And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

And he said unto her, If they bind me securely with new ropes that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered themselves together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who slew many of us.

And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport for them: and they set him between the pillars.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.

Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the silversmith, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their territory, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in there, and said unto him, Who brought you here? and what are you doing in this place? and what do you have here?

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were there, how they dwelt safely, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might shame them in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say you?

And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are you still here? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.

And they went up, and encamped in Kiriathjearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is west of Kiriathjearim.

And they passed from there unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.

And they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and greeted him.

And they said unto him, Hold your peace, lay your hand upon your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?

So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the goods in front of them.

And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company?

And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest that he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were quiet and secure: and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt in it.

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.

And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

And his father-in-law, the young woman's father, detained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the young woman's father said unto his son-in-law, Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the young woman's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry.

And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the young woman's father said, Refresh your heart, I pray you. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

And when they were near Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray you, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

And they turned aside there, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat himself down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.

So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder unto the donkeys: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him.

But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to dawn, they let her go.

And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they so ravished, that she is dead.

And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and abomination in Israel.

And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring food for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the abomination that they have done in Israel.

And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.

And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, by which one goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

And the children of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.

So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the men in ambush which they had set beside Gibeah.

Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush, that they should make a great flame with smoke rising up out of the city.

And when the men of Israel retreated in the battle, Benjamin began to strike and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are struck down before us, as in the first battle.

And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.

Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

Thus they surrounded the Benjamites, and chased them, and trod them down with ease opposite Gibeah toward the east.

And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they cut down of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.

And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, the men of every city, as also the beasts, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpah to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet they did not suffice for them.

And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.

And the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.