Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.

Caleb said, "He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife."

The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you."

He showed them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.

The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;

The angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you:

Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."

It happened, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD that he had worked for Israel.

Also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who didn't know the LORD, nor yet the work which he had worked for Israel.

The anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of marauders who plundered them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

When the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it grieved the LORD because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.

I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;

that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not."

Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret message for you, king." The king said, "Keep silence." All who stood by him went out from him.

Ehud escaped while they waited, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirah.

He said to them, "Follow after me; for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand." They went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and did not allow a man to pass over.

I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.'"

Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go."

She said, "I will surely go with you: nevertheless, the journey that you take shall not be for your honor; for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles, to the river Kishon.

The LORD confused Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got off from his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the army, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek." He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.

"Hear, you kings. Give ear, you princes. I, even I, will sing to the LORD. I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.

Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, there they will rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. "Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.

"So let all your enemies perish, LORD, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises forth in its strength." And the land had rest forty years.

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, as far as Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, as well as sheep, or ox, or donkey.

and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;

Gideon said to him, "Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Didn't the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian."

The LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

Please do not go away, until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you." He said, "I will wait until you come back."

Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning: if he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar."

Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they crossed over, and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.

He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,

behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken."

Gideon said to God, "Do not let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make one more test with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew."

God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew all over the ground.

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

The LORD said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.

The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people kneeled down on their knees to drink water.

The LORD said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man to his home."

So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. And the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

and you shall hear what they say; and afterward will your hands be strengthened to go down into the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.

The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand which is on the seashore.

His friend answered, "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the army."

He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.

When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, "For the LORD and for Gideon."

They each stood in his place every man around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.

They blew the three hundred trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.

The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after Midian.

Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against Midian, and capture the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and seized the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.

Gideon said, "Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."

He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower."

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.

Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you."

They answered, "We will willingly give them." They spread a garment, and every one of them threw an earring from his plunder.

Gideon made an ephod of it, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel prostituted themselves after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house.

The children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;

neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brothers, and spoke with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying,

"Please speak in the ears of all the lords of Shechem, 'Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?' Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.'"

And his mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, "He is our brother."

And all the lords of Shechem assembled themselves together, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.

"Then all the trees said to the bramble, 'Come, and reign over us.'

"Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands

And the lords of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them. And it was told to Abimelech.

Abimelech rose up, and all the people who were with him, by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

Abimelech, and the companies that were with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two companies rushed against all who were in the field, and struck them.

Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people who were in it. And he destroyed the city, and sowed it with salt.

And when all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered into the stronghold of the house of El Berith.

Ant it was told Abimelech that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.

Abimelech got him up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a branch from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the people who were with him, "What you have seen me do, do quickly, and do as I have done."

All the people likewise cut down his branch and followed Abimelech, and put them on the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the men of the Tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.

But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women fled, and all the lords of the city, and shut themselves in, and got them up to the roof of the tower.

and all the wickedness of the men of Shechem did God return on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

They troubled and oppressed the children of Israel that year. Eighteen years they oppressed all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

Yet you have forsaken me, and served other gods. Therefore I will save you no more.

And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to each other, "What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

It happened after a while, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "Therefore we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD shall be witness between us; surely according to your word so will we do."

Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

The LORD, 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, the inhabitants of that country.

They possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.

Won't you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever the LORD our God has driven out from before us, we will possess.

While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why did you not recover them within that time?

Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,

then it shall be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."

The men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward; and they said to Jephthah, "Why did you pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house on you with fire."

Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim, and in the midst of Manasseh."

The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I have commanded her she is to observe."

But his wife said to him, "If the LORD meant to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a grain offering from us, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would he have spoken to us now like this."

Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there not a 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 is the right one for me."

After a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.