"If a young woman who is still living in her father's house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation,

"But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact.

The Israelites took the women of Midian captives along with their little ones, and took all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods as plunder.

Moses said to them, "Have you allowed all the women to live?

Now therefore kill every boy, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.

But all the young women who have not had sexual intercourse with a man will be yours.

and 32,000 young women who had never had sexual intercourse with a man.

At that time we seized all his cities and put every one of them under divine judgment, including even the women and children; we left no survivors.

We put all of these under divine judgment just as we had done to King Sihon of Heshbon -- every occupied city, including women and children.

Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you -- in one of your villages that the Lord your God is giving you -- who sins before the Lord your God and breaks his covenant

you must bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing -- that very man or woman -- and you must stone that person to death.

There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer,

Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.

Or who among you has become engaged to a woman but has not married her? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else marry her."

However, the women, little children, cattle, and anything else in the city -- all its plunder -- you may take for yourselves as spoil. You may take from your enemies the plunder that the Lord your God has given you.

if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife,

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor should a man dress up in women's clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God.

Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and then rejects her,

accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, "I married this woman but when I had sexual relations with her I discovered she was not a virgin!"

Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity for the elders of the city at the gate.

The young woman's father must say to the elders, "I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected her.

They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman's father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin,

the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father's house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father's house. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

If a man is caught having sexual relations with a married woman both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge evil from Israel.

you must bring the two of them to the gate of that city and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry out though in the city and the man because he violated his neighbor's fianc?e; in this way you will purge evil from among you.

But if the man came across the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped her, then only the rapist must die.

You must not do anything to the young woman -- she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person and murders him,

for the man met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel.

If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house.

Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image -- something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman -- and sets it up in a secret place.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's boundary marker.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his father's former wife, for he dishonors his father.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it.

Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Gather the people -- men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages -- so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law.

But the woman hid the two men and replied, "Yes, these men were clients of mine, but I didn't know where they came from.

They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys.

Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, "Enter the prostitute's house and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her."

Twelve thousand men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai.

Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.

The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor, the omen reader, along with the others.

Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba -- a total of twelve cities and their towns.

She said, "I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame on the expedition you are undertaking, for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman." Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

The most rewarded of women should be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite! She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the stronghold and set fire to it. All the people of the Tower of Shechem died -- about a thousand men and women.

There was a fortified tower in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city's leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.

a woman threw an upper millstone down on his head and shattered his skull.

He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, "Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man stabbed him and he died.

Gilead's wife also gave him sons. When his wife's sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, "You are not going to inherit any of our father's wealth, because you are another woman's son."

Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.

He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. Ibzan led Israel for seven years;

The Lord's angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son.

The woman went and said to her husband, "A man sent from God came to me! He looked like God's angelic messenger -- he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

God answered Manoah's prayer. God's angelic messenger visited the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her.

The woman ran at once and told her husband, "Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!"

After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

Now the temple was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.

The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master was staying until it became light.

When her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.

The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, "I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night.

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.

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.

The leaders of the assembly said, "How can we find wives for those who are left? After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.

But we can't allow our daughters to marry them, for the Israelites took an oath, saying, 'Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!'

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

Then Naomi's two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left all alone -- bereaved of her two children as well as her husband!

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?"

Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters, "To whom does this young woman belong?"

The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, "She's the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab.

In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over. Now he saw a woman lying beside him!

Now, my dear, don't worry! I intend to do for you everything you propose, for everyone in the village knows that you are a worthy woman.

So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, "No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor."

All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May you prosper in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.

May your family become like the family of Perez -- whom Tamar bore to Judah -- through the descendants the Lord gives you by this young woman."

The village women said to Naomi, "May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian today! May he become famous in Israel!

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!

Don't consider your servant a wicked woman, for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish."

She said, "May I, your servant, find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and got something to eat. Her face no longer looked sad.

So her husband Elkanah said to her, "Do what you think best. Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise." So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

She said, "Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the Lord.

Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food, but the hungry no longer lack. Even the barren woman gives birth to seven, but the one with many children withers away.

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.

As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, "Don't be afraid! You have given birth to a son!" But she did not reply or pay any attention.

the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, "What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place."

So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'"

Samuel said, "Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord.