the one who told his mother and father, "I don't know them,' and who would neither acknowledge his brothers nor know his own children. For they kept your word and guarded your covenant.

Then the LORD told him: "This is the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by an oath when I said, "I'll give it to your descendants.' I'll let you see it with your eyes, but you won't cross over there."

Joshua told the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

After this, Nun's son Joshua sent two men from the Acacia groves as undercover scouts. He told them, "Go and look over the land. Pay special attention to Jericho." So they went out, came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there.

Then the king of Jericho was told, "Look! Israeli men arrived tonight to scout out the land."

So the men told her, "Our life for yours even to death if you don't betray this mission of ours. Then when the LORD gives us this land, we'll treat you graciously and faithfully."

She told them, "Go out to the hill country, so the search party won't find you, and hide for three days. After that, you may go on your own way."

Later, the two men returned from the hill country, crossed over the Jordan River, approached Nun's son Joshua, and told him everything that had happened to them.

At this point, the LORD told Joshua, "Today I'm going to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they'll be sure that I'm going to be with you just as I was with Moses.

So Joshua told the Israelis, "Come here and listen to what the LORD your God has to say."

Joshua told them, "Cross over again in front of the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan River. Then each of you pick up a stone on his shoulder with which to build a memorial, one for each of the tribes of Israel.

Now the LORD had told Joshua,

Then he told the Israelis, "When your descendants ask their parents in years to come, "What is the meaning of these stones?'

At that time the LORD told Joshua, "Make for yourselves some flint knives and circumcise the Israelis who haven't been circumcised yet."

Then the LORD told Joshua, "Today I have rolled the disgrace of Egypt away from you." That's why that place is called "Gilgal" to this day.

The LORD told Joshua, "Look! I have given Jericho over to your control, along with its kings and valiant soldiers.

So Nun's son Joshua called for the priests. "Pick up the Ark of the Covenant," he told them, "and have seven priests carry seven trumpets made from rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD."

He told the army, "Go out and encircle the city. Have the armed men march out in front of the ark of the LORD."

As they completed the seventh time, after the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua told the army, "Shout, because the LORD has given you the city!

Joshua told the two men who had scouted the land, "Go into the prostitute's home and bring her out of it, along with everyone who is with her, just as you promised her."

The LORD then told Joshua, "Don't be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land.

Then the LORD told Joshua, "Stretch out the battle lance that's in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control." So Joshua stretched out the battle lance that was in his hand toward the city.

So our leaders and all of the inhabitants of our country told us, "Take provisions along with you for your journey, go to meet them, and tell them, "We are your servants. Come now and make a treaty with us."'

The leaders told them, "Let them live." So they became wood cutters and water carriers for the entire congregation, which is what the leaders had decided concerning them.

So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. He told them,

The LORD told Joshua, "Don't fear them, because I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will withstand you."

Joshua told the army, "Don't fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, because this is how the LORD will treat all of your enemies whom you fight."

But the LORD told Joshua, "Don't be afraid of them, because tomorrow about this time I am giving them all to you dead in the presence of Israel. Hamstring their horses and incinerate their chariots."

Joshua dealt with them just as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and incinerated their chariots.

Joshua conquered the entire land, in accordance with everything that the LORD had told Moses. Joshua presented it as an inheritance to Israel, dividing it according to tribal allotments. Then the land enjoyed rest from war.

When Joshua had grown old, having lived many years, the LORD told him, "You are old and have lived many years, but much of the land still remains to be possessed.

After this, the descendants of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal. Jephunneh the Kenizzite's son Caleb told him, "You know the promise that the LORD gave Moses the man of God concerning the two of us in Kadesh-barnea.

Now Joshua gave an allotment among the descendants of Judah to Jephunneh's son Caleb, just as God told Joshua, Kiriath-arba, which was named after the ancestor of Anak (that is, Hebron).

So Joshua told the tribes of Joseph, which were Ephraim and Manasseh, "You're truly a numerous group, and you have great power. You are not to have only one allotment,

So Joshua told the Israelis, "How long will you delay invading and taking possession of the land that the LORD God of your ancestors has given you?

Then the LORD told Joshua,

It was at Shiloh in the land of Canaan that they told them, "The LORD ordered through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, along with their pasture lands for our livestock."

and told them, "You have done everything that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and you have listened to me in everything that I commanded you.

Now the LORD has given peace to your relatives, just as he told them. Therefore, proceed to your tents to the land that is yours to possess that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan River.

They approached the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and told them:

Joshua called together all Israel, including their leaders, officials, judges, and tribal officers. He told them, "I am old now after having lived many years.

and Joshua told all of the people, "This is what the LORD God of Israel has to say:

So Joshua told the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, because he is a God of Holiness. He is a jealous God, and he will forgive neither your transgressions nor your sins.

and then told all of the people, "Look! This stone will testify for us, because it has heard everything that the LORD has spoken to us. So it will stand as a witness against you in the event that you deny your God."

But the tribe of Judah told the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Judah's brother, "Come with us into our territory, and we'll both fight the Canaanites. In return, we'll go with you when you fight in your territory." So the army of the tribe of Simeon accompanied the army of the tribe of Judah.

Some time later, the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and announced to Israel, "I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land that I promised to your ancestors. I had told them, "I'll never breach my covenant with you.

He had turned away from the idols that were at Gilgal. So he told Eglon, "I have a secret message for you, king." King Eglon responded "Silence!" and all of his attendants left him.

he told them, "Attack them, because the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your control." So the Israeli army followed after him, seized the fords of the Jordan River opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross.

She sent word to Abinoam's son Barak from Kedesh-naphtali, summoning him. She asked him, "The LORD God of Israel has commanded you, hasn't he? He told you, "Go out, march to Mount Tabor, and take 10,000 men with you from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun.

"Get going!" Deborah told Barak. "Because today's the day when the LORD has dropped Sisera into your hands! Look! The LORD has already gone out ahead of you!" So Barak left Mount Tabor, followed by 10,000 men,

Jael went out to greet Sisera. "Turn aside, sir!" she told him. "Turn aside to me! Don't be afraid." So he turned aside to her and entered her tent, where she concealed him behind a curtain.

He told her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks "Is anybody here?' say "No'."

Meanwhile, as Barak continued chasing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. "Come with me," she told him, "and I'll show you the man you're looking for!" So he went with her, and there was Sisera, lying dead with the tent peg still embedded in his temple!

the LORD sent a man who was a prophet to the Israelis and told them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "I was the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, delivering you from the house of servitude.

I told you, "I am the LORD your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you'll be living."' But you haven't obeyed what I said."

The angel of the LORD appeared to him and told him, "The LORD is with you, you valiant warrior!"

The LORD told him, "Because I'll be with you, and you'll defeat Midian every single one of them!"

Later that very night, the LORD told Gideon, "Take the bull that belongs to your father, along with a second bull that's seven years old. Then tear down the altar to Baal that your father owns, cut down the Asherah that's beside it,

So Gideon went with ten men who were his servants and did just what the LORD had told him to do, though he did it at night because he was too afraid of his father's family and the leading men of the city to do it during the day.

Then Gideon told God, "If you intend to deliver Israel by my efforts as you've said,

Then Gideon told God, "Don't let yourself be angry with me! I want to ask you once again: please let me make a test with the fleece just once more. Cause it to be dry only on the fleece, but let there be dew all around on the ground."

The LORD told Gideon, "You have too many soldiers with you for me to drop Midian into their hands, because Israel would become arrogant and say, "It was my own abilities that delivered me.'

"There are still too many soldiers," the LORD told Gideon. "Bring them down to the water and I'll refine them for you there. Therefore when I say to you, "This one will be going with you,' he'll go with you, but no one may go about whom I tell you, "This one won't be going with you.'"

So he brought his soldiers down to the water, and the LORD told Gideon, "You are to cull out everyone who laps up water with his tongue like a dog from everyone who kneels to drink."

Then the LORD told Gideon, "I'm going to deliver you with the 300 soldiers who lapped by giving the Midianites into your control. Send everyone else back to their own homes."

He told the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the soldiers who are following behind me. They're tired, and I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

Then he told his firstborn son Jether, "Get up and kill them!" But he was afraid, since he was still only a youngster.

But Gideon told them, "I won't rule over you and my son won't rule over you. The LORD will rule you."

"Once upon a time the trees went out to consecrate a king for themselves. "So they told the olive tree, "Reign over us!'

"So the trees told the fig tree, "Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

"So the trees told the grape vine, "Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

"So all the trees told the bramble bush, "Hey you! Come and reign over us!'

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.

Abimilech was told that all of the "lords" of the Shechem Tower had assembled there.

So he went up to Mount Zalmon, accompanied by his entire army. Abimelech had an axe in his hand, so he cut down a branch from a tree, lifted it up, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he told the army that had accompanied him, "You've seen what I just did. Hurry up! Do the same thing!"

A man from the tribe of Issachar, Puah's son Tola, grandson of Dodo, arose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the mountainous region of Ephraim.

Then the Israelis cried out to the LORD and told him, "We have sinned against you because we have abandoned our God to serve the Baals."

They told him, "Come and be our commander so we can fight the Ammonites!"

So the elders of Gilead told Jephthah, "Well, we're coming back to you now so you can accompany us, fight the Ammonites, and become the head of all the inhabitants of Gilead."

She told him, "My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me according to what has come out of your own mouth, considering that the LORD has paid back your enemies, the Ammonites."

He told me, "Surprise! you're going to conceive and give birth to a son!' and as for you, "Be sure that you don't drink wine or anything intoxicating, and don't eat anything unclean,' "because the young man will be a Nazirite dedicated to God from inside the womb' until the day he dies."

So Manoah got up quickly and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he told him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" He replied, "I am."

The angel of the LORD replied to Manoah, "Just have your wife be careful to carry out everything that I told her.

Then Manoah told his wife, "We're going to die for sure, because we've seen God!"

Then he returned and told his father and mother, "In Timnah I saw a woman of Philistine origin." He ordered them, "Get her for me as a wife. Now!"

"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson told them. "If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I'll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.

So he told them: From the eater came something edible; from the strong something sweet. For three days they couldn't solve the riddle.

The next day, they told Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to explain the riddle or we'll set fire to your father's house with you in it! You've invited us here to make us paupers, haven't you?"

So Samson's wife cried in front of him and accused him, "You only hate me. You don't love me. You've told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven't told the solution to me." Samson responded, "Look, I haven't told my parents, either. Why should I tell you?"

So she kept on crying in front of him for the entire seven days of the wedding party. On the seventh day he told the solution to her because she nagged him, and then she told the solution to the riddle to her relatives.

Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed 30 men, took their belongings, and gave the garments to those who had told him the solution to the riddle. He remained furious, left for his father's house,

A while later during the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing along a young goat, and told his father-in-law, "I'm going into my wife's room." But her father wouldn't give permission for him to go.

They responded, "We've come here to arrest you and transfer you to the custody of the Philistines." Samson told them, "Promise me that you won't kill me."

Aferward, he became thirsty, called out to the LORD, and told him, "So, you provided this great deliverance at the hands of your servant, but now I'm to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

The Philistine officials approached her and told her, "Entice him to discover where his great strength is, and how we can overpower him. We intend to tie him up and torture him. We'll each pay you 1,100 silver coins."

Meanwhile, some kidnappers were hiding inside an inner room, waiting for her signal. So she told him, "The Philistines are attacking you!" But he snapped the cords as one might break a burned candle wick. So his secret remained undiscovered.

Some time later, Delilah told Samson, "Look here! You've been mocking me and lying to me. Now please tell me how you can be tied up."

He told her, "If I'm tied up securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I'll become weak and just like any other human being."

So Delilah grabbed some new ropes and tied him up. Then she told him, "The Philistines are attacking you, Samson!" because some kidnappers were hiding inside an inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like thread.

Later on, Delilah told Samson, "You're still mocking me and telling me lies! Tell me how to tie you up!" He answered her, "If you weave the seven locks on my head into a loom and fasten it with a peg, then I will become weak and just like any other human being."