And the spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and {he prevailed over} Cushan-Rishathaim.

And the handle also went [in] after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not draw back the sword from his stomach; and it went protruding out the back.

And he said to them, "Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand." So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over.

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.

The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so.

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.

But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; Yahweh will rule over you."

"{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."

"The trees went certainly, to anoint a king over themselves. And they said to the olive tree, 'Rule over us.'

And the olive tree replied, 'Should I stop [producing] my oil, which by me gods and men are honored, to go sway over the trees?'

Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'You, come rule over us.'

But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I stop [producing] my sweetness, and my good crop, to go sway over the trees?'

And the trees said to the vine, 'You, come rule over us.'

But the vine said to them, 'Should I stop [producing] my wine that makes the gods and men happy, to go sway over the trees?'

So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You, come rule over us.'

And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith you [are] anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative--

Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

And Gaal son of Ebel and his relatives came, and they crossed over into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem {gave him confidence}.

The people, the ones commanding Gilead, {said to each other}, "Who [is] the man that will begin to fight against the {Ammonites}? He will be as head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me back {to fight} against the {Ammonites}, and Yahweh gives them {over to me}, will I be your head?"

So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.

And Jephthah crossed [over] to the {Ammonites} to make war against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand.

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.

The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed [over] to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross [over] and make war against the {Ammonites}, and why did you not call us to go with you? We will burn down your house over you with fire."

I saw that you would not deliver [us]; {I risked my own life}, and I crossed [over] to the {Ammonites}, and Yahweh gave them into my hand. Why have you come up to me this day to fight against me?"

Then Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan from Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive of Ephraim said, "Let me cross [over]," the men of Gilead said to him, "[Are] you an Ephraimite?" [When] he said, "No,"

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines [are] ruling over us? What [is] this [that] you have done to us?" And he said to them, "Just as they did to me, so I have done to them."

They said to him, "We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand of [the] Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves."

From there they crossed [over to] the hill country of Ephraim, and they came to the house of Micah.

But his master said to him, "We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, who [are] not from the {Israelites}; we will cross over up to Gibeah."

So they crossed over and went their way, and the sun went down on them beside Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

And he said to him, "We [are] crossing over from Bethlehem in Judah up to the remote areas of the hill country of Ephraim, where I [am] from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [now] I am going to Yahweh's house, but no one {took me in to spend the night}.

So then, hand over the men, {the perverse lot}, who [are] in Gibeah, so that we may kill them and purge [this] wickedness from Israel." But the descendants of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their relatives, the {Israelites}.

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."