After the death of Joshua, the {Israelites} inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Who will go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?"

When she came [to him], she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from the donkey, Caleb said to her, "{What do you want}?"

so the Asherites lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or Beth-anath, but lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

And [as for] you, do not {make a covenant} with the inhabitants of this land; break down their altars.' But you did not listen to my voice. {Why would you do such a thing}?

Now I say, I will not drive them out from before you; they will {become as thorns} for you, and their gods will be a trap for you."

And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who saw all the great work Yahweh had done for Israel.

Moreover, that entire generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or the work he had done for Israel.

And when Yahweh raised leaders for them, Yahweh was with the leader, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the leader, for Yahweh was moved by their groaning because of their persecutors and oppressors.

They were [left] for testing Israel, to know [whether] they would keep the commands of Yahweh that he commanded their ancestors through the hand of Moses.

And they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

The {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a deliverer for the {Israelites} who delivered them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

And the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite and {a left-handed man}. And the {Israelites} sent a tribute to Eglon king of Moab {through him}.

Ehud made for himself a short, {two-edged} sword (a cubit in length), and he fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.

But he turned back from the sculptured stones that [were] near Gilgal, and he said, "I have {a secret message} for you, O king." And he said, "Silence!" So all those standing in his presence went out,

and Ehud came to him [while] he [was] sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, "I have a {message from God} for you." So he got up from his seat.

Then Ehud reached with his left hand for the sword on his right thigh, and he thrust it into his stomach.

And the {Israelites} cried to Yahweh, as he [had] nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the {Israelites} {cruelly} for twenty years.

And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.

She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, "Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? 'Go, {march to} Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants of Naphtali and Zebulun.

She said, "Surely I will go with you; however, there will be no glory for you in {the path you are taking}, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into [the] hand of a woman." And Deborah stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

At the sound of [those] dividing [the sheep] among the watering places, there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh, the righteous deeds for his warriors in Israel. Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates.

Then [the] remnant went down to [the] nobles; the people of Yahweh went down for him against [the] mighty.

Why do you sit among the sheepfolds, to hear [the] calling sounds of the herds? For the clans of Reuben, [there were] great searchings of the heart.

He asked for water, [and] she gave milk; in a drinking bowl for nobles, she brought curds.

She reached out her hand to the peg, and her right hand for the workman's hammer; and she struck Sisera, crushed his head, and she shattered and pierced his temple.

'Are they not finding and dividing the plunder? {A bedmate or two bedmates for every man}; colorful garments for Sisera, plunder of colorful garments, beautifully finished colorful garments, on the neck of the plunderer?'

So may all your enemies perish, O Yahweh, but those who love him are like the rising sun at its brightest." And the land had rest for forty years.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Midianites for seven years.

The hand of the Midianites prevailed over Israel; because of the presence of the Midianites, the {Israelites} made for themselves hiding places that [were] in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

For they, their livestock, and their tents would come up like a great number of locusts; they and their camels could not be counted; they came into the land and devoured it.

And Gideon realized that he [was] the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face."

And the men of the city said to Jehoash, "Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that [was] beside it."

But Jehoash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he [is] a god, let him contend for himself because {his altar has been pulled down}."

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "The troops that [are] with you [are] too many for me to give Midian into their hands; Israel will boast, saying, 'My hand has delivered me.'

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "There [are] still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them for you there. For whomever I say to you, 'This [one] will go with you,' he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, 'This [one] will not go with you,' he will not go."

And that night Yahweh said to him, "Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.

When Gideon heard the recounting of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and returned to the camp of Israel; and he said, "Get up, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hand."

When three companies blew on the trumpets and broke the jars, they held in their left hand the torches and in their right hand the trumpets for blowing, and they cried, "A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!"

He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who [are] {following me}, for they [are] weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

He captured a young man {from Succoth} and questioned him. [The young man] listed for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he [was] still a boy.

Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself, and strike us, for as [is] the man, so [is] his power." So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your sons, and your sons' son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.

And Midian was subdued before the {Israelites}, and they did not again lift up their head, and the land rested for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Now Gideon had seventy sons, {his own offspring}, for he had many wives.

His concubine who [was] in Shechem also bore for him a son, and {he named him} Abimelech.

And it happened, as soon as Gideon died, the {Israelites} returned and prostituted [themselves] after the Baals, and they made for themselves Baal-Berith as god.

nor did they show favor to the house of Jerub-Baal ([that is], Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he did for Israel.

"{Speak to} the lords of Shechem, 'What [is] better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I [am] your bone and your flesh."

And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him {to} all the lords of Shechem; and {they supported Abimelech}, for they said, "He is our relative."

for my father fought and {risked his life} for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

And the lords of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along the road; and it was reported to Abimelech.

So the whole army cut down each one branch for himself and followed Abimelech, and they put [them] against the vault and set the vault ablaze with fire on those [inside], so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

They crushed and oppressed the {Israelites} in that year; for eighteen years they [crushed] all the {Israelites} who [were] beyond the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which [is] in Gilead.

Gilead's wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of [his] wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, "You will not inherit the house of our father because you [are] the son of another woman."

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That being so, we have now returned to you, that you may go with us {to fight} against the {Ammonites} and become for us as head of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

When Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that [are] {along the Arnon}, for three hundred years, why did you not recover [them] at that time?

And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions.

And he said, "Go." He sent her away [for] two months, and she went with her friends, and she lamented over her virginity on the mountains.

for the daughters of Israel to go and lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for forty days of the year.

He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters away in marriage outside [his clan] and brought in from outside thirty young women for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years.

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons that rode on seventy male donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.

And he said to me, 'Look, you [will] conceive and bear a son, so then, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.'"

And Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "{Please stay}, and let us prepare a {young goat} for you."

The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "If you keep me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering for Yahweh, you can offer it (for Manoah did not know that he [was] an angel of Yahweh)."

He went up and told his father and mother, and he said, "I saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of [the] Philistines; so then, take her for me as a wife."

But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a wife among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must take a wife from [the] uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Take her for me because {she pleases me}."

His father and mother did not know that this [was] from Yahweh; he was seeking for an occasion against [the] Philistines. Now at that time [the] Philistines [were] ruling in Israel.

He said to them, "From the eater came out food, From [the] strong came out sweet." But they were unable to explain the riddle for three days.

The Gazites [were told], "Samson has come here," so they surrounded [the place] and lay in ambush for him all night at the city gate. They kept silent all night, saying, "[We will wait] until the morning light, and then we will kill him."

The ambush [was] sitting [in wait] for her in an inner room. And she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you Samson!" And he snapped the bowstrings just as flax fiber snaps when it comes close to fire. And [the secret of] his strength remained unknown.

So {he confided everything to her}, and he said to her, "A razor {has never touched} my head, for I [am] a {Nazirite of God} {from birth}. If I am shaved my strength will leave me, and I will become weak, like everyone else.

Delilah realized that {he had confided in her}, so she sent and called the rulers of [the] Philistines, saying, "Come up one more time, for {he has confided in me}." And the rulers of [the] Philistines came up, and they brought the money {with them}.

And the people saw him, and they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has given into our hand those who hate us, devastate our land, and have {killed many of us}."

And Samson called to Yahweh and said, "My Lord Yahweh, remember me! Please give me strength this one time, O God, so that I can repay [with] one act of revenge to [the] Philistines for my eyes."

He returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother thought, "I will certainly consecrate to Yahweh the pieces of silver from my hand for my son to make an idol of cast metal; now then, I will return them to you."

The man Micah had for himself {a shrine}, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and {he appointed one of his sons} who became a priest for him.

So Micah {appointed the Levite}, and the young man became a priest for him; and he was in the house of Micah.

In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites [was] seeking territory for itself to live in, because until that day it had not been allotted territory among the tribes of Israel.

And he said to them, "Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest."

And they said to them, "Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and [it is] very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to possess the land.

And they said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be for us a father and a priest. Is it better being a priest for a house of one man or being a priest for a tribe and clan in Israel?"

He said, "You took away my gods that I had made, and the priest, and then you go [away]. What [is] now left for me? How can you say to me, 'What is the matter?'"

And the descendants of Dan set up for themselves the carved divine image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land.

So they set up for themselves the carved divine image that Micah had made, all the days that the house of God [was] in Shiloh.

In those days there was no king in Israel; there was a man, a Levite, who dwelled as a foreigner in the remote areas of the hill country of Ephraim. And he took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

And the man got up to go--he, his concubine, and his servant--but his father-in-law, the father of the young woman, said to him, "Please, the day has worn on to evening; please, spend the night, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and {enjoy yourself}. You can rise early tomorrow for your journey and {go to your home}."

There is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, for your servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything."

Then I grabbed my concubine and cut her into pieces, and I sent her throughout all the territory of Israel's inheritance; for they committed a shameful and disgraceful thing in Israel.

We will take ten men of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions to the troops, to repay [them] when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel."

And the descendants of Benjamin were gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go out for battle against the {Israelites}.

Then the {Israelites} got up and went up [to] Bethel, and they inquired of God, saying, "Who will go up first for the battle against the descendants of Benjamin?" And Yahweh said, "Judah [will go] first."

Then the men of Israel marched out for the battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel took up positions against them [for] battle at Gibeah.

Now the appointed time for the men of Israel with the ambush was that they sent up for them a great amount of smoke from the city.

But six hundred turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon [for] four months.

And the {Israelites} said, "Who in the assembly has not come up from all the tribes of Israel to Yahweh?" For a solemn oath was [taken] concerning whoever did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, "He will certainly be put to death."

But the {Israelites} had compassion for Benjamin, their relatives, and they said, "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel.

What will we do for them--for the [ones] being left over--for wives? For we have sworn by Yahweh not to give to them our daughters as wives."

And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave to them the women whom they kept alive from Jabesh-gilead; but they were not enough for them.