And [as for] you, do not {make a covenant} with the inhabitants of this land; break down their altars.' But you did not listen to my voice. {Why would you do such a thing}?

Moreover, that entire generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or the work he had done for Israel.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and {they served} the Baals.

But they did not listen to their leaders, but lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned away quickly from the way that their ancestors went, who had obeyed the commandment of Yahweh; they did not do [as their ancestors].

in order to test Israel whether or not they would observe the way of Yahweh, to walk in it just as their ancestors did."

So Yahweh left those nations; he did not drive them out at once, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They forgot Yahweh their God, and they served the Baals and the Asheroth.

And again the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they did evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

And the handle also went [in] after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not draw back the sword from his stomach; and it went protruding out the back.

And they waited so long they became embarrassed because he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened [the doors], and there their lord was lying on the ground dead.

And he said to them, "Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand." So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over.

And again the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Ehud died.

Gilead has remained beyond the Jordan. Why did Dan dwell as a foreigner [with] ships? Asher sat at [the] coast of [the] waters, and by his coves he has been settling down.

'Curse Meroz,' says the angel of Yahweh; 'curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of Yahweh, to the help of Yahweh against the mighty.'

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Midianites for seven years.

Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian."

And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?"

The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so.

Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him; and because he was too afraid of his {father's family} and the men of the city to do [it during] the day, he did [it during] night.

{And they said to one another}, "Who did this thing?" So they searched and inquired, and they said, "Gideon son of Jehoash did this thing."

And God did so that night; only the fleece was dry, and dew was on all the ground.

And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he [was] still a boy.

And Midian was subdued before the {Israelites}, and they did not again lift up their head, and the land rested for forty years in the days of Gideon.

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

nor did they show favor to the house of Jerub-Baal ([that is], Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he did for Israel.

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

And Yahweh said to the {Israelites}, "[Did I] not [deliver you] from [the] Egyptians, the Amorites, from the {Ammonites}, and from the Philistines?

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 he said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the {Ammonites},

Then they traveled through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and Moab, and came to {the east} side of the land of Moab, and they encamped beyond [the] Arnon; and they did not go into the territory of Moab because [the] Arnon [was] the border of Moab.

But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and then encamped at Jahaz; and he made war with Israel.

So then, [are] you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them?

When Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that [are] {along the Arnon}, for three hundred years, why did you not recover [them] at that time?

But the king of the {Ammonites} did not listen to the message that Jephthah sent to him.

Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She [was] his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her.

At the end of the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her [according to] his vow; and {she did not sleep with a man}. And it became an annual custom in Israel

The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed [over] to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross [over] and make war against the {Ammonites}, and why did you not call us to go with you? We will burn down your house over you with fire."

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.

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of [the] Philistines forty years.

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.

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.

The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "If you keep me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering for Yahweh, you can offer it (for Manoah did not know that he [was] an angel of Yahweh)."

The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, and then Manoah knew that he [was] a messenger of Yahweh.

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.

And the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one might tear apart a male kid goat ({he was bare-handed}). But he did not tell his father and mother what he had done.

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.

And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" And they said, "To bind Samson; to do to him just as he did to us."

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 she said to him, "[The] Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!" And he woke up from his sleep and said, "I will go out just like every other time and shake myself free," but he did not know that Yahweh had left him.

In those days there was no king in Israel, and each one did what was right in his own eyes.

And he said to them, "Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest."

(The descendants of Benjamin heard that the {Israelites} had gone up [to] Mizpah.) And the {Israelites} said, "Tell us, how did this evil act occur?"

We will take ten men of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions to the troops, to repay [them] when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel."

Then ten thousand well-trained men from all Israel came out against Gibeah, and the battle became fierce; they did not know that disaster [was about to] {close in} on them.

And the {Israelites} said, "Who in the assembly has not come up from all the tribes of Israel to Yahweh?" For a solemn oath was [taken] concerning whoever did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, "He will certainly be put to death."

They asked, "Which one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?" And behold, no one came from Jabesh-gilead to the camp, to the assembly.

And if their fathers or their brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Allow us to have them, because we did not capture a wife for each man in the battle, and because you did not give [them] to them, {or else} you would have been guilty.'"

The descendants of Benjamin did likewise, and they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they seized, and they went and returned to their territory, and they rebuilt the cities and they lived in them.

In those days there was no king in Israel; each one did what was right in his own eyes.

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, each [of you] return to her mother's house. May Yahweh {show kindness to you} [just] as you did with the dead and with me.

And Boaz answered and said to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband was fully told to me. [How] you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and you went to a people that you did not know {before}.

And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean {today} and where did you work? May he [who] took notice of you be blessed." And she told her mother-in-law {with whom she had worked} and said, "The name of the man who I worked with today [is] Boaz."

And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had instructed her.

And he said, "You [are] blessed by Yahweh my daughter. You did better [in this] last kindness than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.

And she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, "{How did it go for you,} my daughter?" And she told her all that the man did for her.

And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be Yahweh who today {did not leave you without a redeemer}! And may his name be renowned in Israel!

And she said, "May your female slave find favor in your sight." Then the woman went on her way and ate [something], and {her face did not look sad any longer}.

But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "Once the boy [is] weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh; and he will remain there forever."

Now the sons of Eli [were] {worthless scoundrels}; they did not know Yahweh.

If a man sins against a man, then God can intercede for him. But if a man sins against Yahweh, who can intercede for him?" But they did not {obey} their father, because Yahweh wanted to kill them.

Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh?

And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." But he said, "I did not call [you]. Go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

And Yahweh called Samuel again, so Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." And he said, "I did not call you, my son. Go back [and] lie down."

Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him.

I will make him know that I am about to judge his household forever because of the iniquity that he knew, for his sons [were] bringing curses on themselves, but he did not rebuke them.

So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal [anything] from him. And he said, "He [is] Yahweh, he will do {what is} good in his {sight}."

And Samuel grew up, and Yahweh was with him. {He did not allow any of his prophecies to go unfulfilled}.

Just before the time of her death, those {attending her} said, "Do not fear, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer, or {pay any attention}.

The men who did not die were struck with [the] tumors, so that the cry of the city for help went up [to] heaven.

So the men did so; they took two milking cows and harnessed them to the utility cart, but they shut up their calves in the stall.

The cows went straight on the way on the road to Beth Shemesh, on the one main road, {lowing as they went}. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left, and the rulers of [the] Philistines [were] walking after them up to the border of Beth Shemesh.

So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against [the] Philistines all the days of Samuel.

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim; he passed through the land of Shalisha but they did not find [them]. They passed through the land of Shaalim but they were not there. He passed through the land of Benjamin but did not find [them].

Then Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To search [for] the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel."

So Saul's uncle said to him, "Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?"

Then Saul said to his uncle, "He told us for certain that the female donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingship [of] which Samuel had spoken.

So they inquired again of Yahweh, "{Did the man come here}?" And Yahweh said, "Look, he [is] hiding himself among the baggage."

And all Israel did hear, saying, "Saul has defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines; and also, Israel has become a stench among [the] Philistines!" So the people were called out after Saul at Gilgal.

He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}.

But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash,

{One day} Jonathan the son of Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Come and let us go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines which [is] over there." But he did not tell his father.

Now Ahijah, the son of Ahitub (the brother of Ichabod), the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was carrying an ephod. The troops did not know that Jonathan had gone.

So Saul inquired of God, "Should I go down after [the] Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him on that day.

But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'I have observed what Amalek did to Israel, {how he opposed him} when he went up from Egypt.

Why did you not listen to the voice of Yahweh and fall with shouting on the plunder? You have done evil in the sight of Yahweh!"

Samuel {did not see Saul again} until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.

So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, "{Have you come in peace}?"

And the men of Israel said, "Did you see this man who has come up? For he [is] going up to defy Israel! It will be [that] the man who defeats him, the king will make him very rich with great wealth and will give him his daughter [in marriage] and will make his father's house free in Israel."