And they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you will send us we will go.

The king of Jericho was told, "Look, [some] men from the {Israelites} have come here tonight to search out the land."

And the king of Jericho sent [for] Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who have entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land."

For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the waters of the {Red Sea} before you when you went out from Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that [were] beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

So then please swear to me by Yahweh, because {I have shown loyalty to you}, and {you will also show loyalty} {to my family}. You must give me a sign of good faith,

[But] there will be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits in measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way that you must go, for you have not passed on [this] way {before}."

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

And he said, "Neither. I have come now [as] the commander of Yahweh's army." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and {he bowed down} and said to him, "What [is] my lord commanding his servant?"

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Stand up! {Why} [have] you fallen on your face?

Israel has sinned and {transgressed my covenant} that I commanded them. They have taken from the devoted things; they have stolen and acted deceitfully, and they have put [them] among their belongings.

The {Israelites} were unable to stand before their enemies; {they fled from their enemies} because they have become a thing devoted for destruction. {I will be with you no more} unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.

And Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please, give glory to Yahweh the God of Israel, and give him a doxology in court. Tell me, please, what you have done; do not hide [it] from me."

And Achan answered Joshua and said, "It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh the God of Israel, and this is what I did:

And when you capture the city you will set it on fire as Yahweh commanded. Look, I have commanded you."

And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}."

And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt,

These [are] the wineskins that we filled new, but look, they have burst; and these [are] our clothes and sandals that have worn out from the very long journey."

But all the leaders of the congregation said, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them.

And Joshua summoned them and said, "Why have you deceived us saying, 'We [are] very far from you' when you [are] living among us?

And the men of Gibeon sent [word] to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "{Do not abandon} your servant. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country have gathered against us."

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand; {no one will withstand you}.

all the inhabitants of the hill country, from the Lebanon up to Misrephoth Maim, and all [the] Sidonians. I will drive them out from before the {Israelites}; only allocate it to Israel as an inheritance just as I have commanded you.

And she said to him, "Give to me a gift; you have given me the land of the Negev, and you must give to me a spring of water." And he gave to her the upper and lower spring.

The descendants of Joseph spoke with Joshua, saying, "Why have you given us one allotment and one share [as] an inheritance? We are many people, which Yahweh has blessed."

And the descendants of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all of the Canaanites living in the land of the valley [have] chariots of iron, those in Beth-shean and its villages, and those in the Jezreel Valley."

And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are many people and have great power; you will not have one allotment [only];

[the] hill country will be yours. Even though it [is] a forest, you will clear it, and it will be yours [to] its farthest borders. You will drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and [are] strong."

The Levites among you have no portion, for their inheritance [is] the priesthood of Yahweh; Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses Yahweh's servant gave to them."

and he said to them, "You have observed all that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you;

you have not forsaken your kinsmen these many days, up to this day, and you have observed the obligation of the command of Yahweh your God.

"Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: 'What [is] this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh?

[Is] not the sin of Peor {enough for us}, from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh,

But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, 'In the future your children may say to our children, '{What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel}?

Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, the descendants of Reuben and Gad; you have no portion in Yahweh.' So your children may put an end to our children worshiping Yahweh.

instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." '

Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh [is] among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the {Israelites} from the hand of Yahweh."

and you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations {for your sake}, for Yahweh your God [is] fighting for you.

Look! I have allotted to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, [with] all the nations that I have cut off, to the Great Sea {in the west}.

But hold fast to Yahweh your God, just as you have done up to this day.

I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live in them; you eat [from] vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.'

And Joshua said to the people, "You [are] witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "[We are] witnesses."

Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with {their thumbs and big toes} cut off used to pick up [scraps] under my table; just as I have done, so God has repaid to me. And they brought him [to] Jerusalem, and he died there.

And she said to him, "Give me {a gift}; you have given me the land of the Negev, and give me also a spring of water." And Caleb gave to her the upper and lower spring.

But the descendants of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived among the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

{So the anger of Yahweh burned} against Israel, and he said, "Because this people transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice,

But he turned back from the sculptured stones that [were] near Gilgal, and he said, "I have {a secret message} for you, O king." And he said, "Silence!" So all those standing in his presence went out,

and Ehud came to him [while] he [was] sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, "I have a {message from God} for you." So he got up from his seat.

And I said to you, 'I [am] Yahweh your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you [are] living.' But you have not listened to my voice."

And he said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, {show me a sign} that you [are] speaking with me.

And Gideon realized that he [was] the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face."

Then Gideon said to God, "In order to see that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said,

I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and all of the ground [is] dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said."

And that night Yahweh said to him, "Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.

and you will hear what they say; and afterward {you will have courage}, and you will go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men that [were] in the camp.

The men of Ephraim said to him, "What [is] this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they quarreled with him severely.

And he said to them, "What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" And their {anger} against him subsided when {he said that}.

The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your sons, and your sons' son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.

"So then, if you have acted in good faith and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him {according to his accomplishments}--

but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative--

if you have acted in good faith and sincerity with Jerub-Baal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

If only this people {were in my command}! Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said, 'Increase your army and come out!'"

So Abimelech went up Mount Zalmon, he and all his army that [were] with him, and Abimelech took the ax in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and he lifted it and put [it] on his shoulder. And he said to the army that [was] with him, "What you have seen me do, quickly do also."

Then the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, saying, "We have sinned against you; we have abandoned our God and served the Baals."

Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. Therefore I will no longer deliver you.

Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your trouble."

And the {Israelites} said to Yahweh, "We have sinned; {do to us accordingly as you see fit}; only please deliver us this day."

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 elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That being so, we have now returned to you, that you may go with us {to fight} against the {Ammonites} and become for us as head of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the {Ammonites}, saying, "What [is between] you and me that you have come to me to make war against my land?"

I have not sinned against you; but you [are] the one who is doing wrong by making war against me. {Let Yahweh judge} today between the {Israelites} and the {Ammonites}."

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.

And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. {I made an oath} to Yahweh, and I cannot take [it] back."

I saw that you would not deliver [us]; {I risked my own life}, and I crossed [over] to the {Ammonites}, and Yahweh gave them into my hand. Why have you come up to me this day to fight against me?"

And an angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and he said to her, "Behold, you [are] infertile and have not borne [children], but you will conceive and bear a son.

And Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die because we have seen God."

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."

When it was the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband and tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us to rob us?"

And Samson's wife wept before him, and she said, "You must hate me; you do not love me. You told the riddle to {my people}, but you have not explained [it] to me." He said to her, "I have not explained [it] to my father and mother. [Why] should I explain it to you?"

The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went [down], "What [is] sweeter than honey? What [is] stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle."

Samson said to them, "If you want to behave like this, [I swear] I will not rest unless I have taken revenge on you."

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."

They said to him, "We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand of [the] Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves."

Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you can be bound."

He said to her, "If they tie me tightly with new ropes that have not been used, I will become weak and be like everyone else."

And Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told lies to me. Tell me how you can be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave seven locks of my head with warp-threads."

And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me how your strength is [so] great."

And the people saw him, and they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has given into our hand those who hate us, devastate our land, and have {killed many of us}."

And they said to them, "Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and [it is] very good. Will you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to possess the land.

While {they were enjoying themselves}, behold, the men of the city, {the perverse lot}, surrounded the house, pounding on the door. And they said to the old man, the owner of the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so that {we may have sex with him}."

What will we do for them--for the [ones] being left over--for wives? For we have sworn by Yahweh not to give to them our daughters as wives."

So the elders of the congregation said, "What should we do for the remaining [ones] for wives, since the women from Benjamin have been destroyed?"

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.'"

Turn back, my daughters! Go, for {I am too old to have a husband}. If I should think there is hope for me, even if I should have a husband [this] night, and even if I should bear sons,

Keep your eyes on the field that they reap and go after them. Have I not ordered the servants not to bother you? And if you get thirsty, you shall go to the containers and drink from where the servants have drawn."

And she fell on her face and bowed down to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes by recognizing me--for I [am] a foreigner?"

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 she said, "May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken {kindly to your servant}, and I am not one of your servants."

And Ruth the Moabite said, "Also, he said to me, 'You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.'"