Then said Yahweh unto the sons of Israel, - Was it not, from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, and from the sons of Ammon, and from the Philistines, that I saved you ?

And the sons of Israel said unto Yahweh - We have sinned, do, thou, with us, according to all that is fitting in thine eyes, - only rescue us, we beseech thee this day.

Then said the people, the princes of Gilead, one to another, Who is the man that will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? he shall become head to all the inhabitants of Gilead.

And so it came to pass, after a time, - that the sons of Ammon made war with Israel.

When, therefore, it came to pass that the sons of Ammon made war with Israel, then went the elders of Gilead, to summon Jephthah out of the land of Tob.

And they said to Jephthah, Oh! come and be our commander, - that we may do battle with the sons of Ammon.

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah - Therefore, have we, now, returned unto thee, that, if thou go with us, and do battle with the sons of Ammon, then shalt thou become our head, for all the inhabitants of Gilead.

So then Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, - What occasion is there between us, that thou shouldst have come unto me, to fight against my land?

Then did Yahweh, God of Israel, deliver up Sihon, and all his people, into the hand of Israel, and they smote them, - so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that land.

Now, therefore, it was, Yahweh God of Israel, that dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, - and shalt, thou, possess it?

What Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess, that, wilt thou not possess? and, whatsoever Yahweh our God hath set before us to possess, that, shall we not possess?

all the time that Israel hath been dwelling in Heshbon and in her towns, and in Aroer and in her towns, and in all the cities that are on the banks of Arnon, - for three hundred years? Wherefore, then, have ye not made a rescue within that time?

then shall it be, that, whosoever cometh forth out of the doors of my house, to meet me, when I return successful, from the sons of Ammon, shall belong unto Yahweh, and I will offer him up, as an ascending-sacrifice.

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said - Alas! my daughter, Thou hast, brought me low, Even, thou, hast come to be among them who trouble me, - Yet, I, opened wide my mouth unto Yahweh, and cannot go back.

And she said unto him - My father! Thou hast opened wide thy mouth unto Yahweh, Do with me, according to that which hath gone forth out of thy mouth, - after that Yahweh hath exacted for thee an avenging from thine enemies, from the sons of Ammon.

And she said unto her father, Let this thing, be done for me, - Let me alone two months, that I may depart, and go down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.

And it came to pass, at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, and he fulfilled on her his vow which he had vowed, - she not having known man. And it became a statute, in Israel: -

So, when I saw that thou wast not going to save, then put I my life in my hand, and passed over against the sons of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand. Wherefore, then, have ye come up against me this day, to fight against me?

And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan, against the Ephraimites, - and so it was, that, when the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me pass over, the men of Gilead said to him, An Ephraimite, art thou? and, if he said - Nay!

they said to him, Come now, say Shibboleth, and, if he said Sibboleth, and he could not take heed to speak in that manner, then laid they hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan, - and there fell, at that time, of the Ephraimites, forty-two thousand.

And the sons of Israel again did the thing that was wicked in the sight of Yahweh, - so Yahweh delivered them up into the hand of the Philistines, forty years.

Then Manoah made entreaty unto Yahweh, and said: Pardon, O My Lord! the man of God whom thou didst send, I pray thee, let him come again unto us, that he may teach us what we are to do, unto the boy that is to be born.

Then Manoah arose, and followed his wife, - and came unto the man, and said unto him - Art, thou, the man that spake unto the wife? And he said - I am.

And the messenger of Yahweh said unto Manoah, - Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware.

Of nothing that cometh of the vine, may she eat, nor wine nor strong drink, let her drink, nor, anything unclean, let her eat, - all that I commanded her, let her observe.

And Manoah said unto the messenger of Yahweh, - I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may make ready for thy presence, a kid.

But the messenger of Yahweh said unto Manoah - Though thou detain me, yet will I not eat of thy food, and, though thou make ready an ascending-sacrifice, unto Yahweh, must thou cause it to ascend. For Manoah had not discerned that, the angel of Yahweh, he was.

Then said Manoah unto the messenger of Yahweh, What is thy name, - that, when thy word cometh to pass, we may do thee honour?

And the messenger of Yahweh said unto him, Wherefore is it, that thou shouldst ask after my name, - seeing that, it, is Wonderful?

And it came to pass, when the flame ascended from off the altar, towards the heavens, that the messenger of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar, - while Manoah and his wife were looking on. Then fell they on their faces, to the earth.

And the messenger of Yahweh did no more appear unto Manoah or unto his wife. Then, Manoah knew that, the messenger of Yahweh, he was.

And his father and his mother said to him - Is there not, among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, a woman, that thou art going away to take a woman from among the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said unto his father - Take, her, for me, for, she, is pleasant in mine eyes.

Now, his father and his mother, knew not, that, from Yahweh, it was, that, an occasion, he was seeking of the Philistines, - at that time, the Philistines having dominion over Israel.

which he took into his hands, and went on - eating as he went, and came unto his father and unto his mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat, - but he told them not that, out of the carcass of the lion, he had taken the honey.

And it came to pass, because they feared him, that they took thirty companions, who remained with him.

but, if ye cannot tell me, then shall, ye, give me thirty linen wraps, and thirty changes of raiment. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

And it came to pass, on the fourth day, that they said to Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may tell us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father, with fire. Was it not, to impoverish us, that ye invited us - was it not?

So she wept upon him the seven days, - while their banquet lasted, - and it came to pass, on the seventh day, that he told her, because she urged him, and she told the riddle unto the sons of her people.

And it came to pass, after a time, in the days of wheat-harvest, that Samson went to visit his wife, with a kid, and he said - I will go in unto my wife, in the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

And her father said - I, thought, that thou didst, hate, her, so I gave her to thy companion, - Is not, her younger sister, fairer than she? Pray let her be thine, in her stead.

Then went down three thousand men out of Judah, unto the cleft of the crag Etam, and said unto Samson - Knowest thou not that the Philistines are lording it over us? What, then, is this thou hast done to us? And he said unto them, As they have done to me, so, have I done to them.

And they said to him - To bind thee, are we come down, to deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me, yourselves.

He, was coming in as far as Lehi, and, the Philistines, came shouting to meet him, - when the Spirit of Yahweh came suddenly over him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as threads of flax which have been ignited with fire, so that his bonds melted from off his hands.

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, - and called the name of that place, Ramath-lehi.

So then God clave open the hollow that is in Lehi, and there came therefrom water, and he drank, and his spirit came back, and he revived, - for this cause, called he the name thereof - Ain-hakkore, which is in Lehi, until this day.

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and of the two doorposts, and tare them away, with the bar, and put them on his shoulders, - and carried them up to the top of the hill that faceth Hebron.

And it came to pass, after this, that he loved a woman in the ravine of Shorek, whose, name, was Delilah.

And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green cords, that have not been dried, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man.

So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords, that had not been dried, - and she bound him therewith.

And it came to pass, when she urged him with her words continually, and pressed him, that his soul became impatient, unto death;

And, when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying - Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought up the silver in their hand.

And she said - The Philistines, are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and said - I will go out now, as time after time, and shake myself free: he, not knowing, that, Yahweh, had departed from him.

And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, - and took him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze, and it came to pass that he used to grind in the prison.

And it came to pass, when their heart was merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. So they called for Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them, and they stationed him between the pillars.

And Samson said unto the youth that held him by his hand, Place me where I may feel the pillars whereon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.

So then Samson cried unto Yahweh, and said, - My Lord Yahweh! remember me, I pray thee, - and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged, with one avenging, for my two eyes, upon the Philistines.

And Samson said - Let my soul die with the Philistines! And he bowed mightily, and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead, whom he slew at his death, were more than they whom he slew in his life.

And he said unto his mother - The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken by thee, when, thou, didst utter a curse, and didst also say in my hearing, Lo! the silver, is with me! I took it. Then said his mother, Blessed, be my son by Yahweh.

In those days, there was no king in Israel, - every man did, that which was right in his own eyes.

Then said Micah - Now, I know that Yahweh will do me good, - seeing I have a Levite as my priest.

In those days, there was no king in Israel, - and, in those days, the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in for there had not fallen to them, unto that day, in the midst of the tribes of Israel, enough for an inheritance.

So they said unto him - Ask of God, we pray thee, - that we may know whether the journey on which we are going shall have good success.

When ye do enter, ye will enter amongst a people secure, and, the land, is of ample bounds, - yea God hath delivered it into your hands, - a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.

And they went up and encamped in Kiriath-jearim, in Judah, - wherefore they have called that place, Mahaneh-dan - unto this day, lo! it is behind Kiriath-jearim.

Then responded the five men who had been to spy out the land of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Know ye that there are in these houses, an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image, - now, therefore, know what ye will do!

And they said unto him - Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and become to us a father and a priest, - is it better that thou be priest to the house of one man, or that thou be priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?

They, had gone a good way from the house of Micah, when, the men that were in the houses near to the house of Micah, were called out and overtook the sons of Dan.

And they called unto the sons of Dan, who turned their faces, - and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou hast called out thy neighbours?

And he said - My gods which I had made, ye have taken away, and the priest, and have departed, and what have I more? How then is it that ye can say unto me, What aileth thee?

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

They, therefore, took what Micah had made, and the priest that he had, and came upon Laish, upon a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword, - the city also, burned they with fire.

And there was no one to rescue, because it was, far, from Zidon, and they had no, dealings, with any one, it, being in the vale that pertaineth to Beth-rehob. Then built they the city, and dwelt therein,

So they set up for themselves the graven image of Micah, which he had made, - and let it remain all the days that the house of God was in Shiloh.

And it came to pass in those days, when, king, there was none in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-judah.

Then arose her husband, and went after her, to speak unto her heart, that he might bring her back again, having his young man with him, and a couple of asses, - and she brought him into the house of her father, and, when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

And it came to pass, on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, and gat up to go, that the father of the damsel said unto his son-in-law, - Stay thy heart with a morsel of bread, and, afterwards, ye shall go your way.

Nevertheless, straw and fodder too, is there for our asses, yea moreover, bread and wine, there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants, - there is lack, of nothing.

They, were gladdening their heart, when lo! men of the city, men of the sons of the Abandoned One, beset the house round about, beating violently against the door, - and they spake unto the old man the owner of the house, saying, Bring forth the man that hath entered into thy house, that we may know him.

And so it was, that every one who beheld said - There hath not happened, nor been seen the like of this, from the day when the sons of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt, until this day: Put it to yourselves contemning it, take counsel and speak!

And the chiefs of all the people - all the tribes of Israel - presented themselves in the convocation of the people of God, - four hundred thousand footmen, that drew the sword.

And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. Then said the sons of Israel, Tell us , In what manner was brought to pass this vileness?

And the Levite, husband of the woman that was cut in pieces, responded and said, - Into Gibeah that pertaineth to Benjamin, I entered, I and my concubine, to tarry the night.

And the owners of Gibeah rose up against me, and beset the house, for my sake, by night, - me, they thought to slay, and, my concubine, they so humbled, that she died.

Now, therefore, this is the thing, that we will do to Gibeah, - Go against it by lot;

and we will take ten men of a hundred, of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to fetch provisions for the people, - that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the impiety that it hath wrought in Israel.

And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the divisions of Benjamin, saying, - What is this vile thing that hath been brought to pass, among you?

Now, therefore, deliver up the men - the sons of the Abandoned One - who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and vileness be consumed out of Israel. But the sons of Benjamin would not hearken unto the voice of their brethren, the sons of Israel.

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

And, the men of Israel, were numbered, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men, that drew the sword, - every one of these being a man of war.

Then came forth the sons of Benjamin out of Gibeah, - and laid low of Israel, on that day, twenty-two thousand men, to the ground.

Then went up all the sons of Israel, and all the people, and came to Bethel, and wept, and tarried there before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, until the evening, - and caused to go up ascending-sacrifices and peace-offerings, before Yahweh.

And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men, out of all Israel, and the battle was severe, - they, not knowing that disaster was overtaking them.

Thus Yahweh smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed in Benjamin, that day, twenty-five thousand and one hundred men, - all these, drew the sword.

So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, - and that the men of Israel had given place to Benjamin, because they trusted to the liers in wait, whom they had set near Gibeah.

And, when, the men of Israel, turned, then were the men of Benjamin dismayed, - for they saw that disaster had overtaken them.

And, when they turned before the men of Israel unto the way of the desert, the battle, over took them, - while, as for them that came out of the cities, they began to destroy them in their midst: -

So then it came to pass that, all the fallen of Benjamin, were twenty-five thousand men, that drew the sword, on that day, - all these being men of valour.

Thus, the men of Israel, turned against the sons of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, beginning with the city, each and every one down to the beast, even to every one that was met with, - moreover, all the cities they came to, they set on fire.

and said, Wherefore, O Yahweh, God of Israel, hath this come about in Israel, - that there should be lacking, to-day, out of Israel, one tribe?

And it came to pass, on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there, an altar, - and offered ascending-sacrifices, and peace-offerings.