The men of Judah attacked, and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands.

One time Acsah came and charmed her father so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What would you like?"

The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in the coastal plain.

but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.' But you have disobeyed me. Why would you do such a thing?

The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

Joshua son of Nun, the Lord's servant, died at the age of one hundred ten.

That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the Lord's presence or seen what he had done for Israel.

When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways.

The Israelites again did evil in the Lord's sight. The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because they had done evil in the Lord's sight.

When he reached Seirah, he blew a trumpet in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead.

That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites -- all strong, capable warriors; not one escaped.

She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, "Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun!

Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; Deborah went up with him as well.

Deborah said to Barak, "Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?" Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, "Stop and rest, my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don't be afraid." So Sisera stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him.

O Lord, when you departed from Seir, when you marched from Edom's plains, the earth shook, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down rain.

Hear the sound of those who divide the sheep among the watering places; there they tell of the Lord's victorious deeds, the victorious deeds of his warriors in Israel. Then the Lord's people went down to the city gates --

Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones; the Lord's people came down to me as warriors.

They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, they follow after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers. From Makir leaders came down, from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer's staff.

Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan -- why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast, he stayed by his harbors.

Call judgment down on Meroz,' says the Lord's angelic messenger; 'Be sure to call judgment down on those who live there, because they did not come to help in the Lord's battle, to help in the Lord's battle against the warriors.'

The Lord's angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash's son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.

The Lord said to him, "Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army."

That night the Lord said to him, "Take the bull from your father's herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father's Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down."

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father's family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime.

When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar.

They said to one another, "Who did this?" They investigated the matter thoroughly and concluded that Gideon son of Joash had done it.

The men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son, so we can execute him! He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole."

But Joash said to all those who confronted him, "Must you fight Baal's battles? Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning! If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! After all, it was his altar that was pulled down."

That very day Gideon's father named him Jerub-Baal, because he had said, "Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down."

Now, announce to the men, 'Whoever is shaking with fear may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.'" Twenty-two thousand men went home; ten thousand remained.

The Lord spoke to Gideon again, "There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. When I say, 'This one should go with you,' pick him to go; when I say, 'This one should not go with you,' do not take him."

So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, "Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink."

The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites were camped down below in the valley.

But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant

and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave and attack the camp." So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp.

When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, "Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed."

Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, "Go down and head off the Midianites. Take control of the fords of the streams all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River." When all the Ephraimites had assembled, they took control of the fords all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.

The Ephraimites said to him, "Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us when you went to fight the Midianites!" They argued vehemently with him.

It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?" When he said this, they calmed down.

He also threatened the men of Penuel, warning, "When I return victoriously, I will tear down this tower."

He captured a young man from Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth's officials and city leaders -- seventy-seven men in all.

He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city's men.

Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down.

They did not treat the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

"Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, if you have properly repaid him --

Gaal saw the men and said to Zebul, "Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills." But Zebul said to him, "You are seeing the shadows on the hills -- it just looks like men."

Gaal again said, "Look, men are coming down from the very center of the land. A unit is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners."

he took his men and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he attacked and struck them down.

Abimelech and his units attacked and blocked the entrance to the city's gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.

a woman threw an upper millstone down on his head and shattered his skull.

I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!'"

The Ephraimites assembled and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why did you go and fight with the Ammonites without asking us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!"

After him Elon the Zebulunite led Israel for ten years.

The Lord's spirit began to control him in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye.

Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.

The Lord's spirit empowered him and he tore the lion in two with his bare hands as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Samson continued on down to Timnah and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one.

The Lord's spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.

He struck them down and defeated them. Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

The men of Judah said, "Why are you attacking us?" The Philistines said, "We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us."

Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?" He said to them, "I have only done to them what they have done to me."

They said to him, "We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Promise me you will not kill me."

He happened to see a solid jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

Samson then said, "With the jawbone of a donkey I have left them in heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men!"

When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down and named that place Ramath Lehi.

The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here!" So they surrounded the town and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. They relaxed all night, thinking, "He will not leave until morning comes; then we will kill him!"

The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

His brothers and all his family went down and brought him back. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel for twenty years.

This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah's house.

Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Become my adviser and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food."

He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, "He hired me and I became his priest."

They said, "Come on, let's attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don't hesitate to invade and conquer the land.

They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.)

The Danites said to him, "Don't say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die."

Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city.

They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the city's name used to be Laish.

The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. Then the girl's father said to the man, "Why not stay another night and have a good time!"

So they traveled on, and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.

They stopped there and decided to spend the night in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night.

But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.)

When he looked up and saw the traveler in the town square, the old man said, "Where are you heading? Where do you come from?"

The old man said, "Everything is just fine! I will take care of all your needs. But don't spend the night in the town square."

The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, "No, my brothers! Don't do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don't do such a disgraceful thing!

Here are my virgin daughter and my guest's concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don't do such a disgraceful thing to this man!"

The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the Lord at Mizpah.

We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel."

The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day.

The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers.

The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.

The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites.

Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah -- the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep.

The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites.

the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, "There's no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle."

They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.