And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Go up with me into my allotment, and let us fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into your allotment." And Simeon went with him.

At Bezek they came upon Adoni-bezek, and they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

And Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued after him; they caught him and cut off {his thumbs and big toes}.

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 Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him Acsah my daughter as a wife."

Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife.

When she came [to him], she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from the donkey, Caleb said to her, "{What do you want}?"

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.

And when the spies saw a man leaving the city, they said to him, "Please show us the entrance of the city, and we will deal kindly with you."

They buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnah-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

And the spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and {he prevailed over} Cushan-Rishathaim.

And the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite and {a left-handed man}. And the {Israelites} sent a tribute to Eglon king of Moab {through him}.

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 Ehud went out the vestibule, and he closed the doors of the upper room and locked [them] behind him.

And when he arrived he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the {Israelites} went down from the hill country with him leading them.

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 Shamgar son of Anath came after him, and he killed six hundred Philistines with the goad of an ox; he also delivered Israel.

She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, "Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? 'Go, {march to} Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants of Naphtali and Zebulun.

{I will draw out} Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and troops, to the wadi of Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.'"

Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and {they went up behind him}, ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.

Sisera summoned all his chariots--all nine hundred chariots of iron--and the entire army that [was] with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the wadi of Kishon.

And Deborah said to Barak, "Get up! This [is] the day that Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has Yahweh not gone out before you?" So Barak went out from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid." So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him {with a blanket}.

And he said to her, "Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty." So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.

But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he [was] fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died.

And behold, Barak [was] pursuing Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him, and she said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you [are] seeking." And he came with her and saw that Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple.

Then [the] remnant went down to [the] nobles; the people of Yahweh went down for him against [the] mighty.

And the chiefs in Issachar [were] with Deborah; and Issachar likewise [was with] Barak; into the valley {he was sent to get him from behind}. Among the clans of Reuben [were] great {decisions of the heart}.

So may all your enemies perish, O Yahweh, but those who love him are like the rising sun at its brightest." And the land had rest for forty years.

The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh [is] with you, {you mighty warrior}."

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?"

He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house."

And Yahweh said to him, "But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian {as if they are one man}."

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 went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them].

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.

And Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die."

Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, "Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

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.

But Jehoash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he [is] a god, let him contend for himself because {his altar has been pulled down}."

Thus, on that day he was called Jerub-Baal, {which means}, "Let Baal contend against him," because he had pulled down his altar.

So the Spirit of Yahweh {took possession of} Gideon, and he blew on the trumpet, and [the] Abiezrites were called to follow him.

He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they were also called to follow him; and he sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

Then Jerub-Baal (that [is], Gideon) rose early, and all the army that [was] with him. They were camped beside the spring of Harod; the camp of Midian was north of the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

So then, please proclaim in the {hearing} of the troops, saying, 'Whoever [is] fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.'" About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained.

So they took their provisions and their trumpets into their hand, and he sent all the men of Israel, each one, to his tent; but three hundred of the men he kept; the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

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

His friend answered him and said, "This cannot be anything except the sword of Gideon son of Jehoash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand."

So Gideon and the hundred men who [were] with him came to the edge of the camp [at] the beginning of the middle night-watch, when they had just finished setting up the guards, and they blew on the trumpets and smashed the jars that [were] in their hands.

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.

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}.

Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who [were] with him, weary and pursuing.

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.

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.

His concubine who [was] in Shechem also bore for him a son, and {he named him} Abimelech.

And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him {to} all the lords of Shechem; and {they supported Abimelech}, for they said, "He is our relative."

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}.

"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}--

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.

And the lords of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along the road; and it was reported to Abimelech.

And Gaal son of Ebel and his relatives came, and they crossed over into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem {gave him confidence}.

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who [is] Abimelech, and who [are we of] Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and [is not] Zebul his chief officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?

And in the morning at sunrise, get up and rush the city; and look, when he and the troops who [are] with him come out to you, {you must act according to whatever opportunity offers itself}.

So Abimelech and all the army that [was] with him got up [by] night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem [in] four divisions.

Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood [at] the entrance of the city gate, and Abimelech and the army that [was] with him got up from the ambush.

When Gaal saw the army, he said to Zebul, "Look, people [are] coming down from the top of the mountains!" And Zebul said to him, "{The shadows of the mountains look like people to you}."

And Zebul said to him, "Where then {is your boast}, [you] who said, 'Who [is] Abimelech that we should serve him?' [Is] this not the army that you rejected? Please, go out now and fight against them."

And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate.

Then Abimelech and the divisions that [were] with him dashed out and stood [at] the entrance of the city gate, and the two divisions dashed out against all who [were] in the field, and they killed them.

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."

He called quickly to the young man carrying his weapons, and he said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they will not say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man stabbed him, and he died.

After him Jair the Gileadite rose up, and he judged Israel twenty-two years.

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.

Gilead's wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of [his] wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, "You will not inherit the house of our father because you [are] the son of another woman."

So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers, and he lived in the land of Tob. And {outlaws} gathered around Jephthah and went with him.

So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.

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

Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, 'Please let us cross through your land {to our country}.'

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.

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}."

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.

After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years.

After him Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.

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 woman quickly ran and told her husband, and she said to him, "Look! The man who came to me the [other] day appeared to me."

So Manoah got up and went after his wife, and he came to the man and said to him, "[Are] you the man that spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I [am]."

And Manoah said to him, "Now {when your words come true}, what will be the boy's {manner of life} and work?"

But the angel of Yahweh said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It [is too] wonderful."

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."

The woman bore a son, and she called him Samson; the boy grew big, and Yahweh blessed him.

And the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

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}."

And Samson and his father and mother went down to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah, and suddenly a young lion [came] roaring to meet him.

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.

When they saw him, they took thirty companions, and they were with him.

But if you are unable to explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments." So they said to him, "Tell your riddle; let us hear it."