And they captured the two commanders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they chased Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from beyond the Jordan.

"What have I accomplished compared to you?" he responded. "Isn't what's left from Ephraim's harvest better than the best vintage of Abiezer?

Into your hand hath God given the heads of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what have I been able to do like you?' Then their temper desisted from off him in his speaking this thing.

Gideon replied, “Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will trample your flesh on thorns and briers from the wilderness!”

He went from there [to] Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army of the people of [the] east; those that fell [in battle were] one hundred and twenty thousand {swordsmen}.

And Gideon will go up the way of those dwelling in tents from the east to Nobah and Jogbehah, and he will smite the camp; and the camp was secure.

And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,

He captured a young man {from Succoth} and questioned him. [The young man] listed for him the commanders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.

So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

Gideon replied, "They were my brothers sons from my own mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I wouldn't be killing you."

Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

And Gideon said to them, "{Let me make a request of you}, that each of you give to me an ornamental ring from his plunder." (They [had] ornamental rings of gold, because they [were] Ishmaelites.)

They answered, "We will willingly give them." They spread a garment, and every one of them threw an earring from his plunder.

The weight of the ornamental rings of gold that he requested [was] one thousand seven hundred [shekels of] gold, apart from the crescents, pendants, and purple garments that [were] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the pendants that [were] on the necks of their camels.

Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body; for he had many wives.

The {Israelites} did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hand of their enemies from all around,

"{Speak to} the lords of Shechem, 'What [is] better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I [am] your bone and your flesh."

And they gave to him seventy [pieces of] silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them worthless and reckless men, and {they followed him}.

All the men from Shechem and Beth-millo gathered together and set up Abimelech as king near the pillar erected in Shechem.

But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, which, in me, gods and men do honour, - and go to wave to and fro, over the trees?

But the fig-tree said unto them, Should I leave my sweetness, and mine excellent increase, - and go to wave to and fro, over the trees?

But the vine said unto them, Should I leave my new wine, that rejoiceth gods and men, - and go to wave to and fro, over the trees?

And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith you [are] anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

for my father fought and {risked his life} for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

Then Jotham ran away to Beer and lived there to escape from Abimelech his half-brother.

So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait.

And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.

{And Gaal spoke again} and said, "Look, people [are] coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one division [is] coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim."

Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran away from him. Many fell wounded right up to the entrance to the city gate.

So Abimelech resided at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives from living in Shechem.

And it will be from the morrow, and the people will go forth to the field; and they will announce to Abimelech.

so he took the army and divided them into three divisions, and he laid an ambush in the field. And he saw the people [were] coming out from the city, and he arose against them and killed them.

And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.

And a strong tower was in the midst of the city, and thither will flee all the men and women and all the lords of the city, and will shut up from after them, and they will go up upon the roof of the tower.

After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo became judge and began to deliver Israel. He was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.

And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

And when [the] Sidonians, [the] Amalekites, and [the] Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to me, and I delivered you from their hand.

Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!"

And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

And it will be from days and the sons of Ammon will war with Israel.

When the {Ammonites} made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.

Jephthah said to the elders, "Did you not shun me and drive me out from the house of my father? Why do you come to me now when you have trouble?"

And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

Then journeyed they through the desert, and went round the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and so came, from the rising of the sun, to the land of Moab, but encamped beyond Arnon, - and entered not within the boundary of Moab, for, Arnon, is the boundary of Moab.

And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

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.

Then the Spirit of the 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 unto the children of Ammon.

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

She said to him, "My father, {you made an oath} to Yahweh. Do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh gave vengeance to you against your enemies, the {Ammonites}."

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 it will be from the end of two months, and she will turn back to her father and he will do to her his vow which he vowed: and she knew not man. And it will be a law in Israel,

From year to year, departed the daughters of Israel, to lament aloud for the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four days in the year.

And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were engaged in great conflict with the {Ammonites}; I called you, but you did not deliver me from their hand.

So when I saw that there was no help to be had from you, I put my life in my hand and went over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord gave them into my hands: why then have you come up to me this day to make war on me?

Then Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan from Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive of Ephraim said, "Let me cross [over]," the men of Gilead said to him, "[Are] you an Ephraimite?" [When] he said, "No,"

they said to him, "Please say Shibboleth," and [if] he said, "Sibboleth"--because he could not {pronounce it} correctly--they grabbed him and executed him at the fords of Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.

After him Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.

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

Elon, who was from Zebulun, judged Israel after Ibzan. He judged Israel 10 years,

After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, who was from Pirathon, judged Israel.

There was a certain man from Zorah, from the tribe of the Danites, and his name [was] Manoah; his wife [was] infertile and did not bear children.

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance [was] like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him from where he [came], and he did not tell me his name.

But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Manoah prayed to the Lord, "Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God to visit us again, so he can teach us how we should raise the child who will be born."

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

She should not eat of anything that comes from the vine, or drink wine or strong drink, or eat anything unclean; she should keep all that I commanded."

For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

But his wife said to him, "If Yahweh wanted to kill us he would not have taken from our hand the burnt offering and the grain offering, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us things such as these."

And the spirit of Yahweh began to urge him to and fro, in the camp of Dan, - between Zorah and Eshtaol.

And Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of the Philistines.

He went up and told his father and mother, and he said, "I saw a woman in Timnah from the daughters of [the] Philistines; so then, take her for me as a wife."

But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a wife among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must take a wife from [the] uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Take her for me because {she pleases me}."

His father and mother did not know that this [was] from Yahweh; he was seeking for an occasion against [the] Philistines. Now at that time [the] Philistines [were] ruling in Israel.

Then after a time he went back to take her; and turning from the road to see the dead body of the lion, he saw a mass of bees in the body of the lion, and honey there.

He scraped it out into his hands, and he went on, eating [it] as he went. And he went to his father and mother and gave [some] to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the body of the lion.

He said to them, "From the eater came out food, From [the] strong came out sweet." But they were unable to explain the riddle for three days.

So on the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, Get from your husband the answer to his question by some trick or other, or we will have you and your father's house burned with fire; did you get us here to take all we have?

And the Spirit of Yahweh rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men from them, and he took their belongings, and he gave festal garments to the ones that explained the riddle. {He was angry}, and he went up to his father's house.

and kindleth fire in the torches, and sendeth them out into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burneth it from heap even unto standing corn, even unto vineyard -- olive-yard.

And Samson said to them, If you go on like this, truly I will take my full payment from you; and that will be the end of it.

He tore them limb from limb with a great slaughter, and he went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines [are] ruling over us? What [is] this [that] you have done to us?" And he said to them, "Just as they did to me, so I have done to them."

And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

He happened upon a jawbone from a putrefying donkey, reached out to grab it, and killed 1,000 men with it.

Then Samson declared, "With a jawbone from the donkey here a heap, there a pair of heaps with the jawbone of the donkey I've killed 1,000 men."

And it happened, when he finished speaking he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he called that place Ramath Lehi.

So God split the hollow place that [is] at Lehi, and water came out from it; and he drank, and his spirit returned, and he was revived. Thus he called its name {The Spring of Ha-Qore}, which [is] at Lehi to this day.

The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Persuade him to tell you where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?”

Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.