And Jehovah said to Gideon, The people are still too many. Bring them down to the water, and I will separate them for you there. It shall be that of whom I say to you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you. And of whomever I say to you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.

And he brought down the people to the water. And Jehovah said to Gideon, Everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set him apart; also everyone who bows down upon his knees to drink.

And the number of them who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men. But all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

And Jehovah said to Gideon, I will save you by the three hundred men who lapped, and will deliver the Midianites into your hand. And let all the other people go, each man to his place.

When I blow with a ram's horn, I and all who are with me, then you blow the ram's horns also on every side of all the camp, and shout, For Jehovah and for Gideon!

And he said to the men of Succoth, I pray you, give loaves of bread to the people who follow me. For they are tired, and I am chasing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the armies of the sons of the east. For a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword fell.

And Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army. For the army was at ease.

And he came to the men of Succoth and said, Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you rebuked me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand so that we should give bread to your men who are weary?

And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, How were the men whom you killed in Tabor? And they answered, As you are, so they. Each one resembled the sons of a king.

And his concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son whose name he called Abimelech.

And the sons of Israel did not remember Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.

And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless persons who followed him.

so that the cruelty to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and upon the men of Shechem who helped him in the killing of his brothers.

And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him?

And it shall be in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, it shall be that you shall rise early and set upon the city. And behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may do to them as you desire.

And Zebul said to him, Where is your mouth now, with which you said, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people whom you have despised? I pray you, go out now and fight with them.

And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a limb from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people who were with him, What you have seen me do, hurry and do likewise.

Then he called hastily to the young man who was his armor-bearer, and said to him, Draw your sword and kill me, so that men may not say of me, A woman killed him! And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities which are called Havoth-jair to this day in the land of Gilead.

And the people and rulers of Gilead said to one another, What man is there who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

And Jehovah, the God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that country.

And it happened when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me. For I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back.

And it happened at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her his vow which he had vowed. And she knew no man. And it is a custom in Israel,

And the Gileadites took the fords of Jordan before the Ephraimites. And it happened that when one of those Ephraimites who had escaped said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite? And he said, No.

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.

And he had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy ass colts. And he judged Israel eight years.

And Manoah prayed to Jehovah and said, O, my Lord, let the Man of God, whom You sent, come again to us and teach us what we shall do to the boy that shall be born.

And the woman hurried and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the Man has appeared to me, the one who came to me the other day.

And Manoah arose and went after his wife, and came to the Man, and said to Him, Are You the Man who spoke to the woman? And He said, I am.

And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave changes of garments to them who told what the riddle meant. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

But Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had served as his friend.

And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

And the people saw him and praised their god. For they said, Our god has delivered our enemy into our hand, and the destroyer of our country, who killed many of us.

And Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, so that I may lean upon them.

Now the house was full of men and women. And all the lords of the Philistines were there. And on the roof were about three thousand men and women who watched while Samson made sport.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself mightily, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those he killed in his life.

And he gave the money back to his mother. And his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a refiner, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image. And they were in the house of Micah.

And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod and household gods, and anointed one of his sons, who became his priest.

When they were at the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite. And they turned in there, and said to him, Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what have you here?

And the five men departed and came to Laish, and saw the people in it, how they lived carelessly, as the Sidonians do, quiet and secure. And there was no judge in the land who might put them to shame in a thing. And they were far from the Sidonians, and had no business with any man.

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, Did you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and an engraved image and a molten image? And now consider what you have to do.

And the five men who went up to spy out the land came in there, and took the engraved image and the ephod and the household gods, and the molten image. And the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were dressed with weapons of war.

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and feeling safe. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However the name of the city was Laish at the first.

And it happened in those days, no king being in Israel, there was a certain Levite residing on the far side of Mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-judah.

And behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also from Mount Ephraim. And he lived in Gibeah, but the men of the place were of Benjamin.

And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the side of mount Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I am going to the house of Jehovah. And there is no man who receives me into his house.

Yet here is both straw and food for our asses. And there is bread and wine also for me, and for your slave woman, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.

And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah of Benjamin to stay the night, my concubine and I.

Now, therefore, deliver the men, the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.

And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword. All these were men of war.

And they turned before the men of Israel, to the way of the wilderness. But the battle overtook them. And those who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All of these were men of war.

And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up with the congregation to Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters for wives?

And this is the thing that you shall do. You shall utterly destroy every male and every woman who has lain with man.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had known no man by lying with any male. And they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And the whole congregation sent to speak to the sons of Benjamin who were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably to them.

And Benjamin came again at that time. And they gave them wives whom they had saved alive, of the women of Jabesh-gilead. And yet so they were not enough for them.

And the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

And they said, There must be an inheritance for those of Benjamin who have escaped, so that a tribe may not be destroyed out of Israel.

However, we may not give them wives of our daughters. For the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

And the sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number, from those that danced, whom they caught. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and lived in them.

And Naomi returned; and Ruth, who was of Moab, her daughter-in-law, was with her, returning out of the fields of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

And she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come upon a part of the field of Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

And Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose girl is this?

And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the girl from Moab who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

And Boaz answered and said to her, It has been fully shown to me all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, And you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before now.

And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed is he who took notice of you. And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed is he of Jehovah, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, he is of our redeemers.

And Ruth of Moab said, He said to me also, You shall keep close by my young men whom I have until they have ended all my harvest.

And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am your handmaid Ruth. And you shall spread your skirt over your handmaid, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.

And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who are you, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. And he said, Such a one! Turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.

And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's.

And I said I will tell it in your ear, saying, Buy it before those who live here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem it. But if you will not redeem, tell me so that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you. And I am after you. And he said, I will redeem.

And all the people in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. May Jehovah make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, for these two built the house of Israel. And may you be blessed in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.

And let your house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give you of this young woman.

And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, so that his name may be famous in Israel.

And he shall be to you as a restorer of life, and one who cheers your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you has borne him, she who is better to you than seven sons.

And she said, O, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Jehovah.

They that were full have hired themselves out for bread, and they that were hungry ceased; yea, while the barren has borne seven, and she who had many sons has languished.

Yea, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. For he will not have boiled flesh from you, but raw!

And Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who gathered at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sins against Jehovah, who shall plead for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because Jehovah desired to kill them.

And Jehovah, the God of Israel says, I said indeed, Your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever. But now Jehovah says, Be it far from Me! For those who honor Me I will honor, and those that think little of Me shall be lightly regarded.

And that man of yours whom I shall not cut off from My altar, shall be left in order to make your eyes fail, and to grieve your heart. And all the increase of your house shall die young men.

And I will raise up a faithful priest to Myself, one who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

And it shall be that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a piece of bread. And they shall say, Please put me into one of the priests' offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.

And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.

Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

And the man said to Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Jehovah God? And to whom shall He go up from us?

And now listen to their voice. Only, you shall surely protest solemnly to them, and show them the kind of king who shall reign over them.

And Samuel told all the Words of Jehovah to the people who asked a king of him.

And he said, This will be the privilege of the king who shall reign over you. He shall take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and his horsemen. And they shall run before his chariots.

And you shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

And they came to the land of Zuph, and Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come and let us return lest my father quit caring for the asses, and be anxious about us.