But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to thee, O king. And he said, Keep silence. And all who stood by him went out from him.

And Ehud came to him. And he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. And Ehud said, I have a message from God to thee. And he arose out of his seat.

Now when he was gone out, his servants came, and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the upper room were locked. And they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the upper chamber.

And he said to them, Follow after me, for LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and did not allow a man to pass over.

And the sons of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, when Ehud was dead.

And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Has not LORD, the God of Israel, commanded, [saying], Go and approach to mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the sons of Naph

And Barak said to her, If thou will go with me, then I will go, but if thou will not go with me, I will not go.

And she said, I will surely go with thee. Notwithstanding, the journey that thou take shall not be for thine honor, for LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

And Deborah said to Barak, Up, for this is the day in which LORD has delivered Sisera into thy hand. Has not LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

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

And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

And he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man comes and inquires of thee, and says, Is there any man here? that thou shall say, No.

And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seek. And he came to her, and, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples.

Tell, ye who ride on white donkeys, ye who sit on rich carpets, and ye who walk by the way.

Why did thou sit among the sheepfolds, to hear the pipings for the flocks? At the watercourses of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.

Gilead abode beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he remain in ships? Asher sat still at the haven of the sea, and abode by his creeks.

Curse ye Meroz, said the agent of LORD. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants of it, because they did not come to the help of LORD, to the help of LORD against the mighty.

And the sons of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

that LORD sent a prophet to the sons of Israel. And he said to them, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage.

And I said to you, I am LORD your God. Ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell, but ye have not hearkened to my voice.

And the agent of LORD came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite. And his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

And the agent of LORD appeared to him, and said to him, LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

And Gideon said to him, Oh, my lord, if LORD is with us, then why has all this befallen us? And where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now LORD has cast us of

And LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent thee?

And he said to him, Oh, LORD, with what shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

And LORD said to him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shall smite the Midianites as one man.

And he said to him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou who talk with me.

Depart not from here, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

And the agent of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.

And Gideon saw that he was the agent of LORD. And Gideon said, Alas, O lord LORD! Inasmuch as I have seen the agent of LORD face to face.

And LORD said to him, Peace be to thee. Fear not; thou shall not die.

And it came to pass the same night, that LORD said to him, Take thy father's bullock, even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.

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.

Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.

And Joash said to all who stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? Or will ye save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death while [it is] morning. If he be a god, let him contend for himself because he has brok

And Gideon said to God, If thou will save Israel by my hand, as thou have spoken,

And Gideon said to God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let t

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

And LORD said to Gideon, The people who are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My own hand has saved me.

And LORD said to Gideon, The people are yet too many. Bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there. And it shall be, that of whom I say to thee, This man shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee, and of w

So he brought down the people to the water. And LORD said to Gideon, Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him thou shall set by himself. Likewise everyone who bows down upon his knees to drink.

And LORD said to Gideon, By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand. And let all the people go every man to his place.

And it came to pass the same night, that LORD said to him, Arise, get thee down into the camp, for I have delivered it into thy hand.

And when Gideon came, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. And he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream. And, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it so that it fel

And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else except the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has delivered Midian, and all the army.

And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation of it, that he worshipped. And he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise, for LORD has delivered the army of Midian into your hand.

And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise, and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so ye shall do.

When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, For LORD and for Gideon.

So Gideon, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch when they had but newly set the watch. And they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that

And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why have thou done thus to us, that thou did not call us when thou went to fight with Midian? And they chided with him sharply.

And he said to them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

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

And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.

And the rulers of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we should give bread to thine army?

And Gideon said, Therefore when LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men who are weary?

Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye killed at Tabor? And they answered, As thou are, so were they. Each one resembled the sons of a king.

And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As LORD lives, if ye had saved them alive, I would not kill you.

And he said to Jether his first-born, Up, and kill them. But the youth did not draw his sword, for he feared because he was yet a youth.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also, for thou have saved us out of the hand of Midian.

And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. LORD shall rule over you.

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

And the sons of Israel did not remember LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side,

And his mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words. And their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother.

And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried out, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.

The trees went forth a time to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness with which by me they honor God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?

And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

But the fig tree said to them, Should I leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?

And the trees said to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

And the vine said to them, Should I leave my new wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees?

Then all the trees said to the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

And the men of Shechem set ambushes for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them, and it was told Abimelech.

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 ye the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?

And would that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.

And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there comes people down from the tops of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

And Gaal spoke again and said, See, there comes people down by the middle of the land, and one company comes by the way of the oak of Meonenim.

Then Zebul said to him, Where is now thy mouth, that thou said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people that thou have despised? Go out now, I pray, and fight with them.

And Abimelech got up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the people who w

And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire upon them, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men

Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, A woman killed him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

And the sons of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and served the Baalim, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the god

And LORD said to the sons of Israel, [Did] not [I save you] from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the sons of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

And the sons of Israel said to LORD, We have sinned. Do thou to us whatever seems good to thee, only deliver us, we pray thee, this day.

And the people, the rulers of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

And Gilead's wife bore sons to him. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove out Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shall not inherit in our father's house, for thou are the son of another woman.

And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the sons of Ammon.

And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did ye not hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? And why have ye come to me now when ye are in distress?

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, For that reason we turned again to thee now, that thou may go with us, and fight with the sons of Ammon. And thou shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight with the sons of Ammon, and LORD delivers them before me, shall I be your head?

And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, LORD shall be witness between us. Surely according to thy word so will we do.

And he said to him, Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon,

Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab. And they encamped on the other side of the Arnon, but they did not come within the border

And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land to my place.

While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did ye not recover them within that time?

And Jephthah vowed a vow to LORD, and said, If thou will indeed deliver the sons of Ammon into my hand,

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! Thou have brought me very low, and thou are one of those who trouble me, for I have opened my mouth to LORD, and I cannot go back.