And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served Jehovah. And His soul was moved by the misery of Israel.

Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. And worthless men were gathered to Jephthah, and went out with him.

And the king of the sons of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan. Now therefore restore those lands peaceably.

But when they came up from Egypt, Israel walked through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh.

And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan.

Will you not possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomever Jehovah our God shall drive out from before us, we will possess them.

Then the Spirit of Jehovah came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead passed over to the sons of Ammon.

then it shall be that whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, surely it shall belong to Jehovah, or I will offer it up instead of a burnt offering.

And he struck them from Aroer even until you come to Minnith, twenty cities, and to the meadow of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. So were the sons of Ammon subdued before the sons of Israel.

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

For lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and His face was like the face of an Angel of God, very terrifying. But I did not ask Him where He came from, neither did He tell me His name.

But He said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

She may not eat of all that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. Let her do all that I commanded her.

For it happened when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, the Angel of Jehovah went up in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it and fell on their faces to the ground.

And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she pleases me very much.

But his father and his mother did not know that it was from Jehovah, that He was looking for an occasion against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had the rule over Israel.

And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will tie you up and deliver you into their hand. But surely we will not kill you. And they bound him with two new cords and brought him up from the rock.

He came to Lehi, and the Philistines shouted against him. And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and the cords on his arms became as flax that has been burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

And Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And the ambush was sitting for her in the inner room. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come on my hair, for I am a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak and be like any man.

And she made him sleep upon her knees. And she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head. And she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

And she said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he did not know that Jehovah had departed from him.

And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you cursed, and spoke of also in my ears, behold, the silver is with me. Behold, I took it. And his mother said, Be blessed of Jehovah, my son.

And when he had given back the eleven hundred of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly given the silver to Jehovah from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. And now I am giving it to you.

And the man went out of the city from Bethlehem-judah to live where he could find a place. And he came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

And Micah said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-judah, and I go to live where I may find a place.

And the sons of Dan sent from their family five men from their borders, men of war, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. And they said to them, Go, search the land. And when they came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, they stayed there.

And the five men departed and came to Laish, and saw the people in it, how they lived carelessly, as the Sidonians do, quiet and secure. And there was no judge in the land who might put them to shame in a thing. And they were far from the Sidonians, and had no business with any man.

And six hundred men of the family of the Danites moved from there, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, girded with weapons of war.

And they passed from there to Mount Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

They had gone far away from the house of Micah, and the men in the houses near Micah's house had been called together and had overtaken the sons of Dan.

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with any man. And it was in the valley that lies by Beth-rehob. And they built a city and lived in it.

And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem-judah, and was there four whole months.

And behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also from Mount Ephraim. And he lived in Gibeah, but the men of the place were of Benjamin.

And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a traveler in the streets of the city. And the old man said, Where do you go, and where do you come from?

And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the side of mount Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I am going to the house of Jehovah. And there is no man who receives me into his house.

And it was so that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the sons of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Think of it, take advice and speak.

Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to Jehovah in Mizpeh.

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

And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until evening, and asked counsel from Jehovah saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.

And Benjamin went forth to meet them again from Gibeah the second day and again destroyed to the earth eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel. All these drew the sword.

And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to strike some of the people and to kill, as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin said, They are beaten before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.

And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and marshalled at Baal-tamar. And the ambush of Israel broke forth from their place, from the plains of Gibeah.

And a sign was set between the men of Israel and the ambush, to cause to go up a great smoke rising up from the city.

And there fell from Benjamin eighteen thousand. All these were men of war.

And the sons of Israel turned again to the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, from the entire city to livestock, to all that was found. Also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

And the sons of Israel repented themselves for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to Mizpeh to Jehovah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah in Shiloh yearly on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then you come out of the vineyards and catch you a wife for every man from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

And the sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number, from those that danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and lived in them.

And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, each man to his tribe and to his family. And they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

And they took wives for themselves from the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law so that she might return from the fields of Moab. For she had heard in the fields of Moab how Jehovah had visited His people in giving them bread.

And Ruth said, Do not beg me to leave you, to return from following after you. For where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless you.

And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the girl from Moab who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

And she said, Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. And she came, and has kept on from the morning until now, but that she stayed a little in the house.

And Boaz said to Ruth, Do you not hear, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, neither go away from here, but stay here close by my maidens.

May Jehovah repay your work, and may a full reward be given you from Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to trust.

And Boaz said, In the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy also from the hand of Ruth of Moab, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi.

And also Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day.

And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim from the hills of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.

And this man went up out of his city from year to year, to worship and to sacrifice to Jehovah of Hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of Jehovah, were there.

And Eli said to her, How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you!

He raises up the poor out of the dust; He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among princes; yea, He causes them to inherit a throne of honor; for to Jehovah are the pillars of the earth; and He sets the habitable world on them.

Yea, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. For he will not have boiled flesh from you, but raw!

And his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And did I give to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire from the sons of Israel?

And Jehovah, the God of Israel says, I said indeed, Your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever. But now Jehovah says, Be it far from Me! For those who honor Me I will honor, and those that think little of Me shall be lightly regarded.

And that man of yours whom I shall not cut off from My altar, shall be left in order to make your eyes fail, and to grieve your heart. And all the increase of your house shall die young men.

And he said, What is the word which He has said to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide a thing from me of all the words that He said to you.

And Samuel told him all the words, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is Jehovah; let Him do what seems good to Him.

And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Jehovah.

And the people sent to Shiloh in order to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts from there, the ark which dwells between the cherubs. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God had been taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

And they said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. For you shall certainly send a guilt offering to him. Then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.

And you shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice which mar the land. And you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

And now make a new cart, and take two milk cows on which there has come no yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them.

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Jehovah God? And to whom shall He go up from us?

And it happened from the day the ark began to dwell in Kirjath-jearim, the days became many; yea, they were twenty years. And all the house of Israel yearned after Jehovah.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel saying, If you return to Jehovah with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts to Jehovah, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease from crying to Jehovah our God for us, so that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were given back to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath. And Israel delivered its borders out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

And he went from year to year in a circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

And he had a son named Saul, a young and handsome one. And there was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he, being taller than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

And they came down from the high place into the city, and he spoke with Saul on the top of the house.

When you have departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. And they will say to you, The asses which you went to seek are found. And, lo, your father has quit caring for the asses and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

And you shall go forward from there, and you shall come to the great tree of Tabor. And there you shall meet three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall take from their hand.

After that you shall come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And it will happen to you when you come there to the city, even you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp and a tambourine and a flute and a lyre before them. And they shall prophesy.

And it happened when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God changed him with another heart. And all those signs came on that day.

And a man from there answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

And he finished from prophesying, and he came to the high place.

And they ran and brought him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than all of the people from the shoulders and upward.