Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

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.

Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for the LORD had compassion because of their groanings because of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

But Ehud made himself a dagger which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he did gird it under his clothes upon his right thigh.

And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people that bore the tribute.

And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer chamber, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto you. And he arose out of his seat.

When he had gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he is relieving himself in his summer chamber.

And it came to pass, when he had come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he was before them.

So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and for twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

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 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a rug.

And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she struck Sisera, she crushed his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

So let all your enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when it goes forth in its might. And the land had rest forty years.

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.

God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison to you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

And he went up there to Penuel, and spoke unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

And Gideon had threescore and ten sons, his own offspring: for he had many wives.

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:

Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.

When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,

And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

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 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.

And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, that rode on threescore and ten donkey colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore him as he would have torn a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

And he took some of it in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.

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

And her father said, I verily thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray you, instead of her.

And when he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing grain, with the vineyards and olives.

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 it came to pass, when he had finished speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

But God split a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water out of it; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he has showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto you.

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

In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.

Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were there, how they dwelt safely, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might shame them in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest that he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were quiet and secure: and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt in it.

And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the young woman's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry.

And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, where do you go? and from where do you come?

So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the men in ambush which they had set beside Gibeah.

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin as wife.

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 they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet they did not suffice for them.

And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.