisera.”

So Deborah went with Barak to the city of Kedesh. ¹⁰ At the city of Kedesh, Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali together. He gathered 10,000 men to follow him from these tribes, and Deborah also went with him.

¹¹ There was a man named Heber who was from the Kenites. The Kenites were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,^[c] Hobab. Heber had left the other Kenites and had made his home by the oak tree in Zaanannim, near the city of Kedesh.

¹² Someone told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam was at Mount Tabor. ¹³ So Sisera gathered his 900 iron chariots and all the men with him, and they marched from the city of Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Today the Lord will help you defeat Sisera. Surely you know that the Lord has already cleared the way for you.” So Barak led the 10,000 men down from Mount Tabor. ¹⁵ Barak and his men attacked Sisera. During the battle, the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. They did not know what to do. Barak and his men defeated Sisera’s army, but Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot. ¹⁶ Barak continued fighting Sisera’s army. He and his men chased Sisera’s chariots and army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. They used their swords to kill all of Sisera’s men. Not one of Sisera’s men was left alive.

¹⁷ But Sisera ran away to the tent where a woman named Jael lived. Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. His family was at peace with King Jabin of Hazor. That is why Sisera ran to Jael’s tent. ¹⁸ Jael saw him coming, so she went out to meet him and said, “Sir, come into my tent. Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ But first, Sisera asked Jael for a drink of water. Jael had some milk in a bottle made from animal skin. So she gave him a drink of the milk and then covered him up.

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

²¹ But Jael found a tent peg and a hammer. She quietly went to Sisera. Sisera was very tired, so he was sleeping. She put the tent peg to the side of Sisera’s head and hit it with a hammer. The tent peg went through the side of his head and into the ground. Sisera died.

²² Just then Barak came by Jael’s tent, looking for Sisera. Jael went out to meet Barak and said, “Come in here, and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered the tent with Jael. There Barak found Sisera lying dead on the ground, with the tent peg through the side of his head.

²³ On that day God defeated King Jabin of Canaan for the Israelites. ²⁴ So the Israelites became stronger and stronger until they defeated King Jabin of Canaan. The Israelites finally destroyed him.

The Song of Deborah

5 ^[d] On the day that the Israelites defeated Sisera, Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

And there was peace in the land for 40 years.

The Midianites Fight Israel

6 Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. So for seven years the Lord allowed the Midianites to defeat the Israelites.

² The Midianites were very powerful and were cruel to the Israelites. So the Israelites made many hiding places in the mountains. They hid their food in caves and places that were hard to find. ³ They did that because the Midianites and Amalekites from the east always came and destroyed their crops. ⁴ They camped in the land and destroyed the crops that the Israelites had planted. They ruined the crops of the Israelites as far as the land near the city of Gaza. They did not leave anything for the Israelites to eat. They did not even leave them any sheep, cattle, or donkeys. ⁵ The Midianites came with their families, animals, and tents. They were like a swarm of locusts! They and their camels were too many to count. They came into the land and ruined it. ⁶ The Israelites became very poor because of the Midianites. So the Israelites cried to the Lord for help.

^7 [p] The Midianites did all these bad things, so the Israelites cried to the Lord for help. ⁸ The Lord sent a prophet to them. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You were slaves in the land of Egypt. I made you free and brought you out of that land. ⁹ I saved you from the powerful Egyptians. Then the Canaanites hurt you, so I saved you again. I made them leave their land. And I gave their land 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 false gods.’ But you did not obey me.”

The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon

^11-12 One time the angel of the Lord came to a place called Ophrah and sat under an oak tree. This oak tree belonged to a man named Joash from the Abiezer family. His son Gideon was beating some wheat^[q] in a winepress. He was hiding so that the Midianites could not see the wheat. The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord be with you, brave soldier.”

¹³ Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir, but if the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? We heard that he did wonderful things for our ancestors. They tell us that the Lord took them out of Egypt. But now it seems the Lord has left us and is letting the Midianites defeat us.”

¹⁴ The Lord turned toward Gideon and said, “Then use your great power and go save the Israelites from the Midianites. I am sending you to save them.”

¹⁵ But Gideon answered and said, “Pardon me, sir.^[r] How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the youngest one in my family.”

¹⁶ The Lord answered Gideon and said, “I will be with you, so you can defeat the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.”

¹⁷ Then Gideon said to him, “If you would, please give me some proof that you really are the Lord. ¹⁸ Please wait here. Don’t go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it down 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 in boiling water. He also took about 20 pounds^[s] of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket and the broth from the meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth, and the bread without yeast and gave them to the Lord under the oak tree.

²⁰ The angel of God said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the bread on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on it.” Gideon did as he was told.

²¹ The angel of the Lord had a walking stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick, and fire jumped up out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel of the Lord disappeared.

²² Then Gideon realized that he had been talking to the angel of the Lord. So he shouted, “Oh, Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

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

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar there to worship the Lord and named it “The Lord is Peace.” It still stands in the city of Ophrah, where the Abiezer family lives.

Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal

²⁵ That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Choose your father’s best bull, the one that is seven years old.^[v] First, use it to pull down the altar your father built to worship Baal. Also, cut down the Asherah pole beside the altar. ²⁶ Then build the right kind of altar for the Lord your God. Build it on this high ground. Then kill and burn the bull on this altar. Use the wood from the Asherah pole to burn your offering.”

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

²⁸ The men of the city got up the next morning and saw that the altar for Baal had been destroyed! They also saw that the Asherah pole had been cut down. It had been sitting next to the altar for Baal. They also saw the altar that Gideon had built. And they saw the bull that had been sacrificed on that altar.

²⁹ The men of the city looked at each other and asked, “Who pulled down our altar? Who cut down our Asherah pole? Who sacrificed this bull on this new altar?” They asked many questions and tried to learn who did this.

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

³⁰ So the men of the city came to Joash and said, “You must bring your son out. He pulled down the altar for Baal, and he cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it. So your son must die.”

³¹ Then Joash spoke to the crowd that was standing around him. Joash said, “Are you going to take Baal’s side? Are you going to rescue Baal? If anyone takes Baal’s side, let him be put to death by morning. If Baal really is a god, let him defend himself when someone pulls down his altar.” ³² Joash said, “If Gideon pulled Baal’s altar down, let Baal argue with him.” On that day Joash gave Gideon a new name. He called him Jerub-Baal.^[w]

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

³³ The Midianites, Amalekites, and other people from the east joined together to fight against the Israelites. They went across the Jordan River and camped in the Jezreel Valley. ³⁴ The Spirit of the Lord filled Gideon. So Gideon blew a trumpet to call the family of Abiezer to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers to all the people of the tribe of Manasseh and told them to get their weapons and prepare for battle. Gideon also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. The messengers took the same message to them. So they also went up to meet Gideon and his men.

³⁶ Then Gideon said to God, “You said that you would help me save the Israelites. Give me proof. ³⁷ I will put a sheepskin on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the sheepskin, while all the ground is dry, I will know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said.”

³⁸ And that is exactly what happened. Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the sheepskin. He was able to drain a bowl full of water from it.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me. Let me ask just one more thing. Let me test you one more time with the sheepskin. This time let the sheepskin be dry, while the ground around it gets wet with dew.”

⁴⁰ That night God did that very thing. Just the sheepskin was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.

7 Early in the morning Jerub-Baal (Gideon) and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh, north of Gideon and his men.

² Then the Lord said to Gideon, “I am going to help your men defeat the Midianites, but you have too many men. I don’t want the Israelites to forget me and brag that they saved themselves. ³ So make an announcement to your men. Tell them, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead and go back home.’”

At that time 22,000 men left Gideon and went back home, but 10,000 still 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,’ then he will not go.”

⁵ So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, “Separate the men like this: Those who drink the water by using their tongue to lap it up like a dog will be in one group. And 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 mouth and lapped it like a dog does. All the other people bent down and drank the water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “I will use the 300 men who lapped the water like a dog. I will use them to save you, and I will allow you to defeat the Midianites. Let the other men go home.”

⁸ So Gideon sent the other men of Israel home. He kept the 300 men with him. Those 300 men kept the supplies and the trumpets of the other men who went home.

The Midianites were camped in the valley below Gideon’s camp. ⁹ During the night the Lord spoke to Gideon and said, “Get up. I will let you defeat the Midianite army. Go down to their camp. ¹⁰ If you are afraid to go alone, take your servant Purah with you. Go into the camp of the Midianites. ¹¹ Listen to what they are saying. After that you will not be afraid to attack them.”

So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp. ¹² The Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the other people from the east were camped in that valley. There were so many people that they seemed like a swarm of locusts. It seemed like they had as many camels as there are grains of sand on the seashore.

¹³ Gideon came to the enemy camp, and he heard a man talking. That man was telling his friend about a dream that he had. He was saying, “I dreamed that a round loaf of bread came rolling into the camp of the Midianites. That loaf of bread hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat.”

¹⁴ The man’s friend knew the meaning of the dream. He said, “Your dream can only have one meaning. Your dream is about that man from Israel. It is about Gideon son of Joash. It means that God will let Gideon defeat the whole army of Midian.”

¹⁵ After he heard the men talking about the dream and what it meant, Gideon bowed down to God. Then Gideon went back to the camp of the Israelites and called out to the people, “Get up! The Lord will help us defeat the Midianites.” ¹⁶ Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar with a burning torch inside it. ¹⁷ Then Gideon told the men, “Watch me and do what I do. Follow me to the edge of the enemy camp. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do. ¹⁸ You men surround the enemy camp. I and all the men with me will blow our trumpets. When we blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets too. Then shout these words: ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

¹⁹ So Gideon and the 100 men with him went to the edge of the enemy camp. They came there just after the enemy changed guards. It was during the middle watch of the night. Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. ²⁰ Then all three groups of Gideon’s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. The men held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. As they blew their trumpets, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and a sword for Gideon!”

²¹ Gideon’s men stayed where they were. 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 the men of Midian to kill each other with their swords. The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah, which is toward the city of Zererah. They ran as far as the border of the city of Abel Meholah, which is near the city of Tabbath.

²³ Then soldiers from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh were told to chase the Midianites. ²⁴ Gideon sent messengers through all the hill country of Ephraim. The messengers said, “Come down and attack the Midianites. Take control of the river as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan River. Do this before the Midianites get there.”

So they called all men from the tribe of Ephraim. They took control of the river as far as Beth Barah. ²⁵ The men of Ephraim caught two of the Midianite leaders named Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at a place named the Rock of Oreb and Zeeb at a place named the Winepress of Zeeb. They continued chasing the Midianites, but first they cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb and took the heads to Gideon. Gideon was at the place where people cross the Jordan River.

8 The men of Ephraim were angry with Gideon. When they found him, they asked, “Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight against the Midianites?”

² But Gideon answered the men of Ephraim, “I have not done as well as you. You people of Ephraim have a much better harvest than my family, the Abiezers. At harvest time you leave more grapes in the vineyard than my family gathers! Isn’t that true? ³ In the same way you have a better harvest now. God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the leaders of Midian. How can I compare my success with what you did?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, they were not as angry as they had been.

Gideon Captures Two Kings of Midian

⁴ Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River and went across to the other side, but they were tired and hungry.^{[x] 5} Gideon said to the men of the city of Succoth, “Give my soldiers something to eat. They are very tired. We are still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.”

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

⁷ Then Gideon said, “The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. And since you would not give us any food, I will come back and beat you with thorns and briers from the desert.”

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

¹⁰ Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army had 15,000 soldiers in it. These soldiers were all who were left of the army of the people of the east. 120,000 strong soldiers of that army had already been killed. ¹¹ Gideon and his men used Tent Dwellers’ Road, which is east of the cities of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the enemy at Karkor. The enemy army did not expect the attack. ¹² Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of the Midianites, ran away. But Gideon chased and caught 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 going through a mountain pass called the Pass of Heres. ¹⁴ Gideon captured a young man from the city of Succoth. He asked the young man some questions. The young man wrote down some names for Gideon. The young man wrote down the names of the leaders and elders of the city of Succoth. He gave Gideon the names of 77 men.

¹⁵ When Gideon came to the city of 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 food to your tired soldiers? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’” ¹⁶ Gideon took the elders of the city of Succoth and beat them with thorns and briers from the desert. ¹⁷ Gideon also pulled down the tower in the city of Penuel and killed the men living in that city.

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

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

¹⁹ Gideon said, “Those men were my brothers, my mother’s sons! As the Lord lives, if you had not killed them, I would not kill you now.”

²⁰ Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son, and said, “Kill these kings.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he would not take out his sword.

²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, kill us yourself. You are a man and strong enough to do the job.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon took the decorations shaped like the moon off their camels’ necks.

Gideon Makes an Ephod

²² The Israelites 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 the Israelites, “The Lord will be your ruler. I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you.”

²⁴ Some of the people who the men of Israel defeated were Ishmaelites. And the Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. So Gideon said to the Israelites, “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 battle.”

²⁵ The Israelites said to Gideon, “We will gladly give you what you want.” So they put a coat down on the ground, and each man threw an earring onto the coat. ²⁶ When the earrings were gathered up, they weighed about 43 pounds.^[y] This did not include the other gifts the Israelites gave to Gideon. They also gave him jewelry shaped like the moon and jewelry shaped like teardrops. And they gave him purple robes. The kings of the Midianites had worn these things. They also gave him the chains from the camels of the Midianite kings.

²⁷ Gideon used the gold to make an ephod,^[z] which he put in his hometown, the town called Ophrah. All the Israelites worshiped the ephod. In this way the Israelites were not faithful to God—they worshiped the ephod.^[aa] The ephod became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.

The Death of Gideon

²⁸ The Midianites were forced to be under the rule of the Israelites. The Midianites did not cause trouble anymore. And the land was at peace for 40 years, as long as Gideon was alive.

²⁹ Gideon^[ab] son of Joash went home. ³⁰ Gideon had 70 sons of his own. He had so many sons because he had many wives. ³¹ He had a slave woman who lived in the city of Shechem. He 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 that Joash, his father, owned. That tomb is in the city of Ophrah, where the family of Abiezer lives. ³³ As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites again were not faithful to God—they followed Baal.^[ac] They made Baal Berith^[ad] their god. ³⁴ The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies living around them. ³⁵ The Israelites were not loyal to the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), even though he had done many good things for them.

Abimelech Becomes King

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

³ Abimelech’s uncles spoke to the leaders of Shechem and asked them that question. The leaders of Shechem decided to follow Abimelech. They said, “After all, he is our brother.” ⁴ So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech 70 pieces of silver. That silver was from the temple of the god Baal Berith. Abimelech used the silver to hire some men. These men were worthless, reckless men. They followed Abimelech wherever he went.

⁵ Abimelech went to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers. He killed the 70 sons of his father Gideon. He killed them all at the same time,^[ae] but Gideon’s youngest son hid from Abimelech and escaped. The youngest son’s name was Jotham.

⁶ Then all the leaders in Shechem and the house of Millo^[af] came together. Everyone gathered beside the big tree of the pillar in Shechem and made Abimelech their king.

Jotham’s Story

⁷ Jotham heard that the leaders of the city of Shechem had made Abimelech king. When he heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim^[ag] and shouted out this story to the people:

“Listen to me you leaders of the city of Shechem. Then let God listen to you.

⁸ “One day the trees decided to choose a king to rule over them. The trees said to the olive tree, ‘You be king over us.’

⁹ “But the olive tree said, ‘My oil is used to honor gods and humans. Should I stop making my oil 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 good, sweet fruit 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 kings happy. Should I stop making my wine just to go and sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “Finally, 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 make me king over you, come and find shelter in my shade. But if you don’t want to do this, let fire come out of the thornbush. Let the fire burn even the cedar trees of Lebanon.’

¹⁶ “Now if you were completely honest when you made Abimelech king, may you be happy with him. And if you have been fair to Gideon and his family, and if you have treated him as you should, this is also good. ¹⁷ But remember what my father did for you. He fought for you and risked his life when he saved you from the Midianites. ¹⁸ But now you have turned against my father’s family. You have killed 70 of his sons all at the same time. You made Abimelech the new king over the city of Shechem. He is only the son of my father’s slave girl. But you made him king because he is your relative. ¹⁹ So if you have been completely honest to Gideon and his family today, then may you be happy with Abimelech as your king. And may he be happy with you. ²⁰ But leaders of Shechem and the house of Millo,^[ah] if you have not acted right, may Abimelech destroy you. And may Abimelech be destroyed too!”

²¹ After Jotham had said this, he ran away and escaped to the city named Beer. He stayed there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

Abimelech Fights Against Shechem

²² Abimelech ruled the Israelites for three years. ^23-24 Abimelech had killed Gideon’s 70 sons—and they were his own brothers. The leaders of Shechem had supported him in doing this evil thing. So God caused trouble between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. And they began planning ways to hurt Abimelech. ²⁵ The leaders of the city of Shechem did not like Abimelech anymore. They put men on the hilltops to attack and rob everyone who went by. Abimelech found out about the attacks.

²⁶ A man named Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers moved to the city of Shechem. The leaders of the city of Shechem decided to trust and follow Gaal.

²⁷ One day the people of Shechem went out to the vineyards to pick grapes. They squeezed the grapes to make wine. And then they had a party at 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? Abimelech is one of Gideon’s sons, right? And Abimelech made Zebul his officer, right? We should not obey Abimelech. We should follow our own people, men from Hamor.^[ai] (Hamor was the father of Shechem.) ²⁹ If you make me the commander of these people, I will destroy Abimelech. I will say to him, ‘Get your army ready and come out to battle.’”

³⁰ Zebul was the governor of the city of Shechem. Zebul heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, and he became very angry. ³¹ Zebul sent messengers to Abimelech in the city of Arumah.^[aj] This is the message:

“Gaal son of Ebed and Gaal’s brothers have come to the city of Shechem. They are making trouble for you. Gaal is turning the whole city against you. ³² So now you and your men should come tonight and hide 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 of the city to fight you. When they come out to fight, do what you can to them.”

³⁴ So Abimelech and all his soldiers got up during the night and went to the city. The soldiers separated into four groups. They hid near the city of Shechem. ³⁵ Gaal son of Ebed went out and was standing at the entrance to the gate of the city of Shechem. While Gaal 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 only seeing the shadows of the mountains. The shadows just look like people.”

³⁷ But again Gaal said, “Look, there are some people coming down from that place over there by Land’s Navel. And there! I saw someone’s head over by Magician’s Tree.^[ak]” ³⁸ Zebul said to Gaal, “Why aren’t you 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 leaders of Shechem out to fight Abimelech. ⁴⁰ Abimelech and his men chased Gaal and his men. Gaal’s men ran back toward the gate of the city of Shechem, but many were killed before they could get back to the gate.

⁴¹ Then Abimelech returned to the city of Arumah. Zebul forced Gaal and his brothers to leave the city of Shechem.

⁴² The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields to work. Abimelech found out about it. ⁴³ So Abimelech separated his men into three groups. He wanted to attack the people of Shechem by surprise. So he hid his men 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 a place near the gate to Shechem. The other two groups ran out to the people in the fields and killed them. ⁴⁵ Abimelech and his men fought against the city of Shechem all that day. They captured the city of Shechem and killed its people. Then Abimelech tore down the city and threw salt over the ruins.

⁴⁶ There were some people who lived at the Tower of Shechem.^[al] When they heard what had happened to Shechem, they gathered together in the safest room^[am] of the temple of the god El Berith.^[an]

⁴⁷ Abimelech heard that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem had gathered together. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon.^[ao] Abimelech took an ax and cut off some branches and carried them on his shoulders. Then Abimelech said to the men with him, “Hurry! Do the same thing that I have done.” ⁴⁹ So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled the branches against the safest room of the temple of the god El Berith. Then they set the branches on fire and burned the people in the room. About 1000 men and women living near the Tower of Shechem died.

Abimelech’s Death

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech and his men went to the city of Thebez and captured that city. ⁵¹ But inside the city there was a strong tower, so all the leaders and other men and women of that city ran to the tower. When the people were inside the tower, they locked the door behind them. Then they climbed up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² Abimelech and his men came to the tower to attack it. Abimelech went up to the door of the tower to burn it. ⁵³ But, while Abimelech was standing at the door of the tower, a woman on the roof dropped a grinding stone on his head. The grinding stone crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Abimelech quickly said to the servant who carried his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me. I want you to kill me so that people will not say, ‘A woman killed Abimelech.’” So the servant stabbed Abimelech with his sword, and he died. ⁵⁵ The Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, so they all went back home.

⁵⁶ In that way God punished Abimelech for all the bad things he had done. Abimelech sinned against his own father by killing his 70 brothers. ⁵⁷ God also punished the men of the city of Shechem for the bad things they had done. So the things said by Jotham son of Gideon came true.

Tola, the Judge

10 After Abimelech died, God sent another judge to save the Israelites. His name was Tola. He was the son of Puah, who was the son of Dodo. Tola was from the tribe of Issachar and lived in the city of Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. ² Tola was a judge for the Israelites for 23 years. Then he died and was buried in the city of Shamir.

Jair, the Judge

³ After Tola died, God sent another judge. His name was Jair, and he lived in the area of Gilead. He was a judge for the Israelites for 22 years. ⁴ Jair had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys.^[ap] These 30 sons controlled 30 towns in the area of Gilead. These towns are called the Towns of Jair to this very day. ⁵ Jair died and was buried in the city of Kamon.

The Ammonites Fight Against Israel

⁶ Again the Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They began worshiping the false gods Baal and the Ashtoreth. They also worshiped the gods of the people of Aram, the gods of the people of Sidon, the gods of the Moabites, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites left the Lord and stopped serving him.

⁷ So the Lord became angry with the Israelites and allowed the Philistines and the Ammonites to defeat them. ⁸ In that same year those people destroyed the Israelites who lived on the east side of the Jordan River, in the area of Gilead. That is the land where the Amorites had lived. The Israelites suffered for 18 years. ⁹ The Ammonites then went across the Jordan River to fight against the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. The Ammonites brought many troubles to the Israelites.

¹⁰ So the Israelites cried to the Lord for help. They said, “God, we have sinned against you. We left our God and worshiped the false god Baal.”

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 people of Sidon, the Amalekites, and the Midianites^[aq] hurt you. I also saved you from those people. ¹³ But you left me and started worshiping other gods, so I refuse to save you again. ¹⁴ You like worshiping those gods, so go call to them for help. Let them save you when you are in trouble.”

¹⁵ But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do whatever you want to do to us, but please save us today.” ¹⁶ Then the Israelites threw away the foreign gods and began to worship the Lord again. So he felt sorry for them when he saw them suffering.

Jephthah Is Chosen as a Leader

¹⁷ The Ammonites gathered together for war. Their camp was in the area of Gilead. The Israelites gathered together. Their camp was at the city of Mizpah. ¹⁸ The leaders of the people living in the area of Gilead said, “Whoever leads us in the attack against the Ammonites will become the head of all the people living in Gilead.”

11 Jephthah was from the tribe of Gilead. He was a strong soldier. But Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. His father was a man named Gilead. ² Gilead’s wife had several sons. When they grew up, they did not like Jephthah. They forced Jephthah to leave his hometown. They said to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property, because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah went away because of his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. In the land of Tob, some rough men began to follow Jephthah.

⁴ After a time the Ammonites fought with the Israelites. ⁵ The Ammonites were fighting against Israel, so the elders in Gilead went to Jephthah. They wanted Jephthah to leave the land of Tob and come back to Gilead.

⁶ The elders said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader so that we can fight the Ammonites.”

⁷ But Jephthah said to the elders of the land of Gilead, “You forced me to leave my father’s house. You hate me. So why are you coming to me now that you are having trouble?”

⁸ The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason we have come to you now. Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites. You will be the commander over all the people living in Gilead.”

⁹ Then Jephthah said to the elders from Gilead, “If you want me to come back to Gilead and fight the Ammonites, I will do it. But if the Lord helps me win, I will be your new leader.”

¹⁰ The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is listening to everything we are saying. And we promise to do everything you tell us to do.”

¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders from Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the Lord at the city of Mizpah.

Jephthah Warns the King of Ammon

¹² Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with this message: “What is the problem between the Ammonites and the Israelites? Why have you come to fight in our land?”

¹³ The king of the Ammonites said to the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because the Israelites took our land when they came up from Egypt. They took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Now, tell the Israelites to give our land back to us without fighting for it.”

¹⁴ So the messengers of Jephthah took this message back to Jephthah.^[ar] Then Jephthah sent the messengers to the king of the Ammonites again. ¹⁵ They took this message:

“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of the Moabites or the land of the Ammonites. ¹⁶ When the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, they went into the desert. They went to the Red Sea. Then they went to Kadesh. ¹⁷ The Israelites sent messengers to the king of Edom. The messengers asked for a favor. They said, ‘Let the Israelites cross through your land.’ But the king of Edom didn’t let us go through his land. We also sent the same message to the king of Moab. But the king of Moab would not let us go through his land either. So the Israelites stayed at Kadesh.

¹⁸ “Then the Israelites went through the desert and around the edges of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab. They made their camp on the other side of the Arnon River. They did not cross the border of the land of Moab. (The Arnon River was the border of the land of Moab.)

¹⁹ “Then the Israelites sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites. Sihon was the king of the city of Heshbon. The messengers asked Sihon, ‘Let the Israelites pass through your land. We want to go to our land.’ ²⁰ But King Sihon of the Amorites would not let the Israelites cross his borders. So Sihon gathered all of his people and made a camp at Jahaz. Then the Amorites fought with the Israelites. ²¹ But the Lord, the God of Israel, helped the Israelites defeat Sihon and his army. So the land of the Amorites became the property of the Israelites. ²² The Israelites got all the land of the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. The land also went from the desert to the Jordan River.

²³ “It was the Lord, the God of Israel, who forced the Amorites to leave their land. And he gave the land to the Israelites. Do you think you can make the Israelites leave this land? ²⁴ Surely you can live in the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. So we will live in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. ²⁵ Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor^[as]? He was the king of the land of Moab. Did he argue with the Israelites? Did he actually fight with the Israelites? ²⁶ The Israelites have lived in the city of Heshbon and the towns around it for 300 years. They have lived in the city of Aroer and the towns around it for 300 years. They have lived in all the cities along the side of the Arnon River for 300 years. Why have you not tried to take these cities in all that time? ²⁷ The Israelites have not sinned against you. But you are doing a very bad thing against them. May the Lord, the true Judge, decide whether the Israelites or the Ammonites are right.”

²⁸ The king of the Ammonites refused to listen to this message from Jephthah.

Jephthah’s Promise

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, and he passed through the area of Gilead and Manasseh. He went through the city of Mizpah in Gilead on his way 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 the first thing that comes out of my house when I come back from the victory. I will give it to the Lord as a burnt offering.”

³² Then Jephthah went to the land of the Ammonites. He fought the Ammonites, and the Lord helped him defeat them. ³³ He defeated them from the city of Aroer to the city of Minnith. Jephthah captured 20 cities. Then he fought the Ammonites to the city of Abel Keramim. The Israelites defeated them. It was a very great defeat for the Ammonites.

³⁴ Jephthah went back to Mizpah. He went to his house, and his daughter came out to meet him. She was playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only daughter, and Jephthah loved her very much. He did not have any other sons or daughters. ³⁵ When Jephthah saw that his daughter was the first thing to come out of his house, he tore his clothes to show his sadness. Then he said, “Oh, my daughter! You have ruined me! You have made me very sad! I made a promise to the Lord, and I cannot change it!”

³⁶ Then his daughter said to Jephthah, “Father, you have made a promise to the Lord, so keep your promise. Do what you said you would do. After all, the Lord did help you defeat your enemies, the Ammonites.”

³⁷ Then Jephthah’s daughter said to her father, “But do this one thing for me first. Let me be alone for two months. Let me go to the mountains. I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together.”

³⁸ Jephthah said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months. Jephthah’s daughter and her friends stayed in the mountains. They cried for her because she would not marry and have children.

³⁹ At the end of two months, Jephthah’s daughter returned to her father, and Jephthah did what he had promised. His daughter never had sexual relations with anyone. So this became a custom in Israel. ⁴⁰ Every year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to remember the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead and to cry for her.

Jephthah and Ephraim

12 The men from the tribe of Ephraim called all their soldiers together. Then they went across the river to the city 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, “The Ammonites have been giving us many problems. So my people and I fought against them. I called you, but you didn’t come to help us. ³ I saw that you would not help us, so I risked my own life. I went across the river to fight against the Ammonites. The Lord helped me defeat them. Now why have you come to fight against me today?”

⁴ Then Jephthah called the men of Gilead together. They fought against the men from the tribe of Ephraim because they had insulted the men of Gilead. They had said, “You men of Gilead are nothing but survivors of the men of Ephraim. Part of you belongs to Ephraim, and part of you belongs to Manasseh.” The men of Gilead defeated the men of Ephraim.

⁵ The men of Gilead captured the places where people cross the Jordan River. Those places led to the country of Ephraim. Any time a survivor from Ephraim came to the river and said, “Let me cross,” the men of Gilead would ask him, “Are you from Ephraim?” If he said, “No,” ⁶ they would say, “Say the word ‘Shibboleth.’” The men of Ephraim could not say that word correctly. They pronounced the word “Sibboleth.” So if the man said, “Sibboleth,” then the men of Gilead knew he was from Ephraim. So they would kill him at the crossing place. They killed 42,000 men from Ephraim.

⁷ Jephthah was a judge for the Israelites for six years. Then Jephthah from Gilead died and was buried in his town in Gilead.

Ibzan, the Judge

⁸ After Jephthah, a man named Ibzan was a judge for the Israelites. Ibzan was from the city of Bethlehem. ⁹ Ibzan had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He told his 30 daughters to marry men who were not his relatives. And he found 30 women who were not his relatives, and his sons married these women. Ibzan was a judge for the Israelites for seven years. ¹⁰ Then Ibzan died and was buried in the city of Bethlehem.

Elon, the Judge

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

Abdon, the Judge

¹³ After Elon died, a man named Abdon son of Hillel was a judge for the Israelites. Abdon was from the city of Pirathon. ¹⁴ Abdon had 40 sons and 30 grandsons. They rode on 70 donkeys.^[at] Abdon was a judge for the Israelites for eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried in the city of Pirathon. Pirathon is in the land of Ephraim in the hill country where the Amalekites lived.

The Birth of Samson

13 Again the people started doing what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord allowed the Philistines to rule over them for 40 years.

² There was a man named Manoah from the city of Zorah. He was from the tribe of Dan. Manoah had a wife, but she was not able to have any children. ³ The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “You have not been able to have children. But you will become pregnant and have a son. ⁴ Don’t drink any wine or any other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean, ⁵ because you are pregnant, and you will have a son. He will be dedicated to God in a special way. He will be a Nazirite. So you must never cut his hair. He will be God’s special person from before he is born. He will save the Israelites from the power of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him what had happened. She said, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God. He frightened me. I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You are pregnant and will have a son. Don’t drink any wine or other strong drink. Don’t eat any food that is unclean, because the boy will be dedicated to God in a special way. The boy will be God’s special person from before he is born until the day he dies.’”

⁸ Then Manoah prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord, I beg you to send the man of God to us again. We want him to teach us what we should do for the boy who will soon be born.”

⁹ God heard Manoah’s prayer. The angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field and her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ So the woman ran to tell her husband, “The man is back! The man who came 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 same man who spoke to my wife before?”

The angel said, “I am.”

¹² So Manoah said, “May what you say happen. Tell me, what kind of life will the boy live? What will he do?”

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

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

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me from leaving, I will 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 so that we can 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 amazing for you to believe.^[au]”

¹⁹ Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He offered the goat and a grain offering as a gift to the Lord and to the One Who Does Amazing Things.^{[av] 20} Manoah and his wife were watching what happened. As the flames went up to the sky from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire.

When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. ²¹ He finally understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. ²² Manoah said to his wife, “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 and grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us this.”

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

Samson’s Marriage

14 Samson went down to the city of Timnah. He saw a young Philistine woman there. 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 his mother answered, “But surely there is a woman from the Israelites you can marry. Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines? Their men 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 do something against the Philistines. They were ruling over the Israelites at that time.)

⁵ Samson went down with his father and mother to the city of Timnah. They went as far as the vineyards near that city. There a young lion suddenly roared and jumped at Samson! ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson with great power. He tore the lion apart with his bare hands. It seemed easy to 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 So Samson went down to the city and talked to the Philistine woman. She pleased him. ⁸ Several days later, Samson came back to marry her. On his way, he went over to look at the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in its body. They had made some honey. ⁹ Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating the honey. When he came to his parents, he gave them some of the honey, and they ate it too. But Samson did not tell his parents that 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 party. So Samson gave a party. ¹¹ When the Philistines saw that he was having a party, they sent 30 men to be with him.

¹² Then Samson said to the 30 men, “I want to tell you a story. This party will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can answer the riddle in that time, I will give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes. ¹³ But if you cannot find the answer, you must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.” So the 30 men said, “Tell us your riddle, we want to hear it.”

¹⁴ Samson told them this riddle:

The 30 men tried for three days to find the answer, but they couldn’t.

¹⁵ On the fourth day,^[aw] the men came to Samson’s wife. They said, “Did you invite us here just to make us poor? You must trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle. If you don’t get the answer for us, we will burn you and everyone in your father’s house to death.”

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

Samson said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father and mother. So why should I tell you?”

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

¹⁸ So before the sun went down on the seventh day of the party, the Philistine men had the answer. They came to Samson and said,

Then Samson said to them,

¹⁹ Samson was very angry. The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson with great power. He went down to the city of Ashkelon and killed 30 Philistine men. He took all the clothes and property from the dead bodies and gave them to the men who had answered his riddle. Then he went to his father’s house. ²⁰ So Samson’s wife was given to his best man.

Samson Makes Trouble for the Philistines

15 At the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat with him as a gift. He said, “I am going to my wife’s room.”

But her father would not let Samson go in. ² He said, “I thought you hated her, so I let her marry the best man at the wedding. Her younger sister is more beautiful. Take her younger sister.”

³ But Samson said to him, “Now I have a good reason to hurt you Philistines. No one will blame me now.”

⁴ So Samson went out and caught 300 foxes. He took two foxes at a time and tied their tails together to make pairs. Then he tied a torch between the tails of each pair of foxes. ⁵ He lit the torches that were between the foxes’ tails and let them run through the grain fields of the Philistines. In this way he burned up the plants growing in their fields and the stacks of grain they had cut. 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 this. He did this because his father-in-law gave Samson’s wife to the best man at his wedding.” So the Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her father to death.

⁷ Then Samson said to the Philistines, “You did this bad thing to me, so now I will do bad things to you. Then I will be finished with you!”

⁸ Samson attacked the Philistines and killed many of them. Then he went and stayed in a cave in a place named the Rock of Etam.

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

They answered, “We have come to get Samson. We want to make him our prisoner. We want to punish him for what he has done to our people.”

¹¹ Then 3000 men from the tribe of Judah went to the cave near the Rock of Etam and said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”

Samson answered, “I only punished them for what they did to me.”

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

Samson said to the men from Judah, “Promise me that you yourselves will not hurt me.”