And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our commander, so that we may fight with the sons of Ammon.

And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Have you not hated me and thrown me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, For this reason we turn again to you now, so that you may go with us and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be our head over all the people of Gilead.

And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me home again to fight against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah delivers them before me, shall I be your head?

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Jehovah is witness between us if we do not do so according to your word.

And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah uttered all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh.

And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you have come against me to fight in my land?

And the king of the sons of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan. Now therefore restore those lands peaceably.

And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon.

And he said to him, So says Jephthah, Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon.

But when they came up from Egypt, Israel walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh.

And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I pray you, let me pass through your land. But the king of Edom would not listen. And in the same way they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not. And Israel stayed in Kadesh.

And they went along through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but they did not come within the border of Moab; for Arnon was the border of Moab.

And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, We pray you, let us pass through your land to my place.

But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his border. But Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

And Jehovah, the God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that country.

And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan.

So now Jehovah, the God of Israel has put out the Amorites before His people Israel, and should you possess it?

And now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them

when Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities which are along by the borders of Arnon, for three hundred years? Why then did you not deliver them in that time?

So I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. Jehovah, the Judge, will judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.

And the king of the sons of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent to him.

Then the Spirit of Jehovah came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead passed over to the sons of Ammon.

And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand,

And Jephthah passed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them. And Jehovah delivered them into his hand.

And he struck them from Aroer even until you come to Minnith, twenty cities, and to the meadow of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. So were the sons of Ammon subdued before the sons of Israel.

And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances. And she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

And it happened when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me. For I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.

And she said to him, My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to that which has come out of your mouth, because Jehovah has taken vengeance for you upon your enemies, even of the sons of Ammon.

And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two months, so that I may go up and down upon the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months. And she went with her companions and wept for her virginity upon the mountains.

And it happened at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her his vow which he had vowed. And she knew no man. And it is a custom in Israel,

that the daughters of Israel went yearly to tell again of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year.

And the men of Ephraim were called together and went northward, and said to Jephthah, Why did you go over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house upon you with fire.

And Jephthah said to them, My people and I were at great strife with the sons of Ammon. And when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands.

When I saw that you did not deliver me, I took my life in my hand and passed over against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah delivered them into my hand, and why have you come up against me, to fight against me today?

And Jephthah called up all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manassites.

And the Gileadites took the fords of Jordan before the Ephraimites. And it happened that when one of those Ephraimites who had escaped said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? And he said, No.

And they said to him, Please say Shibboleth. And he said, Sibboleth, for he could not manage to pronounce it right. Then they took him and killed him at the passages of Jordan. And there fell at that time forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites.

And Jephthah judged Israel six years. And Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel. And he judged Israel ten years.

And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon, the land of Zebulun.

And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years.

And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of Jehovah. And Jehovah delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and did not bear.

And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold now, you are barren and do not bear. But you shall conceive and bear a son.

And now, please take heed, and do not drink wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing.

For lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and His face was like the face of an Angel of God, very terrifying. But I did not ask Him where He came from, neither did He tell me His name.

But He said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

And Manoah prayed to Jehovah and said, O, my Lord, let the Man of God, whom You sent, come again to us and teach us what we shall do to the boy that shall be born.

And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

And the woman hurried and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the Man has appeared to me, the one who came to me the other day.

And Manoah arose and went after his wife, and came to the Man, and said to Him, Are You the Man who spoke to the woman? And He said, I am.

And Manoah said, Now let Your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and what shall we do to him?

And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, I pray You, let us keep You until we have made a kid ready for You.

And the Angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, Though you keep Me, I will not eat of your bread. And if you will offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to Jehovah. For Manoah did not know that He was the Angel of Jehovah.

And Manoah said to the Angel of Jehovah, What is Your name, so that when Your sayings come to pass we may do You honor?

And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Why do you ask after My name in this way? Yea, it is Wonderful.

And Manoah took a kid with a food offering, and offered it upon a rock to Jehovah, and did wonderfully. And Manoah and his wife looked on.

For it happened when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, the Angel of Jehovah went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it and fell on their faces to the ground.

But the Angel of Jehovah did not appear any more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that He was an Angel of Jehovah.

And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die because we have seen God.

But his wife said to him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a food offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor have told us such things as these at this time.

And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him.

And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

And he came up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And now get her for me for a wife.

And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she pleases me very much.

But his father and his mother did not know that it was from Jehovah, that He was looking for an occasion against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had the rule over Israel.

And Samson and his father and his mother went down to Timnath. And they came to the vineyards of Timnath. And, behold, a young lion roared to meet him.

And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he tore it as he would have torn a kid; and nothing was in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

And he went down and talked with the woman. And she pleased Samson very much.

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the dead body of the lion. And behold! A swarm of bees and honey was in the dead body of the lion.

And he took some of it in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother. And he gave to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the dead body of the lion.

And his father went down to the woman. And Samson made a feast there, for so the young men used to do.

And it happened when they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

And Samson said to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you. If you certainly tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen blouses and thirty changes of garments.

But if you cannot tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen blouses and thirty changes of garments. And they said to him, Put forth your riddle so that we may hear it.

And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And in three days they were not able to declare the riddle.

And it happened on the seventh day they said to Samson's wife, Lure your husband so that he may tell the riddle to us, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you called us to take what we have? Is it not so?

And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You only hate me, and do not love me. You have put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told my father nor to my mother, and shall I tell you?

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day, he told her, because she pressed hard upon him. And she told the riddle to the sons of her people.

And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, and what stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.

And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave changes of garments to them who told what the riddle meant. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

And it happened afterward, in the days of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a kid. And he said, I will go in to my wife into the room. But her father would not allow him to go in.

And her father said, I truly thought that you utterly hated her, and I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she is? Please, let her be for you instead of her.

And Samson said concerning them, Now I shall be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do evil with them.

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and took fire brands, and turned tail to tail, and put a fire brand in the middle between two tails.

And he set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and also the standing grain, with the vineyards and olives.

And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

And Samson said to them, Though you have done this, yet I will be avenged of you, and after that I will stop.

And he struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and lived in the top of the rock Etam.

And the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.