And Jehovah saith, 'Judah doth go up; lo, I have given the land into his hand.'

But the tribe of Judah told the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Judah's brother, "Come with us into our territory, and we'll both fight the Canaanites. In return, we'll go with you when you fight in your territory." So the army of the tribe of Simeon accompanied the army of the tribe of Judah.

and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the south, and the low country;

Caleb announced, "I'll give my daughter Achsah in marriage to whomever leads the attack against Kiriath-sepher and captures it."

And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

The scouts observed a man coming out of the city and they promised him, "Please show us the entrance to the city and we'll deal kindly with you."

Some time later, the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and announced to Israel, "I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land that I promised to your ancestors. I had told them, "I'll never breach my covenant with you.

Therefore I'm now saying, "I won't expel them before you. Instead, they'll remain at your side, and their gods will ensnare you.'"

That way, I'll use them to demonstrate whether or not Israel will keep the LORD's lifestyle by walking on that road like their ancestors did."

and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, 'He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.'

And they waited till they were utterly at a loss; but when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them; and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

"If you'll go with me, I'll go," Barak replied. "But if you won't go with me, then I'm not going."

Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

Mine heart loveth the maintainers of the law in Israel, that are willing among the people.

Ephraim was the first against Amalek, and after them Benjamin, among the people. Of Machir came learned men in the law, and of Zebulun that well could draw with the pen of a scribe.

At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

for, they with their cattle, used to come up, with their tents - yea they used to come like locusts, for multitude, both they and their cattle, were without number, - so they came into the land, to lay it waste.

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah.

I told you, "I am the LORD your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you'll be living."' But you haven't obeyed what I said."

And he saith unto him, 'O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief is weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.'

The LORD told him, "Because I'll be with you, and you'll defeat Midian every single one of them!"

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

Then the agent of LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the agent of L

and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this stronghold in an orderly manner. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering using the wood from the Asherah that you'll be cutting down."

And the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo, broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been offered on the altar which is built.

lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought -- then I have known that Thou dost save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken;'

Then Jerubbaal, also known as Gideon, got up early along with all of his soldiers. They encamped near the Harod Spring. The Midian encampment lay in the valley to their north, near the hill of Moreh.

"There are still too many soldiers," the LORD told Gideon. "Bring them down to the water and I'll refine them for you there. Therefore when I say to you, "This one will be going with you,' he'll go with you, but no one may go about whom I tell you, "This one won't be going with you.'"

where you will hear what they're talking about. That way, you'll be encouraged to attack the encampment." So he and his servant Purah went down to the perimeter outposts of the encamped army.

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

And he saith unto them, 'Look at me, and thus do; and lo, I am coming into the extremity of the camp -- and it hath been -- as I do so ye do;

When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shit'tah toward Zer'erah, as far as the border of A'bel-meho'lah, by Tabbath.

And he cometh in unto the men of Succoth, and saith, 'Lo Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye reproached me, saying, Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we give to thy men who are wearied bread?'

They responded, "We'll be happy to give them." So they laid out a garment, and each of them contributed a ring from his war booty.

Thus were the Midianites brought low before the children of Israel, so that they lift up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

And the citizens of Shechem set men to lay await for him in the top of the mountains, which men robbed all that came along the way by them. And it was told Abimelech.

and he sendeth messengers unto Abimelech deceitfully, saying, 'Lo, Gaal son of Ebed and his brethren are coming into Shechem, and lo, they are fortifying the city against thee;

Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:

and it hath been, in the morning, about the rising of the sun, thou dost rise early, and hast pushed against the city; and lo, he and the people who are with him are going out unto thee -- and thou hast done to him as thy hand doth find.'

And Abimelech riseth, and all the people who are with him, by night, and they lay wait against Shechem -- four detachments;

and Gaal seeth the people, and saith unto Zebul, 'Lo, people are coming down from the top of the hills;' and Zebul saith unto him, 'The shadow of the hills thou art seeing like men.'

And Gaal addeth yet to speak, and saith, 'Lo, people are coming down from the high part of the land, and another detachment is coming by the way of the oak of Meonenim.'

Then Zebul said to him, Now where is your loud talk when you said, Who is Abimelech that we are to be his servants? Is this not the people whom you were rating so low? Go out now, and make war on them.

and he taketh the people, and divideth them into three detachments, and layeth wait in a field, and looketh, and lo, the people are coming out from the city, and he riseth against them, and smiteth them.

He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died.

The people and Gilead's officials inquired among themselves, "Who will begin our attack against the Ammonites? He'll become head over everyone who lives in Gilead."

Don't you control what your god Chemosh gives you? In the same way, we'll take control of whomever the LORD our God has driven out in front of us.

And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter.

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

Then she continued talking with her father, "Do this for me: leave me alone by myself for two months. I'll go up to the mountains and cry there because I'll never marry. My friends and I will go."

And it will be from the end of two months, and she will turn back to her father and he will do to her his vow which he vowed: and she knew not man. And it will be a law in Israel,

He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters [-in-law] from outside for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years.

and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, 'Lo, I pray thee, thou art barren, and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb till the day of his death.'

and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, 'Lo, he hath appeared unto me -- the man who came on that day unto me.'

The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "If you detain me, I won't be eating your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, you'll be making a sacrifice to the LORD." The angel of the LORD said this because Manoah didn't know that he was the angel of the LORD.

Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What's your name, because when what you've said happens, we'll glorify you?"

And Samson goeth down -- also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of Timnath, and lo, a lion's whelp roareth at meeting him,

and he turneth back after some days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and lo, a company of bees are in the body of the lion -- and honey.

"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson told them. "If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I'll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.

But if you don't solve it, then you'll give me 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments." "Tell us your riddle and we'll solve it," they responded.

The next day, they told Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we'll set fire to your father's house with you in it! You've invited us here to make us paupers, haven't you?"

And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, 'Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not declared it;' and he saith to her, 'Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared it -- and to thee I declare it!'

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

A while later during the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing along a young goat, and told his father-in-law, "I'm going into my wife's room." But her father wouldn't give permission for him to go.

Samson replied to them, "This time I'll be blameless when I do something evil to the Philistines."

Then the Philistines said, Who hath 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 burnt her and her father with fire.

Then the Philistines came up and pitched against Judah, and lay in Lehi.

When he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ra'math-le'hi.

The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here," and they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, "Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him."

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

After this he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Deli'lah.

The Philistine officials approached her and told her, "Entice him to discover where his great strength is, and how we can overpower him. We intend to tie him up and torture him. We'll each pay you 1,100 silver coins."

And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Please tell me wherein your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."

Samson replied, "If I'm tied up with seven green cords that have never been dried out, then I'll become weak and just like any other human being."

And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies; please tell me how you might be bound."

He told her, "If I'm tied up securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I'll become weak and just like any other human being."

So Deli'lah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in wait were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

So while he slept, Deli'lah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

And as she lay upon him with her words continually vexing of him, his soul was encumbered even unto the death.

When Deli'lah saw that he had told her all his mind, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he has told me all his mind." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands.

When she cried out, "The Philistines are attacking you, Samson!" he woke from his sleep and told himself, "I'll go out like I did at other times like this and shake myself free." But he didn't know that the LORD had abandoned him.

Then Samson told the young man who had been leading him around by the hand, "Let me touch and feel the pillars on which this building rests, and I'll support myself against them."

and he saith to his mother, 'The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and of which thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver is with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, 'Blessed is my son of Jehovah.'

So Micah replied, "Come live with me! You can be a spiritual father to me, as well as a priest. I'll pay you ten silver coins a year, plus a priestly uniform and an income." So the descendant of Levi moved in.

They replied, "Go ask God, please, about whether or not we'll be successful in this journey."

Then the five men departed, and came to La'ish, and saw the people who were there, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sido'nians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth, and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sido'nians and had no dealings with any one.

And they say, 'Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go -- to enter to possess the land.

When you invade, you'll meet a carefree people living in a spacious territory. God has given it into your control it's a place that lacks nothing on this earth!"

And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, 'Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.

Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of La'ish said to their brethren, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you will do."

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

And taking what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, the Danites came to La'ish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire.

They had no one else to deliver them, because they lived far from Sidon and had no dealings with anyone. It lay in the valley near Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.

And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was La'ish at the first.