And Midian is humbled before the sons of Israel, and have not added to lift up their head; and the land resteth forty years in the days of Gideon.

and to Gideon there have been seventy sons, coming out of his loin, for he had many wives;

and the sons of Israel have not remembered Jehovah their God, who is delivering them out of the hand of all their enemies round about,

neither have they done kindness with the house of Jerubbaal -- Gideon -- according to all the good which he did with Israel.

Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the masters of Shechem, Which is good for you -- the ruling over you of seventy men (all the sons of Jerubbaal), or the ruling over you of one man? -- and ye have remembered that I am your bone and your flesh.'

'The trees have diligently gone to anoint over them a king, and they say to the olive, Reign thou over us.

And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

And the fig saith to them, Have I ceased from my sweetness, and my good increase, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

And the vine saith to them, Have I ceased from my new wine, which is rejoicing gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

And, now, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted, when ye make Abimelech king; and if ye have done good with Jerubbaal, and with his house; and if according to the deed of his hands ye have done to him --

and ye have risen against the house of my father to-day, and slay his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and cause Abimelech son of his handmaid to reign over the masters of Shechem, because he is your brother --

yea, if in truth and in sincerity ye have acted with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, rejoice ye in Abimelech, and he doth rejoice -- even he -- in you;

And Abimelech and the detachments who are with him have pushed on, and stand at the opening of the gate of the city, and the two detachments have pushed against all who are in the field, and smite them,

and it is declared to Abimelech that all the masters of the tower of Shechem have gathered themselves together,

and Abimelech goeth up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people who are with him, and Abimelech taketh the great axe in his hand, and cutteth off a bough of the trees, and lifteth it up, and setteth it on his shoulder, and saith unto the people who are with him, 'What ye have seen I have done -- haste, do ye like it.'

and he hath thirty sons riding on thirty ass-colts, and they have thirty cities, (they call them Havoth-Jair unto this day), which are in the land of Gilead;

And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the Bene-Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsake Jehovah, and have not served Him;

And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, saying, 'We have sinned against Thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and serve the Baalim.'

And Jehovah saith unto the sons of Israel, 'Have I not saved you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorite, from the Bene-Ammon, and from the Philistines?

And the Zidonians, and Amalek, and Maon have oppressed you, and ye cry unto Me, and I save you out of their hand;

and ye -- ye have forsaken Me, and serve other gods, therefore I add not to save you.

Go and cry unto the gods on which ye have fixed; they -- they save you in the time of your adversity.'

And the sons of Israel say unto Jehovah, 'We have sinned, do Thou to us according to all that is good in Thine eyes; only deliver us, we pray Thee, this day.'

and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;

And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, 'Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'

and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, 'Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head -- to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'

and he goeth through the wilderness, and compasseth the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and cometh in at the rising of the sun of the land of Moab, and they encamp beyond Arnon, and have not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon is the border of Moab.

In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which are by the sides of Arnon three hundred years -- and wherefore have ye not delivered them in that time?

And I -- I have not sinned against thee, and thou art doing with me evil -- to fight against me. Jehovah, the Judge, doth judge to-day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.'

then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering.'

And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, 'Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back.'

And she saith unto her father, 'Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends.'

And Jephthah saith unto them, 'A man of great strife I have been (I and my people) with the Bene-Ammon, and I call you, and ye have not saved me out of their hand,

and I see that thou art not a saviour, and I put my life in my hand, and pass over unto the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah giveth them into my hand -- and why have ye come up unto me this day to fight against me?'

And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying, 'A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance is as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not asked him whence he is, and his name he hath not declared to me;

of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her she doth observe.'

And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, 'What is thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured thee.'

And Manoah saith unto his wife, 'We certainly die, for we have seen God.'

and cometh up and declareth to his father, and to his mother, and saith, 'A woman I have seen in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.'

And his father and his mother have not known that from Jehovah it is, that a meeting he is seeking of the Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over Israel.

And Samson saith to them, 'Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me in the seven days of the banquet, and have found it out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;

and if ye are not able to declare it to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments.' And they say to him, 'Put forth thy riddle, and we hear it!'

And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, 'Entice thy husband, that he declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?'

And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, 'Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not declared it;' and he saith to her, 'Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared it -- and to thee I declare it!'

and the men of Judah say, 'Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, 'To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'

And they say to him, 'To bind thee we have come down -- to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, 'Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'

And they speak to him, saying, No, but we certainly bind thee, and have given thee into their hand, and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick bands, new ones, and bring him up from the rock.

He hath come unto Lehi -- and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and the thick bands which are on his arms are as flax which they burn with fire, and his bands are wasted from off his hands,

And Samson saith, 'With a jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have smitten a thousand men.'

and he thirsteth exceedingly, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Thou -- Thou hast given by the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now, I die with thirst, and have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'

it is told to the Gazathites, saying, 'Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, 'Till the light of the morning -- then we have slain him.'

and the princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, 'Entice him, and see wherein his great power is, and wherein we are able for him -- and we have bound him to afflict him, and we -- we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.'

And Samson saith unto her, 'If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them.

And he saith unto her, 'If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.'

And she saith unto him, 'How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me? these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power is.'

that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, 'A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I am from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.'

And Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the money in their hand.

and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.'

and he saith to his mother, 'The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and of which thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver is with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, 'Blessed is my son of Jehovah.'

and Micah saith, 'Now I have known that Jehovah doth good to me, for the Levite hath been to me for a priest.'

They are with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, 'Who hath brought thee hither? and what art thou doing in this place? and what to thee here?'

And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which is in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in any thing, possessing restraint, and they are far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with any man.

And they say, 'Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go -- to enter to possess the land.

And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, 'Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.

And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, 'Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.'

yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up -- they have come in thither -- they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image -- and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war --

yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, 'What are ye doing?'

They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the men who are in the houses which are near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,

And he saith, 'My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what is this ye say unto me, What -- to thee!'

And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire,

and there is no deliverer, for it is far off from Zidon, and they have no word with any man, and it is in the valley which is by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it,

And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of the people of the land.

And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman saith, 'Support, I pray thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the day, and they eat, both of them.

And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, 'Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'

And his lord saith unto him, 'Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'

And he saith to his young man, 'Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'

They are making their heart glad, and lo, men of the city, men -- sons of worthlessness -- have gone round about the house, beating on the door, and they speak unto the old man, the master of the house, saying, 'Bring out the man who hath come unto thine house, and we know him.'

And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth her out unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the ascending of the dawn;

And the sons of Benjamin hear that the sons of Israel have gone up to Mizpeh. And the sons of Israel say, 'Speak ye, how hath this evil been?'

And the man, the Levite, husband of the woman who hath been murdered, answereth and saith, 'Into Gibeah (which is to Benjamin) I have come, I and my concubine, to lodge;

and rise against me do the masters of Gibeah -- and they go round the house against me by night -- me they thought to slay, and my concubine they have humbled, and she dieth;

and I lay hold on my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and send her into all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have done wickedness and folly in Israel;

and we have taken ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of a myriad, to receive provision for the people, to do, at their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly which it hath done in Israel.'

And now, give up the men -- sons of worthlessness -- which are in Gibeah, and we put them to death, and we put away evil from Israel.' And the sons of Benjamin have not been willing to hearken to the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel;

And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite some of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), are about thirty men of Israel.

And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.

And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle is grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.

And the sons of Benjamin see that they have been smitten -- and the men of Israel give place to Benjamin, for they have trusted unto the ambush which they had set against Gibeah,

and the ambush have hasted, and push against Gibeah, and the ambush draweth itself out, and smiteth the whole of the city by the mouth of the sword.

And the men of Israel have turned, and the men of Benjamin are troubled, for they have seen that the evil hath stricken against them --

they have compassed the Benjamites -- they have pursued them -- with ease they have trodden them down till over-against Gibeah, at the sun-rising.

And the men of Israel have turned back unto the sons of Benjamin, and smite them by the mouth of the sword out of the city, -- men unto cattle, unto all that is found; also all the cities which are found they have sent into fire.

And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, 'None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.'

what do we do for them -- for those who are left -- for wives, and we -- we have sworn by Jehovah not to give to them of our daughters for wives?'

And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons of valour, and command them, saying, 'Go -- and ye have smitten the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants.

And they find out of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young women, virgins, who have not known man by the lying of a male, and they bring them in unto the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

and Benjamin turneth back at that time, and they give to them the women whom they have kept alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilead, and they have not found for all of them so.

And the elders of the company say, 'What do we do to the remnant for wives -- for the women have been destroyed out of Benjamin?'

and we -- we are not able to give to them wives out of our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who is giving a wife to Benjamin.'