When Gideon came there, a man was giving his friend an account of his dream, saying, See, I had a dream about a cake of barley bread which, falling into the tents of Midian, came on to the tent, overturning it so that it was stretched out flat on the earth.

And his comrade answered, "This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Jo'ash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Mid'ian and all the host."

Then Gideon, hearing the story of the dream and the sense in which they took it, gave worship; then he went back to the tents of Israel, and said, Up! for the Lord has given the army of Midian into your hands.

Then separating the three hundred men into three bands, he gave every man a horn, and a vessel in which was a flaming branch.

And he said to them, "Watch me and do the same. When I come to the edge of the camp, {do just as I do}.

So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.

The three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they shouted, "The sword of Yahweh and of Gideon!"

And he said to them, What have I done in comparison with you? Is not that which Ephraim took up after the grape-cutting better than all the grapes which Abiezer got in from the grape-cutting?

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor and their hosts with them, upon a fifteen thousand, which were all that were left of all the hosts of them of the east. And they that were slain were a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew swords.

Then Gideon the son of Jo'ash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

Then he came unto the men of Succoth and said, "Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, with which ye cast me in the teeth saying, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy fainty men?'"

And then said unto Zebah and Zalmunna, "What manner men were they which ye slew at Tabor?" And they answered, "The likeness of thee and them is all one, even after the fashion of the children of a king."

And Zebah saith -- also Zalmunna -- 'Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man -- his might;' and Gideon riseth, and slayeth Zebah and Zalmunna, and taketh their round ornaments which are on the necks of their camels.

And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you; give me every man of you the earrings of his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ish'maelites.)

and the weight of the rings of gold which he asked is a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the round ornaments, and the drops, and the purple garments, which are on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains which are on the necks of their camels,

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

Jerubba'al the son of Jo'ash went and dwelt in his own house.

And his concubine which is in Shechem, she will bear to him a son, and she will set his name Abimelech.

And Gideon the son of Jo'ash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Jo'ash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiez'rites.

and thought not on the LORD their God which had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.

Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

And all the masters of Shechem are gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and come and cause Abimelech to reign for king at the oak of the camp which is in Shechem;

But the olive tree said to them, 'Shall I leave my fatness, by which gods and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?'

And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

in which my father fought for you and much endangered his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian.

That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.

And the citizens of Shechem set men to lay await for him in the top of the mountains, which men robbed all that came along the way by them. And it was told Abimelech.

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

He sent messengers to Abimelech in secret and told him, "Look out! Ebed's son Gaal and his family have arrived here in Shechem. Watch out! They're stirring up the city against you.

So now, get up by night, you and your people, and keep watch in the field secretly;

And it was in the morning when the sun rose, thou shalt rise early and invade upon the city: and behold, he and the people which with him coming forth against thee; and do thou to him as thy hand shall find.

And Abimelech will rise, and all the people which are with him, by night, and they will lie in wait against Shechem in four heads.

And Zebul saith unto him, 'Where is now thy mouth, in that thou sayest, Who is Abimelech that we serve him? is not this the people against which thou hast kicked? go out, I pray thee now, and fight against it.'

And Abimelech and the heads which are with him will invade, and they will stand at the door of the gate of the city: and two heads will invade upon all which are in the field, and they will smite them.

And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he will take the city, and the people which in it he killed, and he will tear down the city, and will sow it with salt.

And Abimelech will go up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that with him; and Abimelech will take axes in his hand, and he will cut boughs of the trees, and will lift up and will put upon his shoulder, and he will say to the people which are with him, What ye saw I did, hasten, do like me.

But in the middle of the town there was a strong tower, to which all the men and women of the town went in flight and, shutting themselves in, went up to the roof of the tower.

Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:

After Abimelech there arose, to defend Israel, one Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, which dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.

And after him arose Jair a Gileadite, which judged Israel twenty two years.

And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, 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 children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook Jehovah, and served him not.

And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

The rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Which man will lead the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

And there was one Jephthah a Gileadite, a strong man, which was the son of a harlot: Howbeit Gilead begat Jephthah.

But Gilead's wife bare him sons, which when they were come to age, thrust out of Jephthah, and said unto him, "Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house, for thou art the son of a strange woman."

The Ammonites’ king replied to the messengers of Jephthah, “It is because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the [river] Arnon as far as the Jabbok and [east of] the Jordan; so now, return those lands peaceably.”

Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

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?

Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

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.'

Then Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house. And see, his daughter came out against him, with timbrels and dances, which was his only child: so that beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity."

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

And now, watch now, and drink not wine and strong drink, and thou shalt not eat any thing unclean:

Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

And the messenger of Jehovah will say to Manoah, From all I said to the woman she shall watch.

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 the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.

But his father and mother wist not that it was the LORD's doing, and that he sought an occasion of the Philistines, which at that time reigned over Israel.

and the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is nothing in his hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother that which he hath done.

And he went down and talked with the woman, which seemed well favoured in the sight of Samson.

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 she weepeth for it the seven days in which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth it to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the ropes which were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.

And taking up the mouth-bone of an ass newly dead, which he saw by chance on the earth, he put to death a thousand men with it.

But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which is on the front of Hebron.

The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, "Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred [pieces] of silver."

And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings which have not been dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies: now please tell me with which you might be bound."

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 when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

and Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them."

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol in the tomb of Mano'ah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.

And he restored the money again unto his mother. Then his mother took two hundred silverlings and put them to a goldsmith, to make thereof a graven image and a image of metal, which remained in the house of Micah.

And the man Micah had a chapel of gods, and made an ephod and images, and filled the hand of one of his sons which became his priest.

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

And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, and out of the kindreds of Judah: which young man was a Levite and sojourned there.

So the Danites sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Esh'ta-ol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, "Go and explore the land." And they came to the hill country of E'phraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

When they were near the house of Micah, hearing a voice which was not strange to them, that of the young Levite, they went out of their road to his place, and said to him, How did you come here? and what are you doing in this place? and why are you here?

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

And the priest said to them, "Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD."

Then the five men departed, and came to La'ish, and saw the people who were there, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sido'nians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth, and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sido'nians and had no dealings with any one.

And when they came to their brethren at Zorah and Esh'ta-ol, their brethren said to them, "What do you report?"

When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land is large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which is in the land.'

And six hundred men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set forth from Zorah and Esh'ta-ol,

And they went and pitched in Kiriathjearim in Judah. Wherefore the place is called Mahanahdan unto this day, which is on the back side of Kiriathjearim.

Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of La'ish said to their brethren, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you will do."