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 Chapter 1
1:1 And it came to pass after the death
of Joshua, that the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, saying, Who shall
go up for us first against the Chananites, to fight against them?
2 And the Lord said, Judas shall go up:
behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. 3
And Judas said to his brother Symeon, Come up with me into my
lot, and let us array ourselves against the Chananites, and I also will go with
thee into thy lot: and Symeon went with him. 4
And Judas went up; and the Lord delivered the Chananite and the
Pherezite into their hands, and they smote them in Bezek to the number of
ten thousand men. 5 And they
overtook Adonibezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they smote the
Chananite and the Pherezite. 6 And
Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and took him, and cut off his
thumbs and his great toes. 7 And
Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut
off, gathered their food under my table: as I therefore have done, so God
has recompensed me: and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 And the children of Judas fought
against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote with the edge of the sword, and they
burnt the city with fire. 9 And
afterwards the children of Judas went down to fight with the Chananite dwelling
in the hill country, and the south, and the plain country.
10 And Judas went to the Chananite who
dwelt in Chebron; and Chebron came out against him; [[and the name of Chebron
before was Cariatharbocsepher:]] and they smote Sessi, and Achiman, and Tholmi,
children of Enac. 11 And they went
up thence to the inhabitants of Dabir; but the name of Dabir was before
Cariathsepher, the city of Letters.
12 And Chaleb said, Whosoever shall
smite the city of Letters, and shall first take it, I will give to him Ascha my
daughter to wife. 13 And Gothoniel
the younger son of Kenez the brother of Chaleb took it; and Chaleb gave him his
daughter Ascha to wife. 14 And it
came to pass as she went in, that Gothoniel urged her to ask a field of her
father; and she murmured and cried from off her ass, Thou hast sent me forth
into a south land: and Chaleb said to her, What is thy request?
15 And Ascha said to him, Give me, I pray
thee, a blessing, for thou hast sent me forth into a south land, and thou shalt
give me the ransom of water: and Chaleb gave her according to her heart the
ransom of the upper springs and the ransom of the low springs.
16 And the children of Jothor the Kenite
the father-in-law of Moses went up from the city of palm-trees with the children
of Judas, to the wilderness that is in the south of Juda, which is at the
descent of Arad, and they dwelt with the people.
17 And Judas went with Symeon his
brother, and smote the Chananite that inhabited Sepheth, and they utterly
destroyed them; and they called the name of the city Anathema.
18 But Judas did not inherit Gaza nor her
coasts, nor Ascalon nor her coasts, nor Accaron nor her coasts, nor
Azotus nor the lands around it. 19
And the Lord was with Judas, and he inherited the mountain; for they were not
able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, for Rechab prevented them.
20 And they gave Chebron to Chaleb, as
Moses said; and thence he inherited the three cities of the children of Enac.
21 But the children of Benjamin did not
take the inheritance of the Jebusite who dwelt in Jerusalem; and the Jebusite
dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this day.
22 And the sons of Joseph, they also
went up to Baethel; and the Lord was with them. 23
And they encamped and surveyed Baethel: and the name of the city
before was Luza.
24 And the spies looked, and behold, a
man went out of the city, and they took him; and they said to him, Shew us the
way into the city, and we will deal mercifully with thee.
25 And he shewed them the way into the city; and they
smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and his
family. 26 And the man went into the
land of Chettin, and built there a city, and called the name of it Luza; this
is its name until this day.
27 And Manasse did not drive out the
inhabitants of Baethsan, which is a city of Scythians, nor her towns, nor
her suburbs; nor Thanac, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor her
suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitant of Balac, nor her suburbs, nor her
towns; nor the inhabitants of Magedo, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the
inhabitants of Jeblaam, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; and the Chananite began
to dwell in this land. 28 And it
came to pass when Israel was strong, that he made the Chananite tributary, but
did not utterly drive them out. 29
And Ephraim did not drive out the Chananite that dwelt in Gazer; and the
Chananite dwelt in the midst of him in Gazer, and became tributary.
30 And Zabulon did not drive out the
inhabitants of Kedron, nor the inhabitants of Domana: and the Chananite dwelt in
the midst of them, and became tributary to them.
31 And Aser did not drive out the
inhabitants of Accho, and that people became tributary to him, nor the
inhabitants of Dor, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor the inhabitants of Dalaph,
nor Aschazi, nor Chebda, nor Nai, nor Ereo. 32
And Aser dwelt in the midst of the Chananite who inhabited the
land, for he could not drive him out. 33
And Nephthali did not drive out the inhabitants of Baethsamys,
nor the inhabitants of Baethanach; and Nephthali dwelt in the midst of the
Chananite who inhabited the land: but the inhabitants of Bethsamys and of
Baetheneth became tributary to them. 34
And the Amorite drove out the children of Dan into the mountains,
for they did not suffer them to come down into the valley.
35 And the Amorite began to dwell in the
mountain of shells, in which are bears, and foxes, in Myrsinon, and in
Thalabin; and the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon the Amorite, and he
became tributary to them. 36 And the
border of the Amorite was from the going up of Acrabin, from the rock and
upwards.
Chapter 2
2:1 And an angel of the Lord went up
from Galgal to the place of weeping, and to Baethel, and to the house of
Israel, and said to them, Thus says the Lord, I brought you up out of Egypt, and
I brought you into the land which I sware to your fathers; and I said, I will
never break my covenant that I have made with you. 2
And ye shall make no covenant with them that dwell in this
land, neither shall ye worship their gods; but ye shall destroy their graven
images, ye shall pull down their altars: but ye hearkened not to my voice, for
ye did these things. 3 And I said, I
will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be for a distress to
you, and their gods shall be to you for an offence. 4
And it came to pass when the angel of the Lord spoke these
words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and
wept. 5 And they named the name of
that place Weepings; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.
6 And Joshua dismissed the people, and
they went every man to his inheritance, to inherit the land.
7 And the people served the Lord all the
days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that lived many days with Joshua,
as many as knew all the great work of the Lord, what things he had wrought in
Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Naue, the
servant of the Lord, died, a hundred and ten years old. 9
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, in
Thamnathares, in mount Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaas.
10 And all that generation were laid to
their fathers: and another generation rose up after them, who knew not the Lord,
nor yet the work which he wrought in Israel. 11
And the children of Israel wrought evil before the Lord, and
served Baalim. 12 And they forsook
the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and
walked after other gods, of the gods of the nations round about them; and they
worshipped them. 13 And they
provoked the Lord, and forsook him, and served Baal and the Astartes.
14 And the Lord was very angry with
Israel; and he gave them into the hands of the spoilers, and they spoiled them;
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, and they could not
any longer resist their enemies, 15
among whomsoever they went; and the hand of the Lord was against them for evil,
as the Lord spoke, and as the Lord sware to them; and he greatly afflicted them.
16 And the Lord raised up judges, and
the Lord save them out of the hands of them that spoiled them: and yet they
hearkened not to the judges, 17 for
they went a whoring after other gods, and worshipped them; and they turned
quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked to hearken to the words of
the Lord; they did not so. 18 And
because the Lord raised them up judges, so the Lord was with the judge, and
saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the
Lord was moved at their groaning by reason of them that besieged them and
afflicted them. 19 And it came to
pass when the judge died, that they went back, and again corrupted themselves
worse than their fathers to go after other gods to serve them an to worship
them: they abandoned not their devices nor their stubborn ways.
20 And the Lord was very angry with
Israel, and said, Forasmuch as this nation has forsaken my covenant which I
commanded their fathers, and has not hearkened to my voice,
21 therefore I will not any more cast out a
man of the nations before their face, which Joshua the son of Naue left in the
land. And the Lord left them, 22
to prove Israel with them, whether they would keep the way of the
Lord, to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or no. 23
So the Lord will leave these nations, so as not to cast
them out suddenly; and he delivered them not into the hand of Joshua.
Chapter 3
3:1 And these are the nations
which the Lord left to prove Israel with them, all that had not known the wars
of Chanaan. 2 Only for the sake of
the generations of Israel, to teach them war, only the men before them knew them
not. 3 The five lordships of the
Phylistines, and every Chananite, and the Sidonian, and the Evite who dwelt in
Libanus from the mount of Aermon to Laboemath. 4
And this was done in order to prove Israel by them, to
know whether they would obey the commands of the Lord, which he charged their
fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 And the children of Israel dwelt in
the midst of the Chananite, and the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Pherezite,
and the Evite, and the Jebusite. 6
And they took their daughters for wives to themselves, and they gave their
daughters to their sons, and served their gods. 7
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
8 And the Lord was very angry with Israel,
and sold them into the hand of Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers: and
the children of Israel served Chusarsathaim eight years.
9 And the children of Israel cried to
the Lord; and the Lord raised up a saviour to Israel, and he saved them,
Gothoniel the son of Kenez, the brother of Chaleb younger than himself.
10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon
him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war against Chusarsathaim: and the
Lord delivered into his hand Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers, and his
hand prevailed against Chusarsathaim. 11
And the land was quiet forty years; and Gothoniel the son of
Kenez died.
12 And the children of Israel continued
to do evil before the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglom king of Moab against
Israel, because they had done evil before the Lord. 13
And he gathered to himself all the children of Ammon and
Amalec, and went and smote Israel, and took possession of the city of
Palm-trees. 14 And the children of
Israel served Eglom the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 And the children of Israel cried to
the Lord; and he raised up to them a saviour, Aod the son of Gera a son of
Jemeni, a man who used both hands alike: and the children of Israel sent gifts
by his hand to Eglom king of Moab. 16
And Aod made himself a dagger of two edges, of a span long, and
he girded it under his cloak upon his right thigh. 17
And he went, and brought the presents to Eglom king of
Moab, and Eglom was a very handsome man.
18 And it came to pass when Aod
had made an end of offering his gifts, that he dismissed those that brought the
gifts. 19 And he himself returned
from the quarries that are by Galgal; and Aod said, I have a secret errand to
thee, O king! and Eglom said to him, Be silent: and he sent away from his
presence all who waited upon him. 20
And Aod went in to him; and he sat in his own upper summer
chamber quite alone; and Aod said, I have a message from God to thee, O king:
and Eglom rose up from his throne near him. 21
And it came to pass as he arose, that Aod stretched forth his
left hand, and took the dagger off his right thigh, and plunged it into his
belly; 22 and drove in also the haft
after the blade, and the fat closed in upon the blade, for he drew not out the
dagger from his belly.
23 And Aod went out to the porch, and
passed out by the appointed guards, and shut the doors of the chamber
upon him, and locked them. 24
And he went out: and Eglom’s servants came, and saw, and behold,
the doors of the upper chamber were locked; and they said, Does he not
uncover his feet in the summer-chamber? 25
And they waited till they were ashamed, and, behold, there was no
one that opened the doors of the upper chamber; and they took the key, and
opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead upon the earth.
26 And Aod escaped while they were in a
tumult, and no one paid attention to him; and he passed the quarries, and
escaped to Setirotha.
27 And it came to pass when Aod came
into the land of Israel, that he blew the horn in mount Ephraim, and the
children of Israel came down with him from the mountain, and he was
before them. 28 And he said to them,
Come down after me, for the Lord God has delivered our enemies, even Moab, into
our hand; and they went down after him, and seized on the fords of Jordan before
Moab, and he did not suffer a man to pass over. 29
And they smote Moab on that day about ten thousand men, every
lusty person and every mighty man; and not a man escaped.
30 So Moab was humbled in that day under
the hand of Israel, and the land had rest eighty years; and Aod judged them till
he died.
31 And after him rose up Samegar the son
of Dinach, and smote the Philistines to the number of six hundred men with a
ploughshare such as is drawn by oxen; and he too delivered Israel.
Chapter 4
4:1 And the children of Israel continued
to do evil against the Lord; and Aod was dead. 2
And the Lord sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin
king of Chanaan, who ruled in Asor; and the chief of his host was Sisara, and he
dwelt in Arisoth of the Gentiles. 3
And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, because he had nine hundred
chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed Israel twenty years.
4 And Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of
Lapidoth, —she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she sat under the palm-tree of
Debbora between Rama and Baethel in mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel
went up to her for judgment.
6 And Debbora sent and called Barac the
son of Abineem out of Cades Nephthali, and she said to him, Has not the Lord God
of Israel commanded thee? and thou shalt depart to mount Thabor, and shalt take
with thyself ten thousand men of the sons of Nephthali and of the sons of
Zabulon.
7 And I will bring to thee to the
torrent of Kison Sisara the captain of the host of Jabin, and his chariots, and
his multitude, and I will deliver them into thine hands.
8 And Barac said to her, If thou wilt go
with me, I will go; and if thou wilt not go, I will not go; for I know not the
day on which the Lord prospers his messenger with me. 9
And she said, I will surely go with thee; but know that
thy honour shall not attend on the expedition on which thou goest, for the Lord
shall sell Sisara into the hands of a women: and Debbora arose, and went with
Barac out of Cades. 10 And Barac
called Zabulon and Nephthali out of Cades, and there went up at his feet ten
thousand men, and Debbora went up with him.
11 And Chaber the Kenite had removed
from Caina, from the sons of Jobab the father-in-law of Moses, and pitched his
tent by the oak of the covetous ones, which is near Kedes.
12 And it was told Sisara that Barac the
son of Abineem was gone up to mount Thabor. 13
And Sisara summoned all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of
iron and all the people with him, from Arisoth of the Gentiles to the brook of
Kison.
14 And Debbora said to Barac, Rise up,
for this is the day on which the Lord has delivered Sisara into thy hand,
for the Lord shall go forth before thee: and Barac went down from mount Thabor,
and ten thousand men after him. 15
And the Lord discomfited Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his army, with
the edge of the sword before Barac: and Sisara descended from off his chariot,
and fled on his feet. 16 And Barac
pursued after the chariots and after the army, into Arisoth of the Gentiles; and
the whole army of Sisara fell by the edge of the sword, there was not one left.
17 And Sisara fled on his feet to
the tent of Jael the wife of Chaber the Kenite his friend: for there was peace
between Jabin king of Asor and the house of Chaber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went, out to meet Sisara, and
said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me, fear not: and he turned
aside to her into the tent; and she covered him with a mantle.
19 And Sisara said to her, Give me, I
pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty: and she opened a bottle of
milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him. 20
And Sisara said to her, Stand now by the door of the tent, and it
shall come to pass if any man come to thee, and ask of thee, and say, Is there
any man here? then thou shalt say, There is not. 21
And Jael the wife of Chaber took a pin of the tent, and
took a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him, and fastened the pin in his
temple, and it went through to the earth, and he fainted away, and darkness fell
upon him and he died. 22 And,
behold, Barac was pursuing Sisara: and Jael went out to meet him, and he
said to him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest: and he went
in to her; and, behold, Sisara was fallen dead, and the pin was in his
temple. 23 So God routed Jabin king
of Chanaan in that day before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of
Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin king of Chanaan, until they utterly
destroyed Jabin king of Chanaan.
Chapter 5
5:1 And Debbora and Barac son of Abineem
sang in that day, saying,
2 A revelation was made in Israel when
the people were made willing: Praise ye the Lord. 3
Hear, ye kings, and hearken, rulers: I will sing, it is I who
will sing to the Lord, it is I, I will sing a psalm to the Lord the god of
Israel. 4 O Lord, in thy going forth
on Seir, when thou wentest forth out of the land of Edom, the earth quaked and
the heaven dropped dews, and the clouds dropped water. 5
The mountains were shaken before the face of the Lord Eloi,
this Sina before the face of the Lord God of Israel. 6
In the days of Samegar son of Anath, in the days of Jael,
they deserted the ways, and went in by-ways; they went in crooked paths.
7 The mighty men in Israel failed, they
failed until Debbora arose, until she arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods; then the cities of
rulers fought; there was not a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in
Israel.
9 My heart inclines to the orders
given in Israel; ye that are willing among the people, bless the Lord.
10 Ye that mount a she-ass at noon-day, ye
that sit on the judgment-seat, and walk by the roads of them that sit in
judgment by the way; declare 11
ye that are delivered from the noise of disturbers among the drawers of
water; there shall they relate righteous acts: O Lord, increase righteous acts
in Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the cities.
12 Awake, awake, Debbora; awake, awake,
utter a song: arise, Barac, and lead thy captivity captive, son of Abineem.
13 Then went down the remnant to the
strong, the people of the Lord went down for him among the mighty ones from me.
14 Ephraim rooted them out in Amalec,
behind thee was Benjamin among thy people: the inhabitants of Machir came down
with me searching out the enemy, and from Zabulon came they that draw with the
scribe’s pen of record. 15 And
princess in Issachar were with Debbora and Barac, thus she sent Barac on his
feet in the valleys into the portions of Ruben; great pangs reached to
the heart. 16 Why did they sit
between the sheep-folds to hear the bleating of flocks for the divisions of
Ruben? there were great searchings of heart. 17
Galaad is on the other side of Jordan where he
pitched his tents; and why does Dan remain in ships? Aser sat down on the
sea-coasts, and he will tabernacle at his ports. 18
The people Zabulon exposed their soul to death, and Nephthali
came to the high places of their land.
19 Kings set themselves in array, then
the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanaach at the water of Mageddo; they took no
gift of money. 20 The stars from
heaven set themselves in array, they set themselves to fight with Sisara
out of their paths. 21 The brook of
Kison swept them away, the ancient brook, the brook Kison: my mighty soul will
trample him down. 22 When the hoofs
of the horse were entangled, his mighty ones earnestly hasted
23 to curse Meroz: Curse ye it, said
the angel of the Lord; cursed is every one that dwells in it, because
they came not to the help of the Lord, to his help among the mighty.
24 Blessed among women be Jael wife of
Chaber the Kenite; let her be blessed above women in tents.
25 He asked for water, she gave him milk in
a dish; she brought butter of princes. 26
She stretched forth her left hand to the nail, and her right to
the hand workman’s hammer, and she smote Sisara with it, she nailed through his
head and smote him; she nailed through his temples. 27
He rolled down between her feet; he fell and lay between
her feet; he bowed and fell: where he bowed, there he fell dead.
28 The mother of Sisara looked down through
the window out of the loophole, saying, Why was his chariot ashamed? why
did the wheels of his chariots tarry? 29
Her wise ladies answered her, and she returned answers to
herself, saying, 30 Will they
not find him dividing the spoil? he will surely be gracious to every man:
there are spoils of dyed garments for Sisara, spoils of various dyed
garments, dyed embroidered garments, they are the spoils for his neck.
31 Thus let all thine enemies
perish, O Lord: and they that love him shall be as the going forth of the sun in
his strength.
32 And the land had rest forty years.
Chapter 6
6:1 And the children of Israel did evil
in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Madiam seven
years. 2 And the hand of Madiam
prevailed against Israel: and the children of Israel made for themselves because
of Madiam the caves in the mountains, and the dens, and the holes in the rocks.
3 And it came to pass when the
children of Israel sowed, that Madiam and Amalec went up, and the children of
the east went up together with them. 4
And they encamped against them, and destroyed their fruits until
they came to Gaza; and they left not the support of life in the land of Israel,
not even ox or ass among the herds. 5
For they and their stock came up, and their tents were with them,
as the locust in multitude, and there was no number to them and their camels;
and they came to the land of Israel, and laid it waste. 6
And Israel was greatly impoverished because of Madiam.
7 And the children of Israel cried
to the Lord because of Madiam.
8 And the Lord sent a prophet to the
children of Israel; and he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I am
he that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and I brought you up out of the
house of your bondage. 9 And I
delivered you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all that
afflicted you, and I cast them out before you; and I gave you their land.
10 And I said to you, I am the Lord
your God: ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell;
but ye hearkened not to my voice.
11 And an angel of the Lord came, and
sat down under the fir tree, which was in Ephratha in the land of Joas father of
Esdri; and Gedeon his son was threshing wheat in a wine-press in order to
escape from the face of Madiam. 12
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is
with thee, thou mighty in strength. 13
And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord: but
if the Lord is with us, why have these evils found us? and where are all his
miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring
us up out of Egypt? and now he has cast us out, and given us into the hand of
Madiam. 14 And the angel of the Lord
turned to him, and said, Go in this thy strength, and thou shalt save Israel out
of the hand of Madiam: behold, I have sent thee. 15
And Gedeon said to him, Be gracious with me, my Lord:
whereby shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasse, and I
am the least in my father’s house. 16
And the angel of the Lord said to him, The Lord shall be with
thee, and thou shalt smite Madiam as one man. 17
And Gedeon said to him, If now I have found mercy in thine eyes,
and thou wilt do this day for me all that thou hast spoken of with me,
18 depart not hence until I come to thee,
and I will bring forth an offering and offer it before thee: and he said, I will
remain until thou return.
19 And Gedeon went in, and prepared a
kid of the goats, and an ephah of fine flour unleavened; and he put the flesh in
the basket, and poured the broth into the pot, and brought them forth to him
under the turpentine tree, and drew nigh. 20
And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the
unleavened cakes, and put them on that rock, and pour out the broth close by:
and he did so. 21 And the angel of
the Lord stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and touched the
flesh and the unleavened bread; and fire came up out of the rock, and consumed
the flesh and the unleavened bread, and the angel of the Lord vanished from his
sight.
22 And Gedeon saw that he was an angel
of the Lord; and Gedeon said, Ah, ah, Lord my God! for I have seen the angel of
the Lord face to face. 23 And the
Lord said to him, Peace be to thee, fear not, thou shalt not die.
24 And Gedeon built there an altar to
the Lord, and called it The peace of the Lord, until this day, as it is still in
Ephratha of the father of Esdri. 25
And it came to pass in that night, that the Lord said to him, Take the young
bullock which thy father has, even the second bullock of seven years old, and
thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal which thy father has, and the grove which
is by it thou shalt destroy. 26 And
thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God on the top of this Maozi in the
ordering it, and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer up
whole-burnt-offerings with the wood of the grove, which thou shalt destroy.
27 And Gedeon took ten men of his
servants, and did as the Lord spoke to him: and it came to pass, as he feared
the house of his father and the men of the city if he should do it by day, that
he did it by night.
28 And the men of the city rose up early
in the morning; and behold, the altar of Baal had been demolished, and the grove
by it had been destroyed; and they saw the second bullock, which Gedeon offered
on the altar that had been built. 29
And a man said to his neighbour, Who has done this thing? and
they enquired and searched, and learnt that Gedeon the son of Joas had done this
thing. 30 And the men of the city
said to Joas, Bring out thy son, and let him die, because he has destroyed the
altar of Baal, and because he has destroyed the grove that is by it.
31 And Gedeon the son of Joas said to all
the men who rose up against him, Do ye now plead for Baal, or will ye save him?
whoever will plead for him, let him be slain this morning: if he be a god let
him plead for himself, because one has thrown down his altar.
32 And he called it in that day Jerobaal,
saying, Let Baal plead thereby, because his altar has been thrown down.
33 And all Madiam, and Amalek, and the
sons of the east gathered themselves together, and encamped in the valley of
Jezrael. 34 And the Spirit of the
Lord came upon Gedeon, and he blew with the horn, and Abiezer came to help after
him. 35 And Gedeon sent
messengers into all Manasse, and into Aser, and into Zabulon, and into Nephthali;
and he went up to meet them.
36 And Gedeon said to God, If thou wilt
save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 37
behold, I put the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if there
be dew on the fleece only, and drought on all the ground, I shall know that thou
wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. 38
And it was so: and he rose up early in the morning, and wrung the
fleece, and dew dropped from the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39 And Gedeon said to God, Let not, I pray
thee, thine anger be kindled with me, and I will speak yet once; I will even yet
make one trial more with the fleece: let now the drought be upon the fleece
only, and let there be dew on all the ground. 40
And God did so in that night; and there was drought on the fleece
only, and on all the ground there was dew.
Chapter 7
7:1 And Jerobaal rose early, the same is
Gedeon, and all the people with him, and encamped at the fountain of Arad; and
the camp of Madiam was to the north of him, reaching from Gabaathamorai,
in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gedeon, The
people with thee are many, so that I may not deliver Madiam into their
hand, lest at any time Israel boast against me, saying, My hand has saved me.
3 And now speak in the ears of the
people, saying, Who is afraid and fearful? let him turn and depart from
mount Galaad: and there returned of the people twenty-two thousand, and ten
thousand were left. 4 And the Lord
said to Gedeon, The people is yet numerous; bring them down to the water, and I
will purge them there for thee: and it shall come to pass that of whomsoever I
shall say to thee, This one shall go with thee, even he shall go with
thee; and of whomsoever I shall say to thee, This one shall not go with thee,
even he shall not go with thee. 5
And he brought the people down to the water; and the Lord said to
Gedeon, Whosoever shall lap of the water with his tongue as if a dog should lap,
thou shalt set him apart, and also whosoever shall bow down upon his
knees to drink. 6 And the number of
those that lapped with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; and all
the rest of the people bowed upon their knees to drink water.
7 And the Lord said to Gedeon, I will save
you by the three hundred men that lapped, and I will give Madiam into thy hand;
and all the rest of the people shall go every one to his place.
8 And they took the provision of the people
in their hand, and their horns; and he sent away every man of Israel each to his
tent, and he strengthened the three hundred; and the army of Madiam were beneath
him in the valley.
9 And it came to pass in that night that
the Lord said to him, Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into
thy hand. 10 And if thou art afraid
to go down, go down thou and thy servant Phara into the camp.
11 And thou shalt hear what they shall say,
and afterwards thy hands shall be strong, and thou shalt go down into the camp:
and he went down and Phara his servant to the extremity of the companies of
fifty, which were in the camp. 12
And Madiam and Amalec and all the children of the east were scattered in
the valley, as the locust for multitude; and there was no number to their
camels, but they were as the sand on the seashore for multitude.
13 And Gedeon came, and behold a man
was relating to his neighbour a dream, and he said, Behold, I have dreamed a
dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread rolling into the camp of Madiam, and
it came as far as a tent, and smote it, and it fell, and it turned it up, and
the tent fell. 14 And his neighbour
answered and said, This is none other than the sword of Gedeon, son of Joas, a
man of Israel: God has delivered Madiam and all the host into his hand.
15 And it came to pass when Gedeon heard
the account of the dream and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped the
Lord, and returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Rise, for the Lord has
delivered the camp of Madiam into our hand. 16
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and
put horns in the hands of all, and empty pitchers, and torches in the pitchers:
17 and he said to them, Ye shall
look at me, and so shall ye do; and behold, I will go into the beginning of the
host, and it shall come to pass that as I do, so shall ye do.
18 And I will sound with the horn, and all
ye with me shall sound with the horn round about the whole camp, and ye shall
say, For the Lord and Gedeon.
19 And Gedeon and the hundred men that
were with him came to the extremity of the army in the beginning of the middle
watch; and they completely roused the guards, and sounded with the horns, and
they broke the pitchers that were in their hands, 20
and the three companies sounded with the horns, and broke
the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and in their right hands
their horns to sound with; and they cried out, A sword for the Lord and for
Gedeon. 21 And every man
stood in his place round about the host; and all the host ran, and sounded an
alarm, and fled. 22 And they
sounded with the three hundred horns; and the Lord set every man’s sword
in all the host against his neighbour. 23
And the host fled as far as Bethseed Tagaragatha Abel-meula to
Tabath; and the men of Israel from Nephthali, and from Aser, and from all
Manasse, came to help, and followed after Madiam.
24 And Gedeon sent messengers into all
mount Ephraim, saying, Come down to meet Madiam, and take to yourselves the
water as far as Baethera and Jordan: and every man of Ephraim cried out, and
they took the water before hand unto Baethera and Jordan.
25 And they took the princess of Madiam, even Oreb and Zeb;
and they slew Oreb in Sur Oreb, and they slew Zeb in Jakephzeph; and they
pursued Madiam, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon from beyond
Jordan.
Chapter 8
8:1 And the men of Ephraim said to
Gedeon, What is this that thou hast done to us, in that thou didst
not call us when thou wentest to fight with Madiam? and they chode with him
sharply. 2 And he said to them, What
have I now done in comparison of you? is not the gleaning of Ephraim
better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3
The Lord has delivered into your hand the princes of Madiam, Oreb
and Zeb; and what could I do in comparison of you? Then was their spirit calmed
toward him, when he spoke this word.
4 And Gedeon came to Jordan, and went
over, himself and the three hundred with him, hungry, yet pursuing.
5 And he said to the men of Socchoth, Give,
I pray you, bread to feed this people that follow me; because they are faint,
and behold, I am following after Zebee and Salmana, kings of Madiam.
6 And the princes of Socchoth said, Are
the hands of Zebee and Salmana now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy
host? 7 And Gedeon said, Therefore
when the Lord gives Zebee and Salmana into my hand, then will I tear your flesh
with the thorns of the wilderness, and the Barkenim. 8
And he went up thence to Phanuel, and spoke to them
likewise: and the men of Phanuel answered him as the men of Socchoth had
answered him. 9 And Gedeon said to
the men of Phanuel, When I return in peace, I will break down this tower.
10 And Zebee and Salmana were in
Carcar, and their host was with them, about fifteen thousand, all that
were left of all the host of the aliens; and they that fell were a
hundred and twenty thousand men that drew the sword. 11
And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents,
eastward of Nabai and Jegebal; and he smote the host, and the host was secure.
12 And Zebee and Salmana fled; and
he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Madiam, Zebee and Salmana, and
discomfited all the army.
13 And Gedeon the son of Joas returned
from the battle, down from the battle of Ares. 14
And he took prisoner a young lad of the men of Socchoth, and
questioned him; and he wrote to him the names of the princes of Socchoth and of
their elders, seventy-seven men. 15
And Gedeon came to the princes of Socchoth, and said, Behold Zebee and Salmana,
about whom ye reproached me, saying, Are the hands of Zebee and Salmana
now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are faint?
16 And he took the elders of the city with
the thorns of the wilderness and the Barkenim, and with them he tore the men of
the city. 17 And he overthrew the
tower of Phanuel, and slew the men of the city.
18 And he said to Zebee and Salmana,
Where are the men whom ye slew in Thabor? and they said, As thou, so
were they, according to the likeness of the son of a king.
19 And Gedeon said, They were my brethren
and the sons of my mother: as the Lord lives, if ye had preserved them
alive, I would not have slain you. 20
And he said to Jether his first-born, Rise and slay them; but the
lad drew not his sword, for he was afraid, for he was yet very young.
21 And Zebee and Salmana said, Rise thou
and fall upon us, for thy power is as that of a man; and Gedeon arose,
and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the round ornaments that were on the
necks of their camels.
22 And the men of Israel said to Gedeon,
Rule, my lord, over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son; for
thou hast saved us out of the hand of Madiam. 23
And Gedeon said to them, I will not rule, and my son shall not
rule among you; the Lord shall rule over you. 24
And Gedeon said to them, I will make a request of you, and do ye
give me every man an earring out of his spoils: for they had golden earrings,
for they were Ismaelites. 25 And
they said, We will certainly give them: and he opened his garment, and each man
cast therein an earring of his spoils. 26
And the weight of the golden earrings which he asked, was a
thousand and seven hundred pieces of gold, besides the crescents, and the
chains, and the garments, and the purple cloths that were on the kings of Madiam,
and besides the chains that were on the necks of their camels.
27 And Gedeon made an ephod of it, an set
it in his city in Ephratha; and all Israel went thither a whoring after it, and
it became a stumbling-block to Gedeon and his house.
28 And Madiam, was straitened before the
children of Israel, and they did not lift up their head any more; and the land
had rest forty years in the days of Gedeon. 29
And Jerobaal the son of Joas went and sat in his house.
30 And Gedeon had seventy sons begotten of
his body, for he had many wives. 31
And his concubine was in Sychem, and she also bore him a son, and gave him the
name Abimelech. 32 And Gedeon son of
Joas died in his city, and he was buried in the sepulchre of Joas his father in
Ephratha of Abi-Esdri.
33 And it came to pass when Gedeon was
dead, that the children of Israel turned, and went a whoring after Baalim, and
made for themselves a covenant with Baal that he should be their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered
not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hand of all that
afflicted them round about. 35 And
they did not deal mercifully with the house of Jerobaal, (the same is Gedeon)
according to all the good which he did to Israel.
Chapter 9
9:1 And Abimelech son of Jerobaal went
to Sychem to his mother’s brethren; and he spoke to them and to all the kindred
of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2
Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Sychem, saying,
Which is better for you, that seventy men, even all the sons of Jerobaal,
should reign over you, or that one man should reign over you? and remember that
I am your bone and your flesh. 3 And
his mother’s brethren spoke concerning him in the ears of all the men of Sychem
all these words; and their heart turned after Abimelech, for they said, He is
our brother. 4 And they gave him
seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith; and Abimelech
hired for himself vain and cowardly men, and they went after him.
5 And he went to the house of his father to
Ephratha, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men upon one
stone; but Joatham the youngest son of Jerobaal was left, for he hid himself.
6 And all the men of Sicima, and all the
house of Bethmaalo, were gathered together, and they went and made Abimelech
king by the oak of Sedition, which was at Sicima.
7 And it was reported to Joatham, and he
went and stood on the top of mount Garizin, and lifted up his voice, and wept,
and said to them, Hear me, ye men of Sicima, and God shall hear you.
8 The trees went forth on a time to
anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive, Reign over us.
9 But the olives said to them, Shall I
leave my fatness, with which men shall glorify God, and go to be promoted over
the trees? 10 And the trees said to
the fig-tree, Come, reign over us. 11
But the fig-tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness an my
good fruits, and go to be promoted over the trees? 12
And the trees said to the vine, Come, reign over us.
13 And the vine said to them, Shall
I leave my wine that cheers God and men, and go to be promoted over the trees?
14 Then all the trees said to the
bramble, Come thou and reign over us. 15
And the bramble said to the trees, If ye in truth anoint me to
reign over you, come, stand under my shadow; and if not, let fire come out from
me and devour the cedars of Libanus.
16 And now, if ye have done it in truth
and integrity, and have made Abimelech king, and if ye have wrought well with
Jerobaal, and with his house, and if ye have done to him according to the reward
of his hand, 17 as my father fought
for you, and put his life in jeopardy, and delivered you out of the hand of
Madiam; 18 and ye are risen up this
day against the house of my father, and have slain his sons, being seventy men,
upon one stone, and have made Abimelech the son of his bondwoman king over the
men of Sicima, because he is your brother: 19
if then ye have done truly and faithfully with Jerobaal, and with
his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice over you:
20 but if not, let fire come out
from Abimelech, and devour the men of Sicima, and the house of Bethmaalo; and
let fire come out from the men of Sicima and from the house of Bethmaalo, and
devour Abimelech.
21 And Joatham fled, and ran away, and
went as far as Baeer, and dwelt there out of the way of his brother Abimelech.
22 And Abimelech reigned over Israel
three years. 23 And God sent an evil
spirit between Abimelech and the men of Sicima; and the men of Sicima dealt
treacherously with the house of Abimelech: 24
to bring the injury done to the seventy sons of Jerobaal, and to
lay their blood upon their brother Abimelech, who slew them, and upon the men of
Sicima, because they strengthened his hands to slay his brethren.
25 And the men of Sicima set liers in wait
against him on the top of the mountains, and robbed every one who passed by them
on the way; and it was reported to the king Abimelech.
26 And Gaal son of Jobel came, and his
brethren, and passed by Sicima, and the men of Sicima trusted in him.
27 And they went out into the field, and
gathered their grapes, and trod them, and made merry; and they brought the
grapes into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Jobel said,
Who is Abimelech, and who is the son of Sychem, that we should serve him? Is
he not the son of Jerobaal, and is not Zebul his steward, his servant
with the son of Emmor the father of Sychem? and why should we serve him?
29 And would that this people were under my
hand! then would I remove Abimelech, and I would say to him, Multiply thy host,
and come out.
30 And Zebul the ruler of the city heard
the words of Gaal the son of Jobel, and he was very angry.
31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech
secretly, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Jobel and his brethren are come to
Sychem; and behold, they have besieged the city against thee.
32 And now rise up by night, thou and the
people with thee, and lay wait in the field. 33
And it shall come to pass in the morning at sunrising, thou shalt
rise up early and draw toward the city; and behold, he and the people with him
will come forth against thee, and thou shalt do to him according to thy power.
34 And Abimelech and all the people
with him rose up by night, and formed an ambuscade against Sychem in four
companies. 35 And Gaal the son of
Jobel went forth, and stood by the door of the gate of the city: and Abimelech
and the people with him rose up from the ambuscade. 36
And Gaal the son of Jobel saw the people, and said to
Zebul, Behold, a people comes down from the top of the mountains: and Zebul said
to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as men. 37
And Gaal continued to speak and said, Behold, a people
comes down westward from the part bordering on the middle of the land, and
another company comes by the way of Helon Maonenim. 38
And Zebul said to him, And where is thy mouth as thou
spokest, Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? Is not this the
people whom thou despisedst? go forth now, and set the battle in array against
him. 39 And Gaal went forth before
the men of Sychem, and set the battle in array against Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech pursued him, and he fled
from before him; and many fell down slain as far as the door of the gate.
41 And Abimelech entered into Arema, and
Zebul cast out Gaal and his brethren, so that they should not dwell in Sychem.
42 And it came to pass on the second day
that the people went out into the field, and one brought word to
Abimelech. 43 And he took the
people, and divided them into three companies, and formed an ambush in the
field; and he looked, and, behold, the people went forth out of the city, and he
rose up against them, and smote them. 44
And Abimelech and the chiefs of companies that were with him
rushed forward, and stood by the door of the gate of the city; and the two
other companies rushed forward upon all that were in the field, and smote
them. 45 And Abimelech fought
against the city all that day, and took the city, and slew the people that were
in it, and destroyed the city, and sowed it with salt.
46 And all the men of the tower of
Sychem heard, and came to the gathering of Baethel-berith.
47 And it was reported to Abimelech, that
all the men of the tower of Sychem were gathered together.
48 And Abimelech went up to the mount of
Selmon, and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his
hand, and cut down a branch of a tree, and took it, and laid it on his
shoulders; and said to the people that were with him, What ye see me doing, do
quickly as I. 49 And they cut down
likewise even every man a branch, and went after Abimelech, and laid them
against the place of gathering, and burnt the place of gathering over them with
fire; and they died, even all the men of the tower of Sicima, about a thousand
men and women.
50 And Abimelech went out of
Baethel-berith, and encamped against Thebes, and took it.
51 And there was a strong tower in the midst of the city;
and thither all the men and the women of the city fled, and shut the door
without them, and went up on the roof of the tower. 52
And Abimelech drew near to the tower, and they besieged
it; and Abimelech drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 And a woman cast a piece of a
millstone upon the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.
54 And he cried out quickly to the young
man his armour-bearer, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, lest at any
time they should say, A woman slew him: and his young man thrust him through and
he died. 55 And the men of Israel
saw that Abimelech was dead; and they went each to his place.
56 So God requited the wickedness of
Abimelech, which he wrought against his father, in slaying his seventy brethren.
57 And all the wickedness of the men
of Sychem God requited upon their head; and the curse of Joatham the son of
Jerobaal came upon them.
Chapter 10
10:1 And after Abimelech Thola the son
of Phua rose up to save Israel, being the son of his father’s brother, a
man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Samir in mount Ephraim. 2
And he judged Israel twenty-three years, and died, and was
buried in Samir.
3 And after him arose Jair of Galaad,
and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 4
And he had thirty-two sons riding on thirty-two colts, and they
had thirty-two cities; and they called them Jair’s towns until this day in the
land of Galaad. 5 And Jair died, and
was buried in Rhamnon.
6 And the children of Israel did evil
again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Astaroth, and the gods of
Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children
of Ammon, and the gods of the Phylistines; and they forsook the Lord, and did
not serve him. 7 And the Lord was
very angry with Israel, and sold them into the hands of the Phylistines, and
into the hand of the children of Ammon. 8
And they afflicted and bruised the children of Israel at that
time eighteen years, all the children of Israel beyond Jordan in the land of the
Amorite in Galaad. 9 And the
children of Ammon went over Jordan to fight with Juda, and Benjamin, and with
Ephraim; and the children of Israel were greatly afflicted.
10 And the children of Israel cried to
the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, because we have forsaken God, and
served Baalim. 11 And the Lord said
to the children of Israel, Did I not save you from Egypt and from the
Amorite, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Phylistines,
12 and from the Sidonians, and Amalec, and
Madiam, who afflicted you? and ye cried to me, and I saved you out of their
hand? 13 Yet ye forsook me and
served other gods; therefore I will not save you any more.
14 Go, and cry to the gods whom ye have
chosen to yourselves, and let them save you in the time of your affliction.
15 And the children of Israel said
to the Lord, We have sinned: do thou to us according to all that is good
in thine eyes; only deliver us this day. 16
And they put away the strange gods from the midst of them, and
served the Lord only, and his soul was pained for the trouble of Israel.
17 And the children of Ammon went up,
and encamped in Galaad; and the children of Israel were gathered together and
encamped on the hill. 18 And the
people the princes of Galaad said every man to his neighbour, Who is he
that shall begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall even be head
over all that dwell in Galaad.
Chapter 11
11:1 And Jephthae the Galaadite was
a mighty man; and he was the son of a harlot, who bore Jephthae to Galaad.
2 And the wife of Galaad bore him
sons; and the sons of his wife grew up, and they cast out Jephthae, and said to
him, Thou shalt not inherit in the house of our father, for thou art the son of
a concubine.
3 And Jephthae fled from the face of his
brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and vain men gathered to Jephthae, and
went out with him.
4 And it came to pass when the children
of Ammon prepared to fight with Israel, 5
that the elders of Galaad went to fetch Jephthae from the land of
Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthae,
Come, and be our head, and we will fight with the sons of Ammon.
7 And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad,
Did ye not hate me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and banish me from
you? and wherefore are ye come to me now when ye want me?
8 And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, Therefore
have we now turned to thee, that thou shouldest go with us, and fight against
the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
9 And Jephthae said to the elders of Galaad,
If ye turn me back to fight with the children of Ammon, and the Lord should
deliver them before me, then will I be your head. 10
And the elders of Galaad said to Jephthae, The Lord be
witness between us, if we shall not do according to thy word.
11 And Jephthae went with the elders of
Galaad, and the people made him head and ruler over them: and Jephthae spoke all
his words before the Lord in Massepha.
12 And Jephthae sent messengers to the
king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have I to do with thee, that thou
hast come against me to fight in my land? 13
And the king of the children of Ammon said to the messengers of
Jephthae, Because Israel took my land when he went up out of Egypt, from Arnon
to Jaboc, and to Jordan: now then return them peaceably and I will depart.
14 And Jephthae again sent messengers to
the king of the children of Ammon, 15
and said to him, Thus says Jephthae, Israel took not the land of
Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; 16
for in their going up out of Egypt Israel went in the wilderness
as far as the sea of Siph, and came to Cades. 17
And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I will
pass, if it please thee, by thy land: and the king of Edom complied not: and
Israel also sent to the king of Moab, and he did not consent; and Israel
sojourned in Cades. 18 And they
journeyed in the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom and the land of
Moab: and they came by the east of the land of Moab, an encamped in the country
beyond Arnon, and came not within the borders of Moab, for Arnon is the
border of Moab. 19 And Israel sent
messengers to Seon king of the Amorite, king of Esbon, and Israel said to him,
Let us pass, we pray thee, by thy land to our place. 20
And Seon did not trust Israel to pass by his coast; and
Seon gathered all his people, and they encamped at Jasa; and he set the battle
in array against Israel. 21 And the
Lord God of Israel delivered Seon and all his people into the hand of Israel,
and they smote him; and Israel inherited all the land of the Amorite who dwelt
in that land, 22 from Arnon and to
Jaboc, and from the wilderness to Jordan. 23
And now the Lord God of Israel has removed the Amorite from
before his people Israel, and shalt thou inherit his land?
24 Wilt thou not inherit those possessions
which Chamos thy god shall cause thee to inherit; and shall not we inherit the
land of all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you?
25 And now art thou any better than
Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed
make war with him, 26 when Israel
dwelt in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts,
and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and wherefore didst thou
not recover them in that time? 27
And now I have not sinned against thee, but thou wrongest me in preparing war
against me: may the Lord the Judge judge this day between the children of Israel
and the children of Ammon.
28 But the king of the children of Ammon
hearkened not to the words of Jephthae, which he sent to him.
29 And the spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthae, and he passed over Galaad, and Manasse, and passed by the watch-tower
of Galaad to the other side of the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthae vowed a vow to the Lord,
and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
31 then it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall first come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return
in peace from the children of Ammon, he shall be the Lord’s: I will offer him up
for a whole-burnt-offering. 32 And
Jephthae advanced to meet the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord
delivered them into his hand. 33 And
he smote them from Aroer till one comes to Arnon, in number twenty
cities, and as far as Ebelcharmim, with a very great destruction: and the
children of Ammon were straitened before the children of Israel.
34 And Jephthae came to Massepha to his
house; and behold, his daughter came forth to meet him with timbrels and dances;
and she was his only child, he had not another son or daughter.
35 And it came to pass when he saw her,
that he rent his garments, and said, Ah, ah, my daughter, thou hast indeed
troubled me, and thou wast the cause of my trouble; and I have opened my mouth
against thee to the Lord, and I shall not be able to return from it.
36 And she said to him, Father, hast thou
opened thy mouth to the Lord? Do to me accordingly as the word went out
of thy mouth, in that the Lord has wrought vengeance for thee on thine enemies
of the children of Ammon. 37 And she
said to her father, Let my father now do this thing: let me alone for two
months, and I will go up and down on the mountains, and I will bewail my
virginity, I and my companions. 38
And he said, Go: and he sent her away for two months; and she went, and her
companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of the
two months that she returned to her father; and he performed upon her his vow
which he vowed; and she knew no man: 40
and it was an ordinance in Israel, That the daughters of
Israel went from year to year to bewail the daughter of Jephthae the Galaadite
for four days in a year.
Chapter 12
12:1 And the men of Ephraim assembled
themselves, and passed on to the north, and said to Jephthae, Wherefore
didst thou go over to fight with the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to
go with thee? we will burn thy house over thee with fire.
2 And Jephthae said to them, I and my people and the
children of Ammon were very much engaged in war; and I called for you, and ye
did not save me out of their hand. 3
And I saw that thou wert no helper, and I put my life in my hand,
and passed on to the sons of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand:
and wherefore are ye come up against me this day to fight with me?
4 And Jephthae gathered all the men of
Galaad, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Galaad smote Ephraim, because
they that were escaped of Ephraim said, Ye are of Galaad in the midst of
Ephraim and in the midst of Manasse. 5
And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that
escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art
thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No. 6
Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly
pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and
there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand.
7 And Jephthae judged Israel six years;
and Jephthae the Galaadite died, and was buried in his city Galaad.
8 And after him Abaissan of Bethleem
judged Israel. 9 And he had thirty
sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent forth; and he brought in thirty
daughters for his sons from without; and he judged Israel seven years.
10 And Abaissan died, and was buried in
Bethleem.
11 And after him Ælom of Zabulon judged
Israel ten years. 12 And Ælom of
Zabulon died, and was buried in Ælom in the land of Zabulon.
13 And after him Abdon the son of Ellel,
the Pharathonite, judged Israel. 14
And he had forty sons, and thirty grandsons, that rode upon seventy colts: and
he judged Israel eight years. 15 And
Abdon the son of Ellel, the Pharathonite, died, and was buried in Pharathon in
the land of Ephraim in the mount of Amalec.
Chapter 13
13:1 And the children of Israel yet
again committed iniquity before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the
hand of the Phylistines forty years.
2 And there was a man of Saraa, of the
family of the kindred of Dan, and his name was Manoe, and his wife was barren,
and bore not. 3 And an angel of the
Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, thou art barren and hast
not born; yet thou shalt conceive a son. 4
And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and
eat no unclean thing; 5 for behold,
thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor
upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he
shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines.
6 And the woman went in, and spoke to
her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance was as
of an angel of God, very dreadful; and I did not ask him whence he was, and he
did not tell me his name. 7 And he
said to me, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and now
drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; for the child shall be
holy to God from the womb until the day of his death.
8 And Manoe prayed to the Lord and said,
I pray thee, O Lord my lord, concerning the man of God whom thou sentest;
let him now come to us once more, and teach us what we shall do to the child
about to be born.
9 And the Lord heard the voice of Manoe,
and the angel of God came yet again to the woman; and she sat in the field, and
Manoe her husband was not with her. 10
And the woman hasted, and ran, and brought word to her husband,
and said to him, Behold the man who came in the other day to me has
appeared to me.
11 And Manoe arose and followed his
wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that spoke to the
woman? and the angel said, I am. 12
And Manoe said, Now shall thy word come to pass: what
shall be the ordering of the child, and our dealings with him?
13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe,
Of all things concerning which I spoke to the woman, she shall beware.
14 She shall eat of nothing that comes of
the vine yielding wine, and let her not drink wine or strong liquor, and let her
not eat anything unclean: all things that I have charged her she shall observe.
15 And Manoe said to the angel of the
Lord, Let us detain thee here, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.
16 And the angel of the Lord said to
Manoe, If thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou
wouldest offer a whole-burnt-offering, to the Lord thou shalt offer it: for
Manoe knew not that he was an angel of the Lord. 17
And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, What is
thy name, that when thy word shall come to pass, we may glorify thee?
18 And the angel of the Lord said to
him, Why dost thou thus ask after my name; whereas it is wonderful?
19 And Manoe took a kid of the goats and
its meat-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord; and the angel
wrought a distinct work, and Manoe and his wife were looking on.
20 And it came to pass when the flame went
up above the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord went up in the
flame; and Manoe and his wife were looking, and they fell upon their face to the
earth.
21 And the angel appeared no more to
Manoe and to his wife: then Manoe knew that this was an angel of the
Lord. 22 And Manoe said to his wife,
We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23
But his wife said to him, If the Lord were pleased to slay us, he
would not have received of our hand a whole-burnt-offering and a meat-offering;
and he would not have shewn us all these things, neither would he have caused us
to hear all these things as at this time.
24 And the woman brought forth a son,
and she called his name Sampson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began
to go out with him in the camp of Dan, and between Saraa and Esthaol.
Chapter 14
14:1 And Sampson went down to Thamnatha,
and saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he went up and told his father and
his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the
Phylistines; and now take her to me for a wife. 3
And his father and his mother said to him, Are there no daughters
of thy brethren, and is there not a woman of all my people, that thou
goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Sampson said to his father, Take her for me, for she is
right in my eyes. 4 And his father
and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought to be revenged
on the Philistines: and at that time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.
5 And Sampson and his father and his
mother went down to Thamnatha, and he came to the vineyard of Thamnatha; and
behold, a young lion roared in meeting him. 6
And the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he
crushed him as he would have crushed a kid of the goats, and there was nothing
in his hands: and he told not his father and his mother what he had done.
7 And they went down and spoke to the
woman, and she was pleasing in the eyes of Sampson.
8 And after some time he returned to
take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, a
swarm of bees, and honey were in the mouth of the lion.
9 And he took it into his hands, and went
on eating, and he went to his father and his mother, and gave to them, and they
did eat; but he told them not that he took the honey out of the mouth of the
lion.
10 And his father went down to the
woman, and Sampson made there a banquet for seven days, for so the young men are
used to do. 11 And it came to pass
when they saw him, that they took thirty guests, and they were with him.
12 And Sampson said to them, I propound
you a riddle: if ye will indeed tell it me, and discover it within the seven
days of the feast, I will you give thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment.
13 And if ye cannot tell it me, ye
shall give me thirty napkins and thirty changes of apparel: and they said to
him, Propound thy riddle, and we will hear it. 14
And he said to them, Meat came forth of the eater, and sweetness
out of the strong: and they could not tell the riddle for three days.
15 And it came to pass on the fourth
day, that they said to the wife of Sampson, Deceive now thy husband, and let him
tell thee the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: did ye
invite us to do us violence? 16 And
Sampson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me
not; for the riddle which thou hast propounded to the children of my people thou
hast not told me: and Sampson said to her, If I have not told it to my father
and my mother, shall I tell it to thee? 17
And she wept before him the seven days, during which their
banquet lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her,
because she troubled him; and she told it to the children of her people.
18 And the men of the city said to him on
the seventh day, before sunrise, What is sweeter than honey? and what
is stronger than a lion? and Sampson said to them, If ye had not ploughed
with my heifer, ye would not have known my riddle. 19
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully, and
he went down to Ascalon, and destroyed of the inhabitants thirty men, and took
their garments, and gave the changes of raiment to them that told the riddle;
and Sampson was very angry, and went up to the house of his father.
20 And the wife of Sampson was given
to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.
Chapter 15
15:1 And it came to pass after a time,
in the days of wheat harvest, that Sampson visited his wife with a kid, and
said, I will go in to my wife even into the chamber: but her father did not
suffer him to go in. 2 And her
father spoke, saying, I said that thou didst surely hate her, and I gave her to
one of thy friends: is not her younger sister better than she? let her be
to thee instead of her.
3 And Sampson said to them, Even for
once am I guiltless with regard to the Philistines, in that I do mischief among
them. 4 And Sampson went and caught
three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch
between two tails, and fastened it. 5
And he set fire to the torches, and sent the foxes into
the corn of the Philistines; and every thing was burnt from the threshing floor
to the standing corn, and even to the vineyard and olives.
6 And the Philistines said, Who has done
these things? and they said, Sampson the son-in-law of the Thamnite, because he
has taken his wife, and given her to one of his friends; and the Philistines
went up, and burnt her and her father’s house with fire.
7 And Sampson said to them, Though ye
may have dealt thus with her, verily I will be avenged of you, and afterwards I
will cease. 8 And he smote them leg
on thigh with a great overthrow; and went down and dwelt in a cave of the
rock Etam.
9 And the Philistines went up, and
encamped in Juda, and spread themselves abroad in Lechi.
10 And the men of Juda said, Why are ye come up against
us? and the Philistines said, We are come up to bind Sampson, and to do to him
as he has done to us. 11 And the
three thousand men of Juda went down to the hole of the rock Etam, and they said
to Sampson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? and what is
this that thou hast done to us? and Sampson said to them, As they did to
me, so have I done to them. 12 And
they said to him, We are come down to bind thee to deliver thee into the hand of
the Philistines: and Sampson said to them, Swear to me that ye will not fall
upon me yourselves. 13 And they
spoke to him, saying, Nay, but we will only bind thee fast, and deliver thee
into their hand, and will by no means slay thee: and they bound him with two new
ropes, and brought him from that rock.
14 And they came to Lechi: and the
Philistines shouted, and ran to meet him: and the Spirit of the Lord came
mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as tow which is
burnt with fire; and his bonds were consumed from off his hands.
15 And he found the jaw-bone of an ass that
had been cast away, and he put forth his hand and took it, and smote with it a
thousand men. 16 And Sampson said,
With the jaw-bone of an ass I have utterly destroyed them, for with the jaw-bone
of an ass I have smitten a thousand men. 17
And it came to pass when he ceased speaking, that he cast the
jaw-bone out of his hand; and he called that place the Lifting of the jaw-bone.
18 And he was very thirsty, and wept
before the Lord, and said, Thou hast been well pleased to grant this great
deliverance by the hand of thy servant, and new shall I die for thirst, and fall
into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19
And God broke open a hollow place in the jaw, and there came
thence water, and he drank; and his spirit returned and he revived: therefore
the name of the fountain was called ‘The well of the invoker,’ which is in Lechi,
until this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of
the Philistines twenty years.
Chapter 16
16:1 And Sampson went to Gaza, and saw
there a harlot, and went in to her. 2
And it was reported to the Gazites, saying, Sampson is come
hither: and they compassed him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of
the city, and they were quiet all the night, saying, Let us wait till the dawn
appear, and we will slay him. 3 And
Sampson slept till midnight, and rose up at midnight, and took hold of the doors
of the gate of the city with the two posts, and lifted them up with the bar, and
laid them on his shoulders, and he went up to the top of the mountain that is
before Chebron, and laid them there.
4 And it came to pass after this that he
loved a woman in Alsorech, and her name was Dalida.
5 And the princess of the Philistines came
up to her, and said to her, Beguile him, and see wherein his great strength
is, and wherewith we shall prevail against him, and bind him to humble him;
and we will give thee each eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Dalida said to Sampson, Tell me, I
pray thee, wherein is thy great strength, and wherewith thou shalt be
bound that thou mayest be humbled. 7
And Sampson said to her, If they bind me with seven moist cords
that have not been spoiled, then shall I be weak and be as one of ordinary men.
8 And the princess of the
Philistines brought to her seven moist cords that had not been spoiled, and she
bound him with them. 9 And the liers
in wait remained with her in the chamber; and she said to him, the Philistines
are upon thee, Sampson: and he broke the cords as if any one should break
a thread of tow when it has touched the fire, and his strength was not known.
10 And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold,
thou hast cheated me, and told me lies; now then tell me wherewith thou shalt be
bound. 11 And he said to her, If
they should bind me fast with new ropes with which work has not been done, then
shall I be weak, and shall be as another man. 12
And Dalida took new ropes, and bound him with them, and the liers
in wait came out of the chamber, and she said, The Philistines are upon
thee, Sampson: and he broke them off his arms like a thread.
13 And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold,
thou hast deceived me, and told me lies; tell me, I intreat thee, wherewith thou
mayest be bound: and he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of
my head with the web, and shouldest fasten them with the pin into the wall, then
shall I be weak as another man. 14
And it came to pass when he was asleep, that Dalida took the seven locks of his
head, and wove them with the web, and fastened them with the pin into the wall,
and she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he awoke out of
his sleep, and carried away the pin of the web out of the wall.
15 And Dalida said to Sampson, How
sayest thou, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? this third time thou
hast deceived me, and hast not told me wherein is thy great strength.
16 And it came to pass as she
pressed him sore with her words continually, and straitened him, that his spirit
failed almost to death. 17 Then he
told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come upon my head,
because I have been a holy one of God from my mother’s womb; if then I
should be shaven, my strength will depart from me, and I shall be weak, and I
shall be as all other men.
18 And Dalida saw that he told her all
his heart, and she sent and called the princess of the Philistines, saying, Come
up yet this once; for he has told me all his heart. And the chiefs of the
Philistines went up to her, and brought the money in their hands.
19 And Dalida made Sampson sleep upon her
knees; and she called a man, and he shaved the seven locks of his head, and she
began to humble him, and his strength departed from him.
20 And Dalida said, The Philistines are upon thee,
Sampson: and he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at former
times, and shake myself; and he knew not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 And the Philistines took him, and
put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of
brass; and he ground in the prison-house. 22
And the hair of his head began to grow as before it was shaven.
23 And the chiefs of the Philistines met
to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to make merry; and they said,
God has given into our hand our enemy Sampson. 24
And the people saw him, and sang praises to their god; for our
god, said they, has delivered into our hand our enemy, who wasted our
land, and who multiplied our slain. 25
And when their heart was merry, then they said, Call Sampson out
of the prison-house, and let him play before us: and they called Sampson out of
the prison-house, and he played before them; and they smote him with the palms
of their hands, and set him between the pillars. 26
And Sampson said to the young man that held his hand, Suffer me
to feel the pillars on which the house rests, and I will stay myself upon
them. 27 And the house was
full of men and woman, and there were all the chiefs of the Philistines, and on
the roof were about three thousand men and woman looking at the sports of
Sampson.
28 And Sampson wept before the Lord, and
said, O Lord, my lord, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, O God, yet
this once, and I will requite one recompense to the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Sampson took hold of the two
pillars of the house on which the house stood, and leaned on them, and laid hold
of one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
30 And Sampson said, Let my wife perish with the
Philistines: and he bowed himself mightily; and the house fell upon the princes,
and upon all the people that were in it: and the dead whom Sampson slew in his
death were more than those whom he slew in his life.
31 And his brethren and his father’s
house went down, and they took him; and they went up and buried him between
Saraa and Esthaol in the sepulchre of his father Manoe; and he judged Israel
twenty years.
Chapter 17
17:1 And there was a man of mount
Ephraim, and his name was Michaias. 2
And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver
which thou tookest of thyself, and about which thou cursedst me, and
spokest in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it: and his
mother said, Blessed be my son of the Lord. 3
And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his
mother; and his mother said, I had wholly consecrated the money to the Lord out
of my hand for my son, to make a graven and a molten image, and now I
will restore it to thee. 4 But he
returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took two hundred pieces of
silver, and gave them to a silversmith, and he made it a graven and a molten
image; and it was in the house of Michaias. 5
And the house of Michaias was to him the house of God, and
he made an ephod and theraphin, and he consecrated one of his sons, and he
became to him a priest.
6 And in those days there was no king in
Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
7 And there was a young man in Bethleem
of the tribe of Juda, and he was a Levite, and he was sojourning there.
8 And the man departed from Bethleem
the city of Juda to sojourn in whatever place he might find; and he came as far
as mount Ephraim, and to the house of Michaias to accomplish his journey.
9 And Michaias said to him, Whence comest
thou? and he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethleem Juda, and I go to sojourn in
any place I may find. 10 And
Michaias said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest; and I
will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a change of raiment, and
thy living. 11 And the Levite went
and began to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his
sons. 12 And Michaias consecrated
the Levite, and he became to him a priest, and he was in the house of Michaias.
13 And Michaias said, Now I know
that the Lord will do me good, because a Levite has become my priest.
Chapter 18
18:1 In those days there was no king in
Israel; and in those days the tribe of Dan sought for itself an inheritance to
inhabit, because no inheritance had fallen to it until that day in the midst of
the tribes of the children of Israel. 2
And the sons of Dan sent from their families five men of valour,
from Saraa and from Esthaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said
to them, Go and search out the land. And they came as far as the mount of
Ephraim to the house of Michaias and they lodged there, 3
in the house of Michaias, and they recognised the voice of
the young man the Levite, and turned in thither; and said to him, Who brought
thee in hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
4 And he said to them, Thus and thus
did Michaias to me, and he hired me, and I became his priest.
5 And they said to him, Enquire now of God,
and we shall know whether our way will prosper, on which we are going.
6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace;
your way in which ye go, is before the Lord.
7 And the five men went on, and came to
Laisa; and they saw the people in the midst of it dwelling securely, at ease as
is the manner of the Sidonians, and there is no one perverting or shaming
a matter in the land, no heir extorting treasures; and they are far from the
Sidonians, and they have no intercourse with any one. 8
And the five men came to their brethren to Saraa and
Esthaol, and said to their brethren, Why sit ye here idle?
9 And they said, Arise, and let us go up
against them, for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good,
yet ye are still: delay not to go, an to enter in to possess the land.
10 And whensoever ye shall go, ye shall
come in upon a people secure, and the land is extensive, for God has
given it into your hand; a place where there is no want of anything that the
earth affords.
11 And there departed thence of the
families of Dan, from Saraa and from Esthaol, six hundred men, girded with
weapons of war. 12 And they went up,
and encamped in Cariathiarim in Juda; therefore it was called in that place the
camp of Dan, until this day: behold, it is behind Cariathiarim.
13 And they went on thence to the mount
of Ephraim, and came to the house of Michaias. 14
And the five men who went to spy out the land of Laisa answered,
and said to their brethren, Ye know that there is in this place an ephod, and
theraphin, and a graven and a molten image; and now consider what ye shall do.
15 And they turned aside there, and
went into the house of the young man, the Levite, even into the house of
Michaias, and asked him how he was. 16
And the six hundred men of the sons of Dan who were girded with
their weapons of war stood by the door of the gate. 17
And the five men who went to spy out the land went up, and
entered into the house of Michaias, and the priest stood.
18 And they took the graven image, and the ephod, and the
theraphin, and the molten image; and the priest said to them, What are ye doing?
19 And they said to him, Be silent,
lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a
priest: is it better for thee to be the priest of the house of one man,
or to be the priest of a tribe and house for a family of Israel?
20 And the heart of the priest was glad,
and he took the ephod, and the theraphin, and the graven image, and the molten
image, and went in the midst of the people.
21 So they turned and departed, and put
their children and their property and their baggage before them.
22 They went some distance from the
house of Michaias, and, behold, Michaias and the men in the houses near Michaias’
house, cried out, and overtook the children of Dan. 23
And the children of Dan turned their face, and said to
Michaias, What is the matter with thee that thou hast cried out?
24 And Michaias said, Because ye have taken
my graven image which I made, and my priest, and are gone; and what have I
remaining? and what is this that ye say to me, Why criest thou?
25 And the children of Dan said to
him, Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest angry men run upon thee, and take
away thy life, and the lives of thy house. 26
And the children of Dan went their way; and Michaias saw that
they were stronger than himself, and he returned to his house.
27 And the children of Dan took what
Michaias had made, and the priest that he had, and they came to Laisa, to a
people quiet and secure; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and
burnt the city with fire. 28 And
there was no deliverer, because the city is far from the Sidonians, and
they have no intercourse with men, and it is in the valley of the house
of Raab; and they built the city, and dwelt in it. 29
And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name
of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and the name of the city was
Ulamais before.
30 And the children of Dan set up the
graven image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gerson son of Manasse, he and
his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan till the time of the carrying away of
the nation. 31 And they set up for
themselves the graven image which Michaias made, all the days that the house of
God was in Selom; and it was so in those days that there was no king in
Israel.
Chapter 19
19:1 And there was a Levite sojourning
in the sides of mount Ephraim, and he took to himself a concubine from Bethleem
Juda. 2 And his concubine departed
from him, and went away from him to the house of her father to Bethleem Juda,
and she was there four months.
3 And her husband rose up, and went
after her to speak kindly to her, to recover her to himself; and he had his
young man with him, and a pair of asses; and she brought him into the house of
her father; and the father of the damsel saw him, and was well pleased to meet
him. 4 And his father-in-law, the
father of the damsel, constrained him, and he stayed with him for three days;
and they ate and drank, and lodged there. 5
And it came to pass on the fourth day that they rose early, and
he stood up to depart; and the father of the damsel said to his son-in-law,
Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards ye shall go.
6 So they two sat down together and ate and
drank: and the father of the damsel said to her husband, Tarry now the night,
and let thy heart be merry. 7 And
the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law constrained him, and he stayed
and lodged there.
8 And he rose early in the morning on
the fifth day to depart; and the father of the damsel said, Strengthen now thine
heart, and quit thyself as a soldier till the day decline; and the two ate.
9 And the man rose up to depart, he
and his concubine, and his young man; but his father-in-law the father of the
damsel said to him, Behold now, the day has declined toward evening; lodge here,
an let thy heart rejoice; and ye shall rise early to-morrow for your journey,
and thou shalt go to thy habitation. 10
But the man would not lodge there, but he arose and departed, and
came to the part opposite Jebus, (this is Jerusalem,) and there was with
him a pair of asses saddled, and his concubine was with him.
11 And they came as far as Jebus: and
the day had far advanced, and the young man said to his master, Come, I pray
thee, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us lodge in
it. 12 And his master said to him,
We will not turn aside to a strange city, where there is not one of the children
of Israel, but we will pass on as far as Gabaa. 13
And he said to his young man, Come, and let us draw nigh to one
of the places, and we will lodge in Gabaa or in Rama. 14
And they passed by and went on, and the sun went down upon
them near to Gabaa, which is in Benjamin. 15
And they turned aside thence to go in to lodge in Gabaa; and they
went in, and sat down in the street of the city, and there was no one who
conducted them into a house to lodge.
16 And behold, an old man came out of
the field from his work in the evening; and the man was of mount Ephraim, and he
sojourned in Gabaa, and the men of the place were sons of Benjamin.
17 And he lifted up his eyes, and
saw a traveller in the street of the city; and the old man said to him, Whither
goest thou, and whence comest thou? 18
And he said to him, We are passing by from Bethleem Juda to the
sides of mount Ephraim: I am from thence, and I went as far as Bethleem Juda,
and I am going home, and there is no man to take me into his house.
19 Yet is there straw and food for our
asses, and bread and wine for me and my handmaid and the young man with thy
servants; there is no want of anything. 20
And the old man said, Peace be to thee; only be every want
of thine upon me, only do thou by no means lodge in the street.
21 And he brought him into his house, and
made room for his asses; and they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
22 And they were comforting their
heart, when, behold, the men of the city, sons of transgressors, compassed the
house, knocking at the door: and they spoke to the old man the owner of the
house, saying, Bring out the man who came into thy house, that we may know him.
23 And the master of the house came
out to them, and said, Nay, brethren, do not ye wrong, I pray you, after this
man has come into my house; do not ye this folly. 24
Behold my daughter a virgin, and the man’s concubine: I
will bring them out, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in
your eyes; but to this man do not this folly. 25
But the men would not consent to hearken to him; so the man laid
hold of his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they knew her, and
abused her all night till the morning, and let her go when the morning dawned.
26 And the woman came toward morning,
and fell down at the door of the house where her husband was, until it was
light. 27 And her husband rose up in
the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went forth to go on his
journey; and, behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down by the doors of
the house, and her hands were on the threshold. 28
And he said to her, Rise, and let us go; and she answered not,
for she was dead: and he took her upon his ass, and went to his place.
29 And he took his sword, and laid hold
of his concubine, and divided her into twelve parts, and sent them to every
coast of Israel. 30 And it was so,
that every one who saw it said, Such a day as this has not happened nor
has been seen from the day of the going up of the children of Israel out of the
land of Egypt until this day: take ye counsel concerning it, and speak.
Chapter 20
20:1 And all the children of Israel went
out, and all the congregation was gathered as one man, from Dan even to Bersabee,
and in the land of Galaad, to the Lord at Massepha. 2
And all the tribes of Israel stood before the Lord in the
assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
3 And the children of Benjamin heard
that the children of Israel were gone up to Massepha: and the children of Israel
came and said, Tell us, where did this wickedness take place?
4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman
that was slain, answered and said, I and my concubine went to Gabaa of Benjamin
to lodge. 5 And the men of Gabaa
rose up against me, and compassed the house by night against me; they wished to
slay me, and they have humbled my concubine, and she is dead.
6 And I laid hold of my concubine, and
divided her in pieces, and sent the parts into every coast of the
inheritance of the children of Israel; for they have wrought lewdness and
abomination in Israel. 7 Behold, all
ye are children of Israel; and consider and take counsel here among
yourselves.
8 And all the people rose up as one man,
saying, No one of us shall return to his tent, and no one of us shall return to
his house. 9 And now this is
the thing which shall be done in Gabaa; we will go up against it by lot.
10 Moreover we will take ten men for a
hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred for a thousand, and a
thousand for ten thousand, to take provision, to cause them to come to Gabaa of
Benjamin, to do to it according to all the abomination, which they wrought in
Israel. 11 And all the men of Israel
were gathered to the city as one man.
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men
through the whole tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness that
has been wrought among you? 13 Now
then give up the men the sons of transgressors that are in Gabaa, and we will
put them to death, and purge out wickedness from Israel: but the children of
Benjamin consented not to hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of
Israel. 14 And the children of
Benjamin were gathered from their cities to Gabaa, to go forth to fight with the
children of Israel. 15 And the
children of Benjamin from their cities were numbered in that day, twenty-three
thousand, every man drawing a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa,
who were numbered seven hundred chosen men of all the people, able to use both
hands alike; 16 All these could
sling with stones at a hair, and not miss. 17
And the men of Israel, exclusive of Benjamin, were numbered four
hundred thousand men that drew sword; all these were men of war.
18 And they arose and went up to Baethel,
and enquired of God: and the children of Israel said, Who shall go up for us
first to fight with the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Juda shall go
up first as leader. 19 And the
children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gabaa.
20 And they went out, all the men of
Israel, to fight with Benjamin, and engaged with them at Gabaa.
21 And the sons of Benjamin went forth from
Gabaa, and they destroyed in Israel on that day two and twenty thousand men down
to the ground.
22 And the men of Israel strengthened
themselves, and again engaged in battle in the place where they had engaged on
the first day. 23 And the children
of Israel went up, and wept before the Lord till evening, and enquired of the
Lord, saying, Shall we again draw nigh to battle with our brethren the children
of Benjamin? and the Lord said, Go up against them. 24
And the children of Israel advanced against the children
of Benjamin on the second day. 25
And the children of Benjamin went forth to meet them from Gabaa on the second
day, and destroyed of the children of Israel yet further eighteen thousand men
down to the ground: all these drew sword.
26 And the children of Israel and all
the people went up, and came to Baethel; and they wept, and sat there before the
Lord; and they fasted on that day until evening, and offered
whole-burnt-offerings and perfect sacrifices, before the Lord,
27 for the ark of the Lord God was
there in those days, 28 and Phinees
the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days; and the
children of Israel enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall we yet again go forth to
fight with our brethren the sons of Benjamin? and the Lord said, Go up,
to-morrow I will give them into your hands. 29
And the children of Israel set an ambush against Gabaa round
about it.
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