Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those that plundered them.

Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who before knew nothing thereof;

And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

But he himself turned back at the stone images that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret message unto you, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the nations.

Now Heber the Kenite, who was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent as far as the oak 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 show you the man whom you seek. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the peg was in his temples.

That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, who said unto them, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.

And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will test them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto you, This one shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whomsoever I say unto you, This one shall not go with you, the same shall not go.

And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna with whom you did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread unto your men that are weary?

Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor? And they answered, As you are, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Which is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless persons, who followed him.

That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brethren.

And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now your mouth, with which you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that you have despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

And the Gileadites took the fords of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites who were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, are you an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent outside for marriage, and took in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.

Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God whom you did send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave changes of clothing unto them who expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his best man.

Then the Philistines said, Who has 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.

And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who slew many of us.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.

Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the silversmith, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

And the man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod, and household gods, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their territory, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in there, and said unto him, Who brought you here? and what are you doing in this place? and what do you have here?

And the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no lack of any thing.

Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:

And the children of Benjamin numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred chosen men.

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Who of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.