Samson said to her, "If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man."

So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them.

They hid in the bedroom and then she said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. The secret of his strength was not discovered.

He said to her, "If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, I will become weak and be just like any other man."

So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) But he tore the ropes from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.

The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, "Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us."

When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, "Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!"

When they really started celebrating, they said, "Call for Samson so he can entertain us!" So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. They made him stand between two pillars.

His brothers and all his family went down and brought him back. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel for twenty years.

In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel.

The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, capable men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah's house.

As they approached Micah's house, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they stopped there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?"

They said to him, "Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission."

So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

They said, "Come on, let's attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don't hesitate to invade and conquer the land.

They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.)

From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah's house.

They stopped there, went inside the young Levite's house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing.

They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?"

They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions.

After they had gone a good distance from Micah's house, Micah's neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, "Why have you gathered together?"

The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home.

Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city.

No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it.

They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the city's name used to be Laish.

They worshiped Micah's carved image the whole time God's authorized shrine was in Shiloh.

His father-in-law, the girl's father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.

On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. But the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Have a bite to eat for some energy, then you can go."

He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl's father said, "Get some energy. Wait until later in the day to leave!" So they ate a meal together.

When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late and the servant said to his master, "Come on, let's stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night in it."

So they traveled on, and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.

They stopped there and decided to spend the night in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night.

So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal.

They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, "Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him."

The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.

I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel.

We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel."

The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they arranged their battle lines against Gibeah.

The Israelite army took heart and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, "Should we again march out to fight the Benjaminites, our brothers?" The Lord said, "Attack them!"

So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord.

The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.

The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites.

Then the Benjaminites said, "They are defeated just as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's retreat and lure them away from the city into the main roads."

Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city.

the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, "There's no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle."

When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep.

They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.

They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba.

The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months.

The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path.

They said, "Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?" An entire tribe has disappeared from Israel today!"

The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace.

The Israelites asked, "Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?" They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed.

The Israelites regretted what had happened to their brother Benjamin. They said, "Today we cut off an entire tribe from Israel!

So they asked, "Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?" Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering.

When they took roll call, they noticed none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.

So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors against Jabesh Gilead. They commanded them, "Go and kill with your swords the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

Do this: exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. But spare the lives of any virgins." So they did as instructed.

They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins -- they had never had sexual relations with a male. They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed.

The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around.

So they commanded the Benjaminites, "Go hide in the vineyards,

The Benjaminites did as instructed. They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. They went home to their own territory, rebuilt their cities, and settled down.

(Now the man's name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there.

So her sons married Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) And they continued to live there about ten years.

May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the home of a new husband!" Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly.

But they said to her, "No! We will return with you to your people."

surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! No, my daughters, you must not return with me. For my intense suffering is too much for you to bear. For the Lord is afflicting me!"

Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her.

So the two of themWhen they entered Bethlehem, the whole village was excited about their arrival. The women of the village said, "Can this be Naomi?"

So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. (Now they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.)

Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "May the Lord be with you!" They replied, "May the Lord bless you!"

Ruth the Moabite replied, "He even told me, 'You may go along beside my servants until they have finished gathering all my harvest!'"

Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down.

The neighbor women named him, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. Now he became the father of Jesse -- David's father!

On one occasion in Shiloh, after they had finished eating and drinking, Hannah got up. (Now at the time Eli the priest was sitting in his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple.)

They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

Once the bull had been slaughtered, they brought the boy to Eli.

Now I dedicate him to the Lord. From this time on he is dedicated to the Lord." Then they worshiped the Lord there.

The sons of Eli were wicked men. They did not recognize the Lord's authority.

He would jab it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot, and everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they used to do to all the Israelites when they came there to Shiloh.

Even before they burned the fat, the priest's attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, "Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won't take boiled meat from you, but only raw."

The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they treated the Lord's offering with contempt.

Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, "May the Lord raise up for you descendants from this woman to replace the one that she dedicated to the Lord." Then they would go to their home.

Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel and how they used to have sex with the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Did I not plainly reveal myself to your ancestor's house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die!

Samuel revealed the word of the Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

So the army sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, "What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp.

The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp. They said, "Too bad for us! We've never seen anything like this!

Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!"

So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home. The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle.

The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.