And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.

And he sent messengers to Abimelech privately, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem, and, behold, they are fortifying the city against thee.

And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from the ambushment.

And God requited all the wickedness of the men of Shechem upon their heads. And the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

And after Abimelech there arose Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, to save Israel, and he dwelt in Shamir in the hill-country of Ephraim.

And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkey colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

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 the anger of LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the sons of Ammon.

And they vexed and oppressed the sons of Israel that year. Eighteen years [they oppressed] all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

And the sons of Ammon passed over the Jordan to also fight against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was exceedingly distressed.

And the sons of Israel cried to LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and have served the Baalim.

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.

Then the sons of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpah.

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.

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot, and Gilead begot Jephthah.

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 it came to pass after a while, that the sons of Ammon made war against Israel.

And it was so, that, when the sons of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob.

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

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 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, What have thou to do with me, that thou have come to me to fight against my land?

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

And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon.

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,

And now are thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?

I therefore have not sinned against thee, but thou do me wrong to war against me. LORD, the Judge, be judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.

However the king of the sons of Ammon did not hearken to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

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

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

then it shall be, that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.

So Jephthah passed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and LORD delivered them into his hand.

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

And Jephthah came to Mizpah to 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 she said to him, My father, thou have opened thy mouth to LORD. Do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth, inasmuch as LORD has taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on the sons of Ammon.

And the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and passed northward. And they said to Jephthah, Why did thou pass over to fight against the sons of Ammon, and did not call us to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with f

And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were at great strife with the sons of Ammon, and when I called you, ye did not save me out of their hand.

And when I saw that ye did not save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed opposite the sons of Ammon, and LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have ye come up to me this day, to fight against me?

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

And after him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

And he had forty sons and thirty sons' sons who rode on seventy donkey colts, and he judged Israel eight years.

And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill-country of the Amalekites.

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

And the agent of LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, thou are barren, and do not bear, but thou shall conceive, and bear a son.

for, lo, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

but he said to me, Behold, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and LORD blessed him.

And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou do but hate me, and not love me. Thou have put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told it to my father nor m

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her because she pressed him greatly. And she told the riddle to the sons of her people.

Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

And he restored the eleven hundred [pieces] of silver to his mother. And his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver to LORD from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to th

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

And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

And the sons of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it. And they said to them, Go, search the land. And they came to the hill-cou

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

When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the sons of Dan.

And they cried out to the sons of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, What troubles thee that thou come with such a company?

And the sons of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.

And the sons of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image. And Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. And the damsel's father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.

And his master said to him, We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner that is not of the sons of Israel, but we will pass over to Gibeah.

And it was so, that all who 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. Consider it, take counsel, and speak.

Then all the sons of Israel went out. And the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to LORD at Mizpah.

(Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?

Behold, ye sons of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

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

And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

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

And the sons of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.

And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men.

And the sons of Israel went up and wept before LORD until evening. And they asked of LORD, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And LORD said, Go up against him.

And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day.

And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword.

Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before LORD.

And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will del

And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to smite and kill of the people as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in

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

And LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand and a hundred men. All these drew the sword.

So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin because they trusted to the ambushment whom they had set against Gibeah.

And the men of Israel turned again upon the sons of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found. Moreover they set on fire all the cities which they found.

And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up in the assembly to LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be

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

And the whole congregation sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the sons of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, Go and lay in wait in the vineyards,

And the sons of Benjamin did so, and took for them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.

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

And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left, and her two sons.

And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. Why will ye go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

Turn again, my daughters. Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope. If I should even have a husband tonight, and should also bear sons,

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

And he shall be to thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loves thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, has borne him.

And the women, her neighbors, gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi. And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.