Sometime after Joshua had died, the Israelis asked the LORD, "Who is to lead us against the Canaanites in our opening attack against them?"

Later, the army of Judah left Jerusalem to attack the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Negev, and the Shephelah.

They attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba) and fought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

The army of Judah accompanied the army of Simeon, Judah's brother, as they attacked the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. Then they renamed the city Hormah.

However, the descendants of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

The army of the tribe of Ephraim did not expel the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

So the descendants of Asher lived among the Canaanites who continued to inhabit the land, because they did not expel them.

The army of the tribe of Naphtali did not expel the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-anath. Instead, they lived among the Canaanites who inhabited the land. However, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were subjected to conscripted labor.

The people served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua as well as the lifetimes of all the elders who outlived Joshua and who had observed all the great deeds that the LORD had done for Israel.

They abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods from among the gods of the nations who surrounded them. They bowed down in worship of them, and by doing so angered the LORD.

So in his burning anger against Israel, the LORD gave them into the domination of marauders who plundered them. The enemies who surrounded the Israelis controlled them, and they were no longer able to withstand their adversaries.

Then the LORD raised up leaders, who delivered Israel from domination by their marauders.

As a result, whenever the LORD raised up leaders for them, the LORD remained present with their leader, delivering Israel from the control of their enemies during the lifetime of that leader. The LORD was moved with compassion by their groaning that had been caused by those who were oppressing and persecuting them.

Here's a list of nations that the LORD caused to remain in order to test Israel (that is, everyone who had not gained any battle experience in Canaan)

only so that successive Israeli generations, who had not known war previously, might come to know it by experience.

These nations included the five lords of the Philistines, all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

As he finished presenting the tribute, Ehud sent away the people who had been carrying it.

At that time they attacked about 10,000 Moabites, all of whom were strong and valiant men. Not one man escaped.

so the LORD turned them over to domination by King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commanding officer of his army, lived in Harosheth-haggoyim.

So Sisera gathered his iron chariots together from Harosheth-haggoyim all 900 of them, along with all the people who were assigned to them and they assembled at the Kishon River.

My heart is for the commanders of Israel, to those who work willingly among the people. Bless the LORD!

"Speak up, you who ride white donkeys, sitting on cloth saddles while you travel on your way!

From the sound of those who divide their work loads at the watering troughs, there they will retell the righteous deeds of the LORD, the righteous victories for his rural people in Israel." Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.

Some came from Ephraim who had been harassed by Amalek, followed by Benjamin with your people. Some commanders came from Machir, along with some from Zebulun who carry a badge of office.

"Blessed above all women is Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite; most blessed is she among women who live in tents!

"May all of your enemies perish like this, LORD! But may those who love him be like the ascending sun in its strength!" Then the land enjoyed quiet for 40 years.

the LORD sent a man who was a prophet to the Israelis and told them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "I was the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, delivering you from the house of servitude.

The angel, who was God, replied, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this boulder. Then pour out the broth." So he did that.

So Gideon went with ten men who were his servants and did just what the LORD had told him to do, though he did it at night because he was too afraid of his father's family and the leading men of the city to do it during the day.

They asked each other, "Who did this thing?" When they looked into it and asked around, they concluded, "Joash's son Gideon did it."

But Joash responded to everyone who was opposing him, "Do you really intend to fight on Baal's behalf? Do you really intend to rescue him by ordering that whoever fights him will be executed by morning? If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself. After all, it was his altar that was torn down."

So the Spirit of the LORD took control of Gideon, who blew a trumpet, mustering the descendants of Abiezer to follow him into battle.

"There are still too many soldiers," the LORD told Gideon. "Bring them down to the water and I'll refine them for you there. Therefore when I say to you, "This one will be going with you,' he'll go with you, but no one may go about whom I tell you, "This one won't be going with you.'"

So he brought his soldiers down to the water, and the LORD told Gideon, "You are to cull out everyone who laps up water with his tongue like a dog from everyone who kneels to drink."

The contingent of soldiers who lapped water with their hands to their mouths numbered 300 men, but everyone else kneeled to drink water.

Then the LORD told Gideon, "I'm going to deliver you with the 300 soldiers who lapped by giving the Midianites into your control. Send everyone else back to their own homes."

When I sound my trumpet, accompanied by everyone who is with me, you must blow your trumpets all around the entire encampment. Then shout out, "For the LORD and for Gideon!'"

He told the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the soldiers who are following behind me. They're tired, and I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, along with their armies, about 15,000 men who survived from the entire army of the group from the east, since 120,000 swordsmen had already fallen.

Afterwards, he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What were the men like whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "Like you, each one like the son of a king""

His mistress in Shechem bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

The Israelis did not remember the LORD their God, who continually delivered them from the domination of their enemies who surrounded them on every side.

and they gave him 70 silver coins from the temple that they had built to Baal-berith. Abimelech hired some worthless and useless men, who followed him

so that the violence committed against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come back on their brother Abimelech, who murdered them, and so it might come back on the "lords" of Shechem, who provoked him to murder his brothers.

The "lords" of Shechem sent out men to ambush him on the mountain tops, and they robbed everyone who came by them along the roads, and this was reported to Abimelech.

Then Ebed's son Gaal remarked, "Who is this Abimelech? And who is Shechem? Should we serve him? Isn't he Jerubbaal's son? Isn't Zebul his lieutenant? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's ancestor but why are we serving him?

So Zebul replied, "Right... So where's your boasting now? You said, "Who is Abimelech? Should we serve him?' Isn't this the army that you insulted? So go out right now and fight them!"

Then Abimelech and the soldiers who were with him rushed forward and commandeered the entrance to the city gate while the other two companies ran out to kill everyone who was in the field.

who trampled and troubled the Israelis during that year eighteen years for the Israelis who lived east of the Jordan River in Gilead, the land occupied by the Amorites.

The people and Gilead's officials inquired among themselves, "Who will begin our attack against the Ammonites? He'll become head over everyone who lives in Gilead."

But Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Weren't you the ones who hated me and drove me out of my father's house? And you come to me now that you're in trouble?"

The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his entire army into the control of Israel, and defeated them. As a result, Israel took control over the entire land of the Amorites, who were living in that country.

When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah surprise! it was his daughter who came out to meet him, playing tambourines and dancing. She was his one and only child. Except for her, he had no other son or daughter.

When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and cried out, "Oh no! My daughter! You have terribly burdened me! You've joined those who are causing me trouble, because I've given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.

He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys. He governed Israel for eight years.

So Manoah prayed to the LORD, "Please, Lord, have the man of God whom you sent before come again so he can instruct us what to do on behalf of the child who is to be born."

so the woman ran quickly to tell her husband, "Look! The man who came the other day appeared to me!"

So Manoah got up quickly and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he told him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He replied, "I am."

So Manoah prepared a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a boulder to the LORD, who kept on performing miracles while Manoah and his wife watched continually.

A while later, Samson went down to Timnah and observed a woman in Timnah who was of Philistine origin.

Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed 30 men, took their belongings, and gave the garments to those who had told him the solution to the riddle. He remained furious, left for his father's house,

Then the Philistines demanded, "Who did this?" Someone said, "Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because his father-in-law took Samson's wife and gave her to the best man at Samson's wedding." In retaliation, the Philistines came up and burned her and her father to death.

When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, claiming: Our god has given our enemy into our control; the one who was destroying our land, and who has killed many of us.

Then Samson told the young man who had been leading him around by the hand, "Let me touch and feel the pillars on which this building rests, and I'll support myself against them."

Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" He strained with all his strength until the building collapsed on the officials and every person in it. As a result, the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his lifetime.

As they approached Micah's home, they recognized the voice of the young male descendant of Levi. They turned aside from there and spoke to him, asking him, "Who brought you here? What work are you doing here? And what's your business here?"

So the five men left and went to Laish, and observed the people who were living there carefree, as Sidonians tend to do, in peace and quiet. There was no ruler in the land oppressing them for any reason. They were living far away from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.

Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, "Are you aware that in these houses there's an ephod, some household idols, a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do."

the five men who had gone to scout out the land arrived, entered Micah's home and confiscated the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image. Meanwhile, the priest stood outside by the entrance to the gate with the 600 men armed with military weapons.

They yelled at the descendants of Dan, who turned around to face Micah and asked, "What's wrong with you? You've assembled together"?"

But the descendants of Dan took what Micah had made, along with the priest who had worked for him, and went to Laish, to a quiet and carefree people, and killed them with swords. Then they set fire to the city.

They renamed the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who had been born in Israel. The former name of the city was Laish.

Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah.

But his master replied, "We're not going to turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not part of the Israelis. Instead, we'll go on to Gibeah."

Meanwhile, we also have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me, for this young woman servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. We don't need anything else."

While they were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden certain ungodly men who lived in the city surrounded the house, pounded on the door, and ordered the old man who owned the home, "Bring out the man who came to visit your home so we can have sex with him."

The man who owned the house went out to talk to them and pleaded with them, "No, my brothers, please don't act so wickedly. This man is my guest! Don't try to do this stupid thing.

The day of the battle, the army from the descendants of Benjamin numbered 26,000 expert swordsmen from their cities, not including the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered 700 special forces soldiers.

The Israelis mounted up, traveled to Bethel, and asked God what to do. They said, "Who is to lead us in our opening attack against the descendants of Benjamin?" The LORD replied, "Judah is to open the attack."

Meanwhile, the army of Israel had arranged to signal their soldiers who had been hiding in ambush by sending up a cloud of smoke from the city.

That's how 18,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin fell in battle, all of whom were valiant soldiers.

To sum up, the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin who died that day totaled 25,000 men, all of them expert swordsmen and valiant soldiers.

The Israelis asked themselves, "Who didn't come up in our assembly in the LORD's presence from among all of the tribes of Israel?" They had taken a solemn oath concerning those who didn't come up to meet with the LORD at Mizpah that "They will certainly be executed."

What can we do to find wives for the survivors who remain, since we've already taken an oath in the LORD's presence not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"

They discovered among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who hadn't had sex with a man, and they brought them to the encampment at Shiloh in the territory of Canaan.

Then the entire congregation sent for the surviving descendants of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon and assured them that their intentions toward them were peaceful.

So the survivors of the tribe of Benjamin returned at that time, and the Israelis gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the raid on Jabesh-gilead. Even so, there weren't enough for them.

But we can't give them wives from our own daughters, since we've taken this vow: "May the LORD curse anyone who gives his daughter as a wife to the tribe of Benjamin!'"

So the descendants of Benjamin did all of this: they chose and carried away just enough wives from those who danced to meet the number needed, then they left to return to their inheritance, to rebuild their cities, and to live there.